Every day that a new Real American Hero issue is released is a day that I’m one happy G.I. Joe fan.  Check out the full review after the jump.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #190

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciller: SL Gallant
Inkers: Gary Erskine and Tom Simmons
Colorist: J. Brown
Letters: Shawn Lee
Editor: Carlos Guzman

This issue kicks off a new story arc, that frankly I thought would suffer for not matching the intensity and awesomeness of the Red Shadows arc over the past pair of issues.  What I quickly learned, though, is that while this is a very different story than that one, it has the same intrigue and suspense, and features a typical Larry Hama writing a South American jungle adventure at its very best.

The story features Lady Jaye working under cover with a local tribe trying to make them more self-sufficient, and to help throw the local power structure out of whack.  The purpose of this seems to be to flush out a local dictator, but the Joes get more than they bargained for when Major Bludd appears to be working alongside this dictator.

With an entire issue revolving around only a handful of Joes (Chuckles, Low Light, Jinx, and Lady Jaye), I’m amazed at how well Larry writes these characters and injects them into these situations flawlessly.  I wouldn’t have thought to use Jinx on a jungle operation like this, yet her purposes seems immediately clear and she works within the team dynamic quite well.  The presence of Chuckles as a pseudo government liason and Low Light as…well…  an assassin, the story is a surprisingly frank and up front look at what the G.I. Joe team is sometimes called upon to do.  Lady Jaye is shortly revealed by Major Bludd, who recognizes her, and the mission quickly goes south.  Low Light and Chuckles face numerous frustrations as General Hawk is not able to get clearance from Washington for them to take the shot.

The issue ends as the dictator takes revenge on the local tribe for attempting to become more self-sufficient in a shockingly brutal attack on the entire village, which seems to eliminate nearly every man, woman and child within, while at the same time taking Lady Jaye hostage.  As one might expect, this attack does not sit well with the small G.I. Joe squad in the area, and Chuckles determines that the Generalissimo just signed his own death warrant, with or without Washington permission.

It is difficult to pinpoint exactly why this issue (and this title for that matter) resonates with me so much.  Larry Hama certainly has had moments throughout his runs on various G.I. Joe titles where he has missed a few beats, but for whatever reason, his work here just seems like the most natural fit ever.  The character selection is perfect, the dialogue is great, and the setting is fantastic as well.  I was surprised at the venturing into political unrest and I’m always fascinated by how Hama can continue to find interesting standalone stories to tell with these characters after 30 years.

Gallant’s art continues to be excellent as well, with just the right balance of realism and exaggerated action.  The characters have their own unique charm, but still feel just like their old school versions.  Hama is perfectly able to tell a fun, light hearted story, while diving deep into malice and vengeance by the last page and the result is a captivating and excellent story told through terrific writing and amazingly great artwork.  Another excellent installment.

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Along with outlining some facts about the character, they also revealed a snippet of his card art, which you can see below:

In my excitement, I was able to speak with former IDW G.I. Joe artist Robert Atkins, and he informs me that he is actually providing some artwork for this exciting mobile game!  That makes me extremely happy, being a huge fan of Robert Atkins’ work and knowing what a diehard G.I. Joe fan he is, I’m absolutely thrilled that he’ll be doing some artwork for this game.

Hopefully he’ll be allowed to reveal some of his work either here on GeneralsJoes or over on his excellent blog, RobertAtkinsArt.

Speaking of Atkins, he actually posted a fantastic blog outlining a commission piece he did for my friend and fellow podcast host Gary Godsoe.  Check that out right here, and just imagine a trading card themed mobile game with artwork like that.  Awesome.

It is for this reason that I continue to be astounded at how much I love Mike Costa’s Cobra (and now the Cobra Files) series.  It’s pretty much the polar opposite of a traditional G.I. Joe book, diving deep into the murky under belly of the current military machine, yet every month I find myself totally captivated by the stories told here.  Even more amazing to me is the fact that Costa uses characters that there are no toys for (Ronin, the IDW Firewall, and to a point, Chameleon) and yet I still love it.  Normally no toys for the characters in the book I’m reading is usually a knock against it.  Not this time, though.

Click the Read the Rest of the Story link below for my full review.

G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #2

Writer: Mike Costa
Penciller: Antonio Fuso
Inker: Emilio Lecce
Colorist: Arianna Florian
Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Consulting Editor: John Barber
Editor: Carlos Guzman

This issue manages to balance intrigue and scene-setting with action in quite an interesting way, much like many of Costa’s previous issues of the series.  While Ronin, Chameleon, Lady Jaye, and Firewall interrogate William Kessler-Latta in the bowels of their headquarters, the mysterious Night Creepers have broken into a secure facility and made off with some “exotic materials”.

As one might expect, these Night Creepers are considerably different from what we’re used to, at least in appearance.  Flint describes them as a “Tiger Team” a group of third party contractors who are hired to test security systems and attempt to infiltrate installations to do so.  The Night Creepers have used their positions as a Tiger Team to then really infiltrate these places and steal important documents, or even weapons systems.

William Kessler-Latta reveals the existence of these men to the G.I. Joe team during interrogation, and now both the G.I. Joe black operations team and the Night Creepers appear to be on a collision course.

I think I love this series not necessarily because it’s a G.I. Joe one, but actually in spite of it.  There are really only peripheral G.I. Joe trademarks throughout the series, but the little tidbits that Costa throws in just matches his aesthetic perfectly.  The Night Creepers as a “Tiger Team” is a brilliant concept, and I truly enjoyed Fuso’s representation of the team, using sleek armored designs and loose fitting cloth masks to disguise their identities.  The Night Creepers here use firearms a bit more freely than we’ve seen them use throughout the Marvel continuity, but it works for the story fine, and doesn’t do anything to breach the integrity of the Night Creeper concept (if such a thing even exists).

One of the most interesting pieces of this Cobra Files puzzle, though, involves the triangle between Flint, Chameleon, and Clockspring and the way Tomax is almost effortlessly using them all against each other.  I’m not big on injecting a love story into a G.I. Joe book, but again, the way Costa approaches it is real-life enough and mature enough to make it work almost seamlessly.  You can see trouble coming a mile away, and you can almost feel Tomax relishing in the ability to force G.I. Joe team members against each other.

Fuso’s art is pretty great throughout this issue as well.  Very moody, but also with a great sense of motion and impact.  I haven’t been shy about comments with Fuso’s ability to draw action, which is something that I don’t think is one of his strong points, yet the Night Creeper infiltration works remarkably well here.  And any short comings he might have in the pacing and flow of action are more than made up for with the dark scenes of human interaction in the G.I. Joe base of operations.  Great stuff.

Cobra Files is picking up right where Cobra left off, and continues to build on a great universe.  It is fascinating that a book that contrasts so much with the standard G.I. Joe elements that I love so much still manages to be terrific and to capture my attention.  I hope Costa and Fuso keep this going for a very long time.

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DeNA is a mobile game developer that has been working with Hasbro already on a really fun mobile game Transformers: Legends (that I’ve been playing pretty steadily for the past month or so) and has now announced that they are extending their agreement to include Dungeons and Dragons as well as G.I. Joe!  The game will  be called G.I. JOE: BATTLEGROUND players will assemble a team of G.I. Joe or Cobra units to battle against each other.

Transformers: Legends is actually a mobile card-based battle game, and it certainly looks as if that’s the framework G.I. Joe will take as well.  I’m sure initial reaction to a card battle game might be mixed, but speaking as someone who has become nearly obsessed with Transformers: Legends, I think Joe fans will love this.  Check out some excellent images passed along by DeNA Public Relations, and please click the “Read the Rest of the Story” link below to see the full press release.  Also announced is that if you pre-register at their site GIJoeBattleGround.com you will get a free in-game “Storm Shadow” character.  DO IT.

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DeNA Extends Agreement with Hasbro to Develop G.I. JOE: BATTLEGROUND and

Dungeons & Dragons Arena of War

SAN FRANCISCO – May 23, 2013 – Following the successful initiative with Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) on the release of TRANSFORMERS: LEGENDS, DeNA Co., Ltd. (Tokyo: 2432) announced today it is collaborating with Hasbro on two new free-to-play mobile games tied to the company’s popular intellectual properties G.I. JOE and the Wizards of the Coast LLC. brand Dungeons & Dragons.

In G.I. JOE: BATTLEGROUND players lead and assemble teams of iconic G.I. JOE heroes and COBRA villains to battle against each other. Arena of War puts players in the Forgotten Realms for a battle roleplaying game that combines questing, character leveling, and small team collaboration with the most engaging mobile game mechanics on the market, such as in-game events and massive multiplayer competitions. Both mobile games are being developed and published by DeNA and they will be available on the company’s Mobage™ mobile social games platform later this year for Android, iPhone and iPad devices.

“Dungeons & Dragons and G.I. JOE are legendary IPs that have permeated popular culture,” said Clive Downie, CEO for DeNA West.  “Both properties offer our development teams unique opportunities to create fun, interactive entertainment experiences that we believe will appeal to the franchises’ dedicated fan bases as well as casual mobile game players.”

“DeNA brings an unprecedented amount of experience integrating social elements with immersive mobile gameplay, which is a natural fit for the expansion of the G.I. JOE and Dungeons & Dragons brands on mobile devices,” said Mark Blecher, Senior Vice President of Digital Gaming at Hasbro.

To pre-register for G.I. JOE: BATTLEGROUND and receive a free exclusive in-game STORM SHADOW collectible character to join your team, please enter your email address on the game’s website: http://www.gijoebattleground.com

Upgrade your character with a free Ultra Rare Power when you pre-register for Arena of War. To earn this exclusive offer, and to be alerted via email as soon as the game is available for free download, please visit: http://www.dndarenaofwar.com

About DeNA

DeNA Co., Ltd. is a global leader in mobile Internet services focused on social games and e-commerce. DeNA operates the Mobage platform, which offers freemium mobile social games developed by DeNA and third-party developers on multiple user networks localized for the West, Japan, Greater China and Korea. Founded in 1999, DeNA is headquartered in Tokyo with offices and development studios in 10 countries and regions. DeNA is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (2432). For more information, visit: dena.com

About Mobage

The Mobage social games network and platform hosts over 80 first-party and third-party games that are available on the Apple App Store™ and Google Play™. Mobage features chart-topping apps including Rage of Bahamut, Blood Brothers® and Ninja Royale®, casual games such as Zombie Farm® and Tiny Tower, licensed intellectual properties such as Marvel: War of Heroes, and core games such as HellFire and Warriors of Odin. Mobage also hosts mobile social games in other languages via separate regional networks. Mobage offers developers access to a suite of features to enhance their development environment, including a payment API, production and marketing support and analytics tools. To learn more about Mobage, visit: http://mobage.com. For developers interested in publishing opportunities on Mobage, please visit: https://developer.mobage.com

About Hasbro, Inc.

Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company dedicated to fulfilling the fundamental need for play for children and families through the creative expression of the Company’s world class brand portfolio, including TRANSFORMERS, MONOPOLY, PLAY-DOH, MY LITTLE PONY, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, NERF and LITTLEST PET SHOP.  From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its global customers with innovative play and entertainment experiences, in a variety of forms and formats, anytime and anywhere. The Company’s Hasbro Studios develops and produces television programming for more than 170 markets around the world, and for the U.S. on Hub Network, part of a multi-platform joint venture between Hasbro and Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK). Through the company’s deep commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world for future generations and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. It has been recognized for its efforts by being named one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” and is ranked as one of Corporate Responsibility Magazine’s “100 Best Corporate Citizens.” Learn more at www.hasbro.com.

About Wizards of the Coast

Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ:HAS), is the leader in entertaining the lifestyle gamer. Wizards’ players and fans are members of a global community bound together by their love of both digital gaming and in-person play. The company brings to market a range of gaming experiences under powerful brand names such as MAGIC: THE GATHERING, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and KAIJUDO. Wizards is also a publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times best-sellers. For more information about our world renowned brands, visit the Wizards of the Coast Web site at www.wizards.com.

Mobage is a registered trademark of DeNA Co., Ltd. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. Apple, and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc.  Android and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc. All other marks and names are trademarks of their respective companies.