I really dig G.I. Joe, especially the comics, and I'm hoping there are other fans here, just like me! Thus, I decided to start a thread where we can celebrate Real American Heroes: Welcome to G.I. Joe Comics Appreciation!
I really dig G.I. Joe, especially the comics, and I'm hoping there are other fans here, just like me! Thus, I decided to start a thread where we can celebrate Real American Heroes: Welcome to G.I. Joe Comics Appreciation!
Which one of those characters is G.I.Joe?
I don't see him in that image, but maybe I missed him...
Never read GI Joe. Which is more worth reading; the IDW reboot or their continuation of the Marvel series?
IDW September 2015 G. I. Joe Solicitations:
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #218
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #218 Subscription Variant
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero TP (Vol 12)
Publisher: IDW PUBLISHING
(W) Larry Hama (A/CA) Paolo Villanelli
COBRA RISING! Cobra Commander’s latest operation is about to unleash itself on G.I. Joe…
Publisher: IDW PUBLISHING
(W) Larry Hama (A) Paolo Villanelli (CA) S. L. Gallant
COBRA RISING! Cobra Commander’s latest operation is about to unleash itself on G.I. Joe…
Publisher: IDW PUBLISHING
(W) Larry Hama (A/CA) S. L. Gallant
G.I. JOE faces a force unlike anything they’ve ever encountered before… and the only way to control it is by reviving Serpentor, the Cobra Emperor himself! But bringing him backs sets into motion drastic events that lead to the death of the original Ninja Commando! Collects issues #211-215.
Paolo Villanelli also did Snake Eyes: Agent of COBRA. He's awesome, and it's great that he's gonna be doing ARAH...
Also, picking up Hama's ARAH starting this month. There aren't any other Joe titles, at the moment, and I need my fix. Guess it's time to start buying some back issues...
Nice-lookin' cover, eh? Too bad so many Joe fans seem to be upset with the story. I ordered it and hope I like it better than they do...
Ordered the remaining back issues of Image's G.I. Joe (#21-#43). Plan to marathon the series soon as they arrive...
While I've read most of the series that they've put out, I'm only reading the continuation of the Marvel series these days.
Beth Hart - Fire On The Floor CD Review
Beth Hart February 23rd, 2017 Boston, MA Concert Review
"I can't complain. I got to be Jim Morrison for the first half of my life, and Ward Cleaver for the second half." - Warren Zevon.
All this awesome news today: Warren Ellis on Bond, Codename: Baboushkka, Dragon Age: Magekiller. All I need is a new G.I. Joe title announced, by Brubaker or somebody awesome, and I'd pass out...
Damn, didn't notice there was a thread for this 'til now!
A confession first of all: being both Scottish and a '90s rather than '80s kid, G.I. Joe as a concept passed me by during childhood (the relaunched Action Man 12" figs were my jam). I became dimly aware of the franchise as a teenager but only really started paying attention in the run-up to The Rise of Cobra movie, which I wound up unironically loving. On the way home from the cinema I grabbed my first Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow figures. Now it's 6 years later and I'm in double-digits when it comes to tiny plastic versions of those guys, not to mention the dozens of others I've nabbed. It's unhealthy, and I'm almost thankful the toy line's slowed to a crawl since Retaliation just so my bank account can recover!
As far as comics go, I passed over the ARAH relaunch for quite some time, but I've gotten into it more recently. It started a little iffy, with the by-now-tired trope of Cobra taking the Joes' job in the public eye, but it got better after that, and S.L. Gallant has been exactly the right pick for regular artist - he mirrors the classic character and vehicle designs but adds just enough dirt and weathering to make them look 'real'. And thank goodness most of the classic cast have reverted to their original, iconic looks. No more Mohawk Zartan, please. The stories have been up and down in terms of quality - I wasn't too pleased with the Blue Ninjas as a concept, but their assault on Broca Beach was an excellent couple of issues - but it's balanced out positively. I think Hama's strengths play better with relatively contained stories, like the brilliant 2-parter that introduced the Red Shadows, rather than the bigger picture, wherein he spends ages building up to big moments only to flub them (see #200, where Cobra's takeover of the Pit was somehow already resolved before the issue even started, leaving the big anniversary issue down to just a tank skirmish the good guys win easily). And I actually liked 'The Death of Snake Eyes', even with the preposterous giant mechas. Serpentor's brief return was handled well, Snakes goes out in convincing fashion, and Sean's 'transformation' into his replacement is appropriately gruesome. Also, props to all involved for dedicating all of #215 to just Snakes' funeral.
The main IDW Joe books have been...all over the place. The early Chuck Dixon stuff had some good one-off action issues, and Robert Atkins killed it on art duties, but the big plotlines moved with the pace of frozen treacle and it takes far too long for the Joes to engage Cobra directly. Agent Helix was an unfortunately maddening addition to the team, too. She's one of my favourite figures from the RoC line and her debut one-shot by Brian Reed was pretty nice, but Dixon does this weird thing where he immediately establishes her as an ass-kicker on par with Snake Eyes...then walks back from that to make her just another girl Joe who needs Snakes' help to accomplish basically anything. Blehhhh. And the less said about her and Scarlett having a "You don't touch MY MAN" catfight, the better. And what the hell was the point of 'Deep Terror' anyway?
Fred Van Lente's brief run was a much-needed shot in the arm. He picked an eclectic main team and made them all look like stars, crafted plots that the Joes could thwart while still making Cobra seem far-reaching and intelligent, and cleverly brought in elements of non-ARAH Joe mythologies like Sigma 6 and the Adventure Team, weaving them into the existing universe and making it feel all the richer. Plus, he actually managed to make Duke interesting for all of five minutes, which has never happened before. The Paul Allor issues that followed took the previously-established idea of Cobra Commander as a title rather than a specific man and ran with it, which gave us some delightful mini-stories, then wrapped up with a slightly harrowing look at Cobra's youth indoctrination. That latter point then became the focus of Karen Traviss' shortened run, which...ehhh. I know Traviss is primarily a prose author, and perhaps because of that she didn't quite 'get' comics pacing. With a book - where the whole story is in the one volume - you can afford to dick around with the calm before the storm, since the reader's already bought the whole thing in one go and will be inclined to stick with it. With comics, each 'chapter' is sold separately, and if you can't grab the reader's attention right from chapter 1, they're not gonna pay for the rest. Hence 8 issues instead of 12 and a lot of unanswered questions from a time gap that seems more interesting than the actual story (where the hell did Krake GO?). Plus it was more of a spy book than a soldier book.
The various 'Cobra' books have been reliably great from the start, though, whether they starred Chuckles, Scoop or Chameleon. Glad they eventually let Costa do something more A-list with Snake Eyes AoC. Here's hoping whatever the future holds for the series, he'll still be a part of it.
The X-Books Board is wretched and does not deserve the Domino Appreciation Thread.
Interesting history there, Craig. I'm one of those 80's kids who grew up on G.I. Joe. I haven't heard anything about any new Joe titles, but if/when there are Costa will probably be involved. Follow him on twitter...