I was continuously impressed throughout the run of Cobra Command that Mike Costa was able to not only retain his own unique flavor of story telling throughout parts of this long-running story, but that he was also able to still mesh with what Chuck Dixon was doing in his titles as well.  The result was a very seamless 9-part storyline that told a great tale and flowed effortlessly from one part to another…yet all at once, Costa also retained that slight edge that makes the Cobra title so great.

Well now that Cobra Command proper is in the rear view mirror, Mike Costa jumps right back into the Cobra title with both feet, and instantly thrusts us back into the aesthetic that we’ve grown to love with the title, and he absolutely nails it, delivering one of the best issues of a comic that I’ve read so far this year.  Any fans of the Cobra series in its infancy will love this issue, and I think G.I. Joe fans in general should dig it as well.

Read the rest of the interview after the jump.

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As has become par for the course (unfortunately) I’m running about a week behind on my IDW comic reviews, but I’m hoping to fix that this week.  We shall see.

Last week saw the release of G.I. Joe #12, technically the first follow up issue after the events of Cobra Command.  I’ll admit, the cover kind of confused me a bit, because I couldn’t really think of any concrete event within the confines of Cobra Command that would have warranted the events that transpired here, but as the issue goes on, it does become more clear and more obvious what is actually happening in the aftermath of the events in Nanzhao.

To read the full review click the Read the Rest of the Story link below.

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Once again running about a week behind, but I just can’t help it with all of the IDW awesomeness that comic stores are getting hit with on a weekly basis!  To this point I believe I have reviewed every installment of the Cobra Command series, and here is a helpful little rundown of all of those reviews:

• G.I. Joe #9 – Cobra Command Part 1
• Snake Eyes #9 – Cobra Command Part 2
• Cobra #9 – Cobra Command Part 3
• G.I. Joe #10 – Cobra Command Part 4
• Snake Eyes #10 – Cobra Command Part 5
• Cobra #10 – Cobra Command Part 6
• G.I. Joe #11 – Cobra Command Part 7
• Snake Eyes #11 – Cobra Command Part 8
• Cobra #11 – Cobra Command Part 9

I’ll be honest, it’s been a great ride, but obviously every story arc is only as good as the last memory of it.  So how does Cobra Command shake out?  Click the Read the Rest of the Story link below for the details.

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As Cobra Command has surged along at a high rate of speed, I’m struggling a little bit to keep up, but trying my best!  Cobra #11 was released today featuring the conclusion to Cobra Command, but I figured I can’t very well tackle a review of that one until I get last week’s installment off the table.

I’ve found myself surprisingly happy with the unfolding events in Nanzhao, even as some things that I’m normally not a huge fan of transpire around it.  I was a bit discouraged to see the super human B.A.T.s become such a major component, though they were pretty quickly wiped off the map with the detonation of the nuclear device.

Speaking of which… click the read the rest of the story link for the full review.

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Call me an addict if you want, but dammit I need my G.I. Joe: Retaliation fix!!  It seemed for a while there like we were getting some stuff from G.I. Joe: Retaliation on a weekly basis, but it’s dropped off somewhat (beyond the press photos).  My hunger for Retaliation news pretty much forced me to jump on and immediately consume issue #3 of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation movie prequel by John Warden, Salvadore Navarro, and Atilio Rojo…I’m really glad I did.

No mere movie adaptation here, Barber has elected to travel backwards in time a little bit and tell us some real origins of some of the Retaliation crew.  Click the read the rest of the story link below for the full review.

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Yes, I know I’m a bit behind the 8 ball on this one, time has been tight…  but I figured I couldn’t very well review Snake Eyes #11, covering Cobra Command Part 8 unless I covered Cobra Command Part 7 first!

That’s how much I’m enjoying this storyline…trying to make every effort to review every part of it.

Go ahead and click the Read the Rest of the Story link below to check out the full review.

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I was pretty vocal last year about the first go-round with Infestation…I really wasn’t sure how IDW would make it work.  Sure, infusing Zombies from an alternate universe into their more supernatural tales could potentially work, but how would you do that with G.I. Joe?

Turns out they did it pretty darn well, and I was very surprised at how much I enjoyed the issue.  Now, by this point, Zombies are practically an embraced part of G.I. Joe lore, with the Zombie-Vipers being one of the more popular figures in recent 30th Anniversary assortments, so it would seem they could even tie in more easily than they did previously.  IDW continues to branch out in their Infestation stories, though, and this time around seems to go even further over the deep end, jumping head first into Lovecraft and Cthulu territory.

Now, they managed to integrate Zombies pretty well last year…but demons?  Supernatural entities out of fantasy movies and nightmares?  How is that even possible in the G.I. Joe world?

Click the Read the Rest of this Entry link below…you just might be surprised.

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I’ve heard word that many comic shops didn’t get these issues in this week, so if that’s the case, you may want to turn away, lest have some spoilers heaped upon you.  Larry Hama has been exploring this somewhat strange “Blue Ninja” storyline for a while now, and yes, it continues here…but something strange happened.  It’s kind of grown on me.

Kind of.

To check out the full review click the Read the Rest of the Story link below.

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The idea of a “Yearbook” or “Annual” seems like almost a thing of the past, especially in the G.I. Joe world, and I was excited to hear that IDW was reviving the concept for the Real American Hero title.  Many of those old school yearbooks were some of the coolest stories going on in the Marvel days.

IDW really dives head long into the whole vintage concept here as well, as they comb the historical archives and pull out some really great art talents to bring this story to life.

The end results?  Well, you’re just going to have to click the Read the Rest of this Story link below for the full details.

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I’m dying to be immersed into the G.I. Joe: Retaliation universe, so I’m psyched that IDW is releasing these issues every couple of weeks.  The first issue left me a bit…I don’t know.  Cold?  It was fine, but I wasn’t wild about the whole “several years ago” angle, and the red ninja attack seemed frenetic and unfocused.

Well, my opinion has changed a bit with this second issue, and things are starting to come together quite nicely.  The continued cameos by Rise of Cobra era characters and equipment ties both film universes together nicely and is a great Easter egg to us fans.  A pretty solid second installment which has made me look forward to seeing more.  To read the full review click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below.

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