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.
Today is the official release day for G.I. Joe: Cobra II, Issue #3 (which becomes an ongoing series with Issue #5!), but already some sites are out there reviewing the latest installment, and early word on the street is damn good as expected. Check out the reviews below, and once I get my hands on it (hopefully today or tomorrow) I’ll post some of my own thoughts as well.
Be warned, these reviews most likely contain spoilers!
As I’ve said a number of times over the past two weeks or so, it took 15 issues, but I’m slowly getting drawn into the IDW G.I. Joe universe in a way I hadn’t been previously, and it looks like I’m not alone. Various sites across the web have already reviewed Issue #16, which hit comic shops yesterday. This issue appears to focus on the Cobra side of things, specifically the Baroness and the progress of the MASS Device. The writing is crisp, moves at a good pace, and we’re finally getting into the thick of things.
Of course, we started this whole MASS Device plotline over a year ago, and we’re just barely getting some payoff, but I suppose better late than never. Check out the following sites to see what they thought of the latest release:
I’ll say this right now, too… Robert Atkins is the shit. Seriously. His artwork really rocks on this title, and it’s only getting better.
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It’s that time of month again, and IDW gives us their full solicitations for June of 2010. It looks like 2010 is going to be a big year for G.I. Joe in the comics world, even without a movie or a full run of action figures to keep hope alive. It did take me a while, but I’m finally becoming at least somewhat invested in the IDW universe. G.I. Joe #15 was a great read, G.I. Joe: Cobra has been fantastic (and is now an ongoing series!), and G.I. Joe: Origins has really been picking up steam as well.
June looks like it’s going to give us Zartan’s introduction to IDW in G.I. Joe: Origins, as well as a new take on Serpentor in G.I. Joe: Cobra. Really looking forward to it, and IDW is doing a great job filling the holes in what could have been a tame year, G.I. Joe wise. Click on the “Read the rest of this entry” link below for the full details, and thanks to The Terror Drome for the announcement.
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I think a lot of the work that the guys over at YoJoe.com do flies under the radar…folks only seem to really notice when something ISN’T posted, not when it is. As someone who has first hand experience just how much work goes into uploading even a single entry in the YoJoe database, I always try to give credit where it is due when I see something cool there (which, honestly, could happen almost every day).
With a minor dry spell in the figure selection these days, antarctica has been focusing a lot of attention on the comics section, and the international section in particular. He recently completed an archive of Indonesia, and also just recently posted some very cool Rise of Cobra comics exclusive to the United Kingdom. Keep in mind, these are stories that have not appeared anywhere else besides overseas.
During retail “dry spells” it’s really important, as a Joe fan, to explore the history of the brand, not only here in America, but internationally as well, and YoJoe makes that a lot easier. As a matter of fact, over the next week or two, I’ll be focusing some attention on overseas items, since retail isn’t really hopping, news is somewhat slow, and the upcoming JoeCon has a decidedly “Global” feel to it.
I think fans could do well to explore some of the cooler, lesser known parts of Joe history and lore…and maybe learn something while we’re at it.