If folks have been reading Hearts and Minds throughout the first three issues, they pretty much know what to expect at this point.  The fourth issue is more of the same, which is good or bad, based on your perspective.

To avoid unnecessary spoilers, I will continue the review after the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below.

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Talk about polar opposites.  Released alongside the deep and understated G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds #158, this continuation of the classic series from the 90’s makes no assumptions, and continues right along bringing the fight and Larry Hama makes no apologies for that.

The G.I. Joe team continues to be on the run, while Cobra is the government entity leading the charge against them.  Remarkably similar to the G.I. Joe: Renegades animated series plotline (though this comic run certainly doesn’t get the A-Team criticism that the cartoon is getting…interesting, that) and has at least as many bullets flying as dialog, unlike the other issue released this same day.

For spoiler reasons, the rest of the review will be posted after the jump.

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Most of my focus on fall animation beginning in October has been on G.I. Joe: Renegades, for obvious reasons.  However, another terrific looking animated series will be debuting on Disney XD nearly right alongside Renegades, starting around October 22nd.

At the recent Fan Expo in Toronto, Marvel was on hand and premiered two episodes from the animated series as well as revealing some interesting information via the Marvel.com Live Blog.  Among announcements is the fact that on September 22nd, Marvel.com will start broadcasting five minute mini-webisodes with a focus on individual heroes and villains appearing in the upcoming series.

As I’ve said numerous times on these pages, I’m a Marvel comics junkie (though I haven’t even touched a comic in nearly 10 years).  I love the characters and the history of the Marvel U, but honestly don’t have the money, the time nor the inclination to keep up to date on the morass of the 21st Century comic world.  And this is exactly why I love the Marvel films and cartoons so much…I can keep up with these great characters without having to try and backtrack 3 years to figure out how they got where they are now.

There was a time when I was a devout comics fan and scoffed at the cartoon versions because they simply didn’t match up from a maturity level or depth level, but it seems like that’s changed.  These days I prefer the simplicity of the animated universe, and the characters seem much more like the iconic versions that I remember, and not like the new “angsty” renditions that have crept into the limelight in recent years.  So, I’m really looking forward to Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.  It looks like a hell of a lot of fun, and like a Justice League International for the Marvel Universe, which is right up my alley.  I’ll be honest, I know very little about the Avengers universe itself.  While I love the characters of Iron Man, Captain America, Hawkeye, etc…  I’ve never been a huge fan of the whole Avengers team.  This cartoon could certainly change that perpsective.

This cool ass new trailer doesn’t hurt at all either:

The Red Shadows are back and more dangerous than ever! To secure an alliance with Cobra, the Black Major must demonstrate the power of his mind-altering chemical weapons to Cobra Commander and Flint is the perfect guinea pig. Now a handful of G.I.Joe and Action Force agents must stop the Red Shadows and save Flint before he goes irrevocably insane. With amazing cover art by famed G.I. Joe artist Tim Seeley.

Tim Seeley provides an amazing cover for this exciting Red Shadows story, based on the 2010 G.I.Joe convention exclusive figure set! Interior art by G.I. Joe artist Sheldon Goh. Featuring exclusive character Dossiers and other bonus content.

Price: $4.95 Pages 32

Walk, Run, Drive to or Call your local comic shop and make sure to ask them to order the GI JOE VS COBRA FALL SPECIAL: VACATION IN THE SHADOWS!

Larry Hama is quite the profilic poster over on his Facebook page, but doesn’t talk about G.I. Joe all that often.  Recently he put up a post about his upcoming work on G.I. Joe: Origins #19 and gave us a few minor little tidbits that I’m sure will whet everyone’s appetite for this upcoming issue:

“I took a stab at another silent Snake-Eyes story, but with
more complex visual storytelling and self-imposed parameters like keeping track
of ammo and ordnance expenditures. “Wrote” it and did
layouts. The amazing Joe Benitez did the finished art. It should be
on the stands in September.”

I’m really looking forward to checking this out.  Joe Benitez does awesome work, and it sounds like Larry was really invested in the story again this time around.  I think we’re in for a nice treat.

IDW has passed along solicitation info for their upcoming slate of G.I. Joe comics, hitting local comic shops in November, 2010.  Along with these solicitations comes the surprise announcement of a strange new “out of continuity” book called G.I. Joe: Future Noir.  This comic is a two issue limited series that looks at an alternate universe of G.I. Joe in a very interesting, anime-influenced style.

I’m sure continuity mavens will be annoyed…  we’ll see how it turns out.

Click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below to check out all of the full details and the cover images.

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IDW artist Tom Feister, best known for his work on the G.I. Joe: Origins covers was recently interviewed by Newsarama, and you can find the interview right here.

The discussion focuses on many things, but he also drops some cool clues about upcoming issues of G.I. Joe: Origins:

“The most recent cover I did for GI Joe Origins was a stretch for me. The storyline takes place in Bangaldesh — it’s about how COBRA recruits new soldiers. My editor, Carlos Guzeman, and I started talking about doing some propaganda type posters for the arc. I really didn’t want to do more of the WWII style images. It’s been done to death, and I wanted to try something new. We started talking about the propoganda art from Communist China. It’s very creepy. Everything is very bright and the people are all very happy. A little too happy. I thought that given what I knew about Bangladesh, and the colors and images I’ve seen it might be a good fit. So I applied the Chinese propoganda art to the cover for Cobra… Am I rambling?”

The conversation also brings the cover image to the aforementioned G.I. Joe: Origins issue, which is a very cool looking image.

Check out the full interview at Newsarama.com, and a big thanks to Jeff Bohn for the info.

Or, to fuel your fanboy rage, whichever you prefer.  Honestly the amount of venom, hatred, and downright hostility towards a cartoon that nobody HAS EVEN SEEN YET is amazing to me.  Sure, you can have your opinions about the look, that’s fair game.  But I’m seeing people blindly proclaim that the whole cartoon “sucks” that it’s not “going to last a season” and that it’s going to drive the G.I. Joe brand into a downward spiral.

I mean, come on.  Don’t we all agree that the line art, while rough, looks like nothing compared to the actual animation.  You know, the actual animation that’s going to be shown every time Renegades airs?

Yes, the detail is simplified.  Just as every single animated series has been since Batman in the early 90’s.  Yes, the proportions are exaggerated.  Just like every single animated series has been since Batman in the early 90’s.

How about we give the cartoon a shot, huh?  I heard a lot of Star Wars fans bitching about Clone Wars before it aired.  How many of them are bitching now?  I heard legions of Transfans groaning when promotional images were shown of Transformers: Animated, and it’s now a highly regarded part of Tranformers animated lore.  How about we at least WATCH the thing, and then judge it.  Is that too much to ask?

Just to add more fuel to the fire, here are some more images, which I’m excited about, but apparently I’m in the minority.  These were uncovered by Steevy Maximus over at HissTank.com, who found them within Hubworld.com in the advertising section, and the sneak peeks.  Personally, I can’t wait for October 10th.  And I have a feeling folks who at least give the series a shot will find a lot to enjoy if they can get over rough image designs and follow the animation.  Speaking of the animation, HubWorld.com also has a short video of their upcoming features, Renegades among them.  No new animation, but better quality than what we saw at San Diego ComicCon.  You can check it out at Hubworld’s Main Page.

[View with PicLens]

 

The countdown continues…  as the Hub’s Twitter Page has stated, only 59 days to go until the big debut of The Hub, and already the online home of the new Hasbro and Discovery co-owned channel is putting up some images and details of the upcoming animated series.

Of course, you can find the entry for G.I. Joe: Renegades right here.  Details are below:

“Branded as renegades for crimes they did not commit, a heroic group of young G.I.s is forced to “turn fugitive” as they battle to clear their names, and expose the evil that is Cobra Industries — a seemingly benevolent mega-corporation covertly controlled by a rogues gallery intent on creating a New World Order.”

[View with PicLens]

 

A big thanks to SNAKE EYES from HissTank.com for digging up the intel.

Yeah, I’m a little fired up over here.  Can’t wait for G.I. Joe to hit the animated circuit again, and by all accounts, everyone involved has an accomplished resume in the field.  I think the folks who are excited are going to be even more excited, and even some of the folks not so excited are gonna start getting turned around.  Good stuff coming.

With huge thanks to kennywr22 of HissTank.com for digging up some intel on the artists behind G.I. Joe Renegades.  He has tracked down Clement Sauve, who is apparently, according to his portfolio, one of the designers involved with the upcoming animated series.

While the name might not sound familiar, Mr. Sauve has been involved with the G.I. Joe property before.  Anyone who owns the Dreadnoks: Declassified trade paperback, his art is on the cover:

His DeviantArt page is also littered with very cool drawings and designs, though none of them are directly tied into G.I. Joe: Renegades.  I’ve mirrored some of the art that’s more military in nature below, though don’t necessarily expect this to be the “Renegades” style.  Very cool stuff, I know I’ll be watching this page closely.

[View with PicLens]