GeneralsJoes commenter Nas made the trip to San Diego and was nice enough to bring some little tidbits back with him to share on the site!
First of all, he had a chance to talk with Mike Costa, writer of the amazing G.I. Joe: Cobra series, and here are some cool little bits of info he had to share.
Originally, his story focused more on the military aspects of Cobra, as opposed to the financial side. As such, he’d intended to have Major Bludd be the primary antagonist, with a surprise reveal of Zartan towards the end!
However, Major Bludd was on an early “don’t use” list, so editor Andy Schmidt suggested using Tomax and Xamot. Mr. Costa was very clear with me, however, that he never felt stifled by the “don’t use” list from Hasbro, and in fact had nothing but nice things to say in regards to the feedback he received as his comic got edgier and more intense. In fact, when he decided who he wanted to kill off in the book, the character was on the “don’t use” list, but Hasbro complied, based on Costa’s reasoning (My observation- And clearly, how his story was going.)
When Cobra wrapped, he was asked to continue the story, but wasn’t sure where it could go without it being a rehash. After talking with Andy Schmidt and Chuck Dixon about the direction the series as a whole was heading, Mike felt confident that he could do a quality story, and said we’ll see the two books (GI Joe main series and Cobra) coming together nicely as the third arc wraps.
He was never a hardcore fan of GI Joe. He had the toys in the house, since his younger brother collected them, but Mike was more of a Transformers fan! He actually credits his lack of fandom to his ability to write a story with no compromises, especially as he’s getting into the Transformers story he’s writing for IDW, and has to struggle more about being precious with the characters.
I mentioned the awesome and scary takes on Crystal Ball and Croc Master, and how CB looks a lot like Alan Moore. He laughed, and said his intention was to have him look like Rasputin. (My observation- artist Antonio Fuso took that where he wanted it to go, apparently!) But, Alan Moore looks like Rasputin, so there you have it!
Another very cool little part of the SDCC experience was that Nas had a chance, with his son, to become official employees of Cobra Industries! As an added bonus, they get their own name badges… this is BAD ASS. I NEED one of these for myself! Awesome. Check out the images below.
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A huge thanks for Nas for taking the time to relay this information to us!
So, for Joefans, SDCC is already mostly done. Renegades info flooded in on Thursday, we got IDW stuff yesterday. Sideshow is doing their thing tomorrow, but by and large, we’re ready to move on.
However, the rest of the comic world is still trucking right along, and while I don’t read a whole lot of comics these days, I still really love the concept of super heroes and I try to catch as much of that stuff as possible in other media. And holy crap does DC Comics have that covered with two awesome looking events coming up.
First of all, the new animated series Young Justice. Not being a comic fan, I don’t know who the hell Young Justice is, other than apparently the Teen Titans, only no longer called the Teen Titans. Didn’t we have a Teen Titans cartoon a few years ago? Now they want another one? Well, once I saw this video feature, I want another one, too. This looks like a whole lot of fun, and I love how connected the Justice League is! Check the video out below.
But of course the really “holy shit” moment so far of SDCC to me, is the cinematic teaser for the DC Universe Online MMORPG (or however the hell that acronym goes). Now, not only am I not really a DC fan, but I pretty much can’t stand MMORPG’s so there’s no way in hell I’ll ever play this, but this cinematic teaser makes me regret not having 20 spare hours a week to devote to a video game. It is… stunning. Absolutely stunning.
Okay, in all the combing through the internet, I found a few sources of information for stuff that was discussed at the Hasbro IDW panel, but unfortunately none of it ended up really being of any consequence.
The first intel came from YoJoe, who had a representative in the panel, and the recap can be found right here, though honestly not much was revealed.
Essentially most of the panel seemed to focus on Cobra and how they got in the position they’re in now, which is pretty fascinating to consider. Cobra’s whole history back in the day was pretty odd, considering how much force and technology they amassed without it really being discussed just how they did it, where the money came from (beyond a “pyramid scheme”) or how they built their empire. The IDW universe is playing into that a LOT more, and it’s pretty neat.
One of the more interesting notes was the fact that an upcoming issue of G.I. Joe, the first appearance of Storm Shadow proclaims itself as the end of “Season 1” of G.I. Joe. I’m not entirely sure how they break up the “seasons” or if they simply mean the book is moving in another direction from that point on.
The most comprehensive coverage of the IDW panel was posted on The Terror Drome (with some props as well to iFanboy) and their run down is as follows:
After 3-part Zartan story in Origins, Croc Master “origins” story in issue #18.
Hama returns to Origins for one more story with G.I. Joe: Origins #19 which will be another “silent issue” featuring Snake Eyes.
Then G.I. Joe: Origins 20-23 will focus on Cobra organization.
G.I. Joe: Cobra Special #2, available last week of September, featuring the trial of Erika le Tene.
Chuckles story concludes in G.I. Joe: Cobra #10-13
In the main ongoing G.I. Joe title, critical mass device #23-27, Storm Shadow first appearance in IDW verse.
G.I. Joe: RAH will pick up from Marvel’s run with Cobra presenting itself as a “Blackwater” type organization.
Both G.I. Joe: Renegades and Transformers Prime will have books debuting in October”
So, in all honesty, not a whole lot of juicy new intel was released…but we’ll take what we can get. Thanks to everyone for chipping in links and coverage so we could get this all together. Big thanks to Wild Weasel of The Terror Drome as well, for finally getting some comprehensive details of the panel.
Yeah, I’m having a hard time finding coverage anywhere for it, but I’m working on it… it started at 12:00pm Pacific (3:00pm Eastern) and should be rolling for another 15 or 20 minutes. I’m hoping to dig up some details and will certainly pass them along as I hear them.
IDW Publications has revealed their comic solicitations for October just in time for SDCC, and there are some interesting news nuggets to be had.
First and foremost is the beginning of a G.I. Joe: Renegades comic based on the animated series starting this fall! Excellent. That is probably the thing I’m most looking forward to at SDCC…more info about Renegades.
Also of note is the cover for the October issue of the main G.I. Joe title. Up until now, Storm Shadow has been notable by his unexplained absence throughout the title, but apparently that’s going to change very soon… also, it looks as though G.I. Joe #23 will finally debut Helix in the mainstream G.I. Joe book.
Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to get the rundown on all of the October G.I. Joe solicits.
A big thanks to The Terror Drome for gathering this info so I could get it posted more easily while on the road this morning. (more…)
Okay, I’ll admit it up front. I wasn’t real sure about this when I first heard about it. Granted, I’ve got all sorts of faith in what Larry Hama can do with a pen when he puts his mind to it, but we were neck deep in the midst of IDW’s new continuity, did we really need to dip our toes back into the Marvel continuity well?
Honestly, I didn’t think so.
To avoid spoilers, though, I’ll continue this talk after the “jump”. (more…)
