by generalsjoes | Nov 10, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comic Reviews, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Reviews, IDW
During New York ComicCon it was revealed that the G.I. Joe: Origins title was going to be fading away, and to be honest, I wasn’t extremely bothered by the news. Sure, it’s one less G.I. Joe title on the shelves, but beyond snippets into the backgrounds of various characters, what were we really missing?
Well, then I remembered Issues #16 – 18…the Zartan origin. That was good stuff. Very good stuff. Probably the best three issue run during the Origins series, which is pretty ironic, considering it was written by Chuck Dixon, who has been infamous for his up and down roller coaster through the main G.I. Joe title.
Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed the Hama stuff at the beginning, but I’m ready to start moving on. I’m ready to start evolving the story, and not continuing to mull about in the past. Origins going away was no big shakes. What was more important to me was how was it going to leave?
Well, turns out, as one of the last stories to run within G.I. Joe: Origins, the mysterious tale of Michael Monk might just end the series on a very high note.
To avoid spoilers, click the “Read the rest of the story” link below for the full review.
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by generalsjoes | Oct 4, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comic Reviews, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Reviews, IDW
Even after reading just the first issue of G.I. Joe: Cobra way back when, I knew we were in for something special. A very gritty take on the G.I. Joe universe, it presented heroes and villains with the lines of their morality completely blurred and had Chuckles going way into the dark in order to get the job done.
When it was announced that G.I. Joe: Cobra would be an ongoing series starting this year, I will admit, I was a bit conflicted. Would the series really be able to keep its legs as a monthly title? How could the universe retain its darkness and complexity of personalities going month-to-month? Well, to answer those questions…no, it can’t quite maintain the same level of darkness, but that doesn’t mean it gets any worse. To read the full review hit the jump below. Spoilers abound.
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by generalsjoes | Oct 2, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comic Reviews, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Reviews, IDW
When this issue was first released, my local comic shop was sold out, so I went without…but during this week’s visit to a different store, they had one kicking around in their new release section, so I scooped it up. When I first grabbed it, I actually didn’t plan on reviewing it because, let’s face it…do folks really want to read a review that’s 2 months out of date?
Well, then I read it…and I felt compelled to talk about it. It also helps that I wasn’t able to find issue #5 of Hearts & Minds, which was supposed to be released this week, so at least I now have some Max Brooks greatness to talk about. Read the review after the jump.
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by generalsjoes | Jul 20, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Comic Reviews, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Reviews, GeneralsJoes Review A Rama, IDW
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”.
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by generalsjoes | Jul 14, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comic Reviews, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Reviews, GeneralsJoes Review A Rama, IDW
Now we’re getting somewhere. As the G.I. Joe titles have somewhat plodded along over the past 18 months, fans were wondering just where we were headed. Chuck Dixon seemed to be having a tough time getting his feet under him and figuring out a concrete direction or what the end goal of this whole adventure is.
But over the past few months, things have kind of started falling into place. Over in the main book things really picked up steam as Cobra became a more focal part of the G.I. Joe universe. The whole conspiracy theory concept with Dataframe and Snake Eyes got the ball rolling, and now G.I. Joe is making an active push towards uncovering the Cobra mystery. Characters are starting to come into focus and the layers are at least starting to be pulled back somewhat.
Meanwhile, in the G.I. Joe: Origins book, we’re getting some neat looks into the past of various members of G.I. Joe and Cobra…and with Issues #16 – 18 I think IDW had their work cut out for them. Zartan is both an icon and a mystery when it comes to his backstory. Is he superhuman? Is it all technology? A genetic disorder, or a mixture of all of the above? Which angle would IDW take and how would they explore his abilities and talents?
The answer? They’ve woven an interesting, captivating, and awesome backstory for the Cobra Master of Disguise that I have already fallen in love with. In Issue #16, they gave us Zartan’s background as an emotionless mercenary who wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. They tied Zartan into Cobra, and then, right as things were getting going, he was disintegrated. Or was he?
Issue #17 picks up right where last issue left off…and to avoid any spoilers, I’ll continue the review after the jump.
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by generalsjoes | Jun 15, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comic Reviews, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Reviews, IDW
Warning – There are Spoilers abound in this review! If you don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading.
As I sit down and read through this issue, it suddenly occurs to me. We are well over a year into G.I. Joe’s run through the IDW universe, and we haven’t even seen Storm Shadow yet. How is that possible? Or did I just miss it somewhere along the way?
I don’t have a clue why I suddenly thought of that as I was reading the issue…perhaps it was seeing Snake Eyes meditating in the darkness as Scarlett welcomed him back to The Pit in a sort of awkward non-conversation. I don’t know whether I should commend Chuck Dixon for holding off that long, or if I should ask “what the #@$ are you waiting for?” Granted, there really hasn’t been a place for Storm Shadow to fit in yet, but part of me does hope they don’t just reserve the “Origins” book to show all of the…you know… origins. I mean, something like that has to happen in the main title, right?
G.I. Joe’s flagship book continues to move at a decent pace, though I’ve grown a bit weary already of the “Destro in the gulag” storyline. It at least takes a step in the right direction this time around, and it was cool to see him have some direct (sort of) interaction with Cobra Commander. I find myself really digging Cobra Commander’s “look” in this universe, and part of me hopes maybe this is a new evolution of the character. As comfortable as we all are in his typical battle helmet or hood, this fanged faceplate is growing on me. It would be neat to see this look in Renegades as well.
We get a small taste of Destro’s ancestry in this issue, too, which follows pretty typical norms as his Scottish ancestor uses grenades to scatter a French invasion force just prior to the events of Waterloo. Gallant’s art continues to have a great flow and feel in this issue, and he draws landscape scenes and action with similar energy. I find myself consistently reminded of Mark Bagley, and I enjoy that style of art, so I have no issues with that whatsoever.
The issue wraps up with a possible cameo of Cobra Island, as the Joes look to pay a little visit to this mysterious piece of green forest in the middle of the ocean.
As I said, the pace continues pretty steadily this month, and things actually continue to happen. Action was mostly concentrated in the gulag, but it looks like that could potentially change next month as the Joes crawl into enemy territory. It does continue to surprise me that we have a glaring lack of certain core characters, but there’s always something to look forward to. One just hopes they don’t wait a little bit too long.
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