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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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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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.

[View with PicLens]

 

G.I. Joe: Origins #16

Chuck Dixon (w) • Alex Cal (a) • Tom Feister, Cal (c)

The Origin of Zartan, Part 1: Who is Zartan? You may think you know the murderous master of disguise but you don’t know the whole story! A hired killer under the command of the Baroness is dangerously compromised. He’s offered the protection of COBRA and sent on a risky mission that ends with a scene that will have Joe fans talking for years. This one is 100% guaranteed to shock!

*2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

To avoid revealing too many spoilers, I’ve posted the review after the jump.  Click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to check out the review, and be warned, there ARE spoilers within!

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Tomorrow, IDW releases the first issue of their latest G.I. Joe series, Hearts and Minds.  Written by nationally acclaimed author Max Brooks (best selling author of World War Z) and using Howard Chaykin (Major Bludd) and Antonio Fuso (Spirit) on the art duties, IDW promises a more introspective look at the characters deeply rooted in the G.I. Joe mythology.

Brooks eschews action for a more solemn, personal look at Major Bludd and Spirit, really digging into their personalities and character.

In all fairness, I can see some readers getting at least a bit irked at this premise.  In the first issue, we get a lot of text, a lot of detail, and not a whole lot of action to speak of.  But the great thing is, the dialog and plot are so seamless and fun to read the lack of action does not seem glaring at all.

Brooks draws some very interesting perspective on Spirit especially, likening his heightened senses to a genetic disorder (sensory integration dysfunction) which gives him extremely sensitive senses and makes him a perfect tracker.  It’s amazing, with only about twelve pages to tell a story, Brooks weaves a fascinating history of G.I. Joe’s infamous Native American character.

With a few neat twists and turns, even in a non-action packed story, Max Brooks has told an in depth and amazing tale with a very small canvas to work with.  It makes me very excited to see what else Mr. Brooks has planned for us.

I know I haven’t been posting many reviews lately for the IDW titles, even though I’ve been enjoying them much more than I had recently.  I figured I should change that for G.I. Joe #18.  Written by Chuck Dixon with art by SL Gallant, the main G.I. Joe title started off quite slowly, and has taken a while to build…but it has been building.

There are spoilers in this review, so click the “Read the rest of this entry” link below to check it out.

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EDIT – I’ve been informed by IDW that there was a slight shipping error, and the book will actually hit local comic shops on September 30th, NOT the 23rd.

The G.I. Joe: COBRA Special is officially released tomorrow September 30th, but GeneralsJoes has the exclusive advanced copy review for you right here!  Check it out in all of its minor spoilery goodness at the “Read the rest of this entry” link below.

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G.I. Joe (Chuck Dixon & Robert Atkins)

• Issue #1
• Issue #2
• Issue #3

G.I. Joe Origins (Larry Hama, Tom Feister & Mike Hawthorne)

• Issue #1

G.I. Joe Movie Prequel (Chuck Dixon, S L Gallant)

• Issue #1 (Duke)