USA Today uberfan writer Brian Truitt has posted some cool details and a couple of cover images from the upcoming Issue #155 1/2 of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, coming for Free Comic Book Day on May 1st. As if that weren’t enough, he also spends some time interviewing the immortal Larry Hama, who talks about the return to his familiar stomping ground. Hama reveals some tidbits about the issue (which becomes an ongoing series with #156):
“Issues 155 ½ and on take place mere months after the events of No. 155: G.I. Joe headquarters has been mothballed, and the team’s been dispersed to different places all over the world. The Cobra organization is still alive and slithering, though — Cobra Commander is literally dreaming of rolling H.I.S.S. tanks into Washington, D.C. — and it takes full advantage of having no real American heroes running around.“They have to somehow get back together, and all the Cobras are trying to track them down and do them in,” Hama says. “It’s everybody against the Joes.”
G1 fans should absolutely love this.
I have loved pretty much everything I’ve seen from Transformers: War for Cybertron so far. Everything from the updated designs (which still retain a lot of the great classic elements) to the mid-game transformations, to the cinematics. I even got to see some gameplay at Toy Fair and loved that, too.
But this goes well beyond the level of coolness that even War for Cybertron has achieved so far. Some enterprising YouTuber, Grimbot the 3rd has actually taken the footage from the initial trailer for War from Cybertron and mashed it with sound effects, dialog and music from the Generation 1 cartoon. Yes, it is much, much, MUCH cooler than it sounds. This just rocks!
Someone hurry up and make a G.I. Joe video game worth playing so we can do this with the Sunbow stuff! Check it out embedded below.
I know the last time I talked about the G.I. Joe: Origins 2-parter that introduced the IDW universe’s version of Ripcord, it sparked some debate, mostly because I supported IDW’s decision to try and mesh their universe with the film version of Ripcord, who, for Marvel fans, is a pretty critical character in the G.I. Joe mythos.
However, I still stand by my stance that for a current crop of G.I. Joe fans doesn’t necessarily understand or appreciate Ripcord’s place in history (for better or worse). So to me, it only makes some sense that a movie that earned 300 million dollars internationally at the box office and probably influenced a lot of people has some bearing on the “fringe” continuities. I mean, after all, even G.I. Joe: Resolute featured an African American version of Ripcord, and IDW ties in to all of it.
But what really matters to me here is the story, and this was a great conclusion to the story. Ripcord trapped in the jungle for two weeks, surviving off of bugs and reptiles, still manages to accomplish his mission just in time to be evac’ed by General Hawk and Scarlett, and then gets his introduction to the G.I. Joe team.
But the most important thing here, I think, is the way Beatty is able to write this Ripcord character to kind of cover all bases. There is a hint of the humorous tone that Marlon Wayans carried in the film, but it’s not as overbearing as it was there. This version of Ripcord cracks some jokes, and yes, he even casually hits on Scarlett, but the most important component of the two-part story is Ripcord’s ability as a special ops soldier and his resilience in the jungle. All in all, it was an enjoyable story, and this new Ripcord is able to walk that line between the Rise of Cobra universe, the Resolute universe, and this new IDW storyline. I’ve mirrored some images below, but the panels do pull from all parts of the story, so beware of minor spoilers.
IDW, well known in the comics world for taking full advantage of technology with their iPhone comic apps, has jumped on the iPad train as well, and announces that they will have fully functional apps for reading your favorite IDW comics (including G.I. Joe).
In fact, they’ve also uploaded a video demo of the iPad IDW app in action. Check out the embedded video below.
Comic Book Resources has been onsite for Wondercon 2010, and posted some news on the IDW Panel that happened yesterday. There wasn’t a wealth of G.I. Joe news, but Max Brooks was on hand to talk a little bit about Hearts and Minds, a limited series focusing on some Cobra and Joe characters in the new Joe universe:
“Brooks, the writer of “The Zombie Survival Guide” and “World War Z,” talked about “G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds,” a five-issue miniseries he’s doing with artists Howard Chaykin and Antonio Fuso.
“Basically what I wanted to do was not do a linear story, but take a step back and examine the lives of certain Joe characters and certain Cobra characters,” Brooks said. Each issue will be divided into two stories – one about a Joe and one about a member of Cobra. Characters he’ll focus on include Major Bludd, Doc, Spirit, Blowtorch, Deep Six, Dr. Mindbender and a regular Cobra recruit.
“What would make someone join Cobra?” Brooks said, adding that he wanted to make them real terrorists. “I try to infuse mine with as much reality as Hasbro would let me get away with. And they let me get away with a lot.”
Brooks noted he grew up in the Reagan-era 1980s, a time of “harmless violence.” He said “G.I Joe” was perfect for that.
“There were a lot of lasers, a lot of explosions, but nobody ever died,” brooks said about the “G.I. Joe” cartoon. “A character named Roadblock used to rhyme his words, which they’re not doing anymore, thank God. But you kind of can’t do that anymore. Because America’s different. The times are different. We’re not only at war, but we’re in two separate wars. So you can’t do harmless violence.” Some of the issues he’ll tackle include medical malpractice, human evolution, science vs. religion and child development and sensory integration disorders.”
Sounds like an interesting experiment, and very cool to see a credible writer taking on some G.I. Joe duties. Looking forward to reading it.
So, as many of you might know, I’m a big time Halo fan. The funny thing is, I don’t play the game multiplayer much, and I actually don’t play the game religiously at all. I play each one straight through, and that’s pretty much that. But I absolutely love the Halo universe…I’ve played each game, I’ve read the paperback books, and I really dig the whole Halo/Covenant/Forerunner conflict.
Well, yesterday IGN posted the best April Fool’s Day prank ever. Behold, the trailer for the upcoming Halo live action film! Bask in the glory!
USA Today uberfan writer Brian Truitt has posted some cool details and a couple of cover images from the upcoming Issue #155 1/2 of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, coming for Free Comic Book Day on May 1st. As if that weren’t enough, he also spends some time interviewing the immortal Larry Hama, who talks about the return to his familiar stomping ground. Hama reveals some tidbits about the issue (which becomes an ongoing series with #156):