Since yesterday the G.I. Joe fandom has been buzzing about the rumor that IDW is “streamlining” their G.I. Joe comic releases, and one Twitter use ComixAce even mentioned the fact that they would be trimming down to a single title.

Obviously lots of concern was immediately voiced, specifically about G.I. Joe: Cobra, which many fans consider the best of the current running comics, to say nothing about its ties to G.I. Joe.  Cobra writer Mike Costa has evidently heard the concern, and voiced some reassurances via his Twitter page:

“Everyone’s concern has really been a huge compliment to me, but I want to assuage your fears: I am not leaving the Joe franchise”

What does this mean in the grand scheme of things?  Seems pretty unlikely that the Cobra title would remain the only G.I. Joe themed comic that IDW does, so my first guess is that this issue has been somewhat overblown.

While there is no doubt that some streamlining is likely taking place, my guess is that it’s not as serious as some folks are making it out to be.  Time will tell, and hopefully we’ll get some sort of formal announcement at C2E2.

UPDATE – Thanks to Troynos from the ComixVerse who reached out to John Barber and got even better clarification about IDW’s statements.  Check them out here, and also quoted below.

“I think Dirk (Wood, IDW’s VP Of Marketing) was actually talking in vaguer terms than any concrete plan; the basic gist is that we’re aware that (in general terms) there are a lot of groups of titles from a lot of publishers where there are a LOT of titles (like Avengers or X-Men or whatever). We’re aware of overburdening the market with a lot of anything–Joe, Turtles, X-Men, anything, no matter how popular–can have an overall negative effect on sales. Plus, I’ve got to admit that the GI JOE trade paperback numbering and the several-times renumbering of series like Cobra over the years is pretty confusing… and we’re trying to not be confusing going forward. What exactly that means, we’re not sure (other than I don’t want to have a GI JOE: COBRA: COBRA CIVIL WAR: VOL 2 and a GI JOE: COBRA CIVIL WAR: VOL 2 book and have them be different books…). But it’s not really any paring back on anything. It was more about assuring retailers we’re not going to flood the market with confusing material. We had a month or two with the movie-tie-in series plus some specials where there was a TON of Joe comics out the same month; we’ll try to spread the wealth more over a longer period of time.

So there’s still going to be plenty of GI Joe; D&D has never had more than one ongoing and a limited series; Magic’s never been more than one series at a time.”

Big props to Troy for reaching out and getting clarification.  Glad to hear this was misinterpreted.

While folks are probably used to seeing Mr. Hama at various conventions around the country in recent years, I don’t hear many tales of him doing signings at comic book stores.  Well, consider that changed!

Hub Comics out of Somerville, MA is featuring the godfather of G.I. Joe as a special guest, and you can find out all of the details right here.  He will be appearing Saturday, April 7th from 11am to 4pm.

Now something that folks might not know is that the owner of Hub Comics is a long time G.I. Joe fan and historian, Tim Finn, who is currently working on an extensive coffee table book documenting the Real American Hero.  He has posted updates to this terrific project on his WordPress site A Real American Book.  So obviously Mr. Timm and Hub Comics are big friends of the G.I. Joe brand and anyone in the Boston area should hit it up and show their support!

Check out Hub Comics’ website right here!

I ran a bit behind last week getting the IDW reviews posted, but I don’t intend to make that mistake this week, especially as Cobra Command continues on and we finally get at least a little bit of interaction between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.

I’m the last person to complain about a lack of ninja conflict within the G.I. Joe universe, but IDW has really been dragging out the whole Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow dynamic.  Apparently they’re moving closer to a resolution here as Snake Eyes wades neck deep into Red Ninja territory.

Click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below for the full review!

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Pretty much since day one, IDW’s Cobra title has been very unique among the other G.I. Joe titles.  It had a very distinct writing style and an even more unique art style, which immediately brought it out of the “high octane” action world and into a crime noir episodic world.

So what was going to happen when IDW brought Cobra into the more mainstream style?  Well, it loses some of its unique charm, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad issue.  Click the Read the Rest of this Entry link below for the details.

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I find myself looking forward to the Real American Hero title every month, but this week…wow.  Seems like we got some IDW G.I. Joe overload.  I really found myself loving the issues dealing with the modern style of IDW G.I. Joe comics this week, so suddenly being thrust back into the old school Marvel Universe was a bit jarring, but still a lot of fun.

We get a lot more tank action, some more convoluted military stylings, and a whole lotta Larry Hama goodness.

Click the Read the Rest of this Entry link below for the full review.

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I had to smile when I saw the cover to this issue, featuring a jungle camouflaged version of the Cobra Deviant Mech barreling through the jungle, facing off against Snake Eyes.  I can’t really explain it, but for some reason when I see my toys in movies, cartoons, or comic books, I absolutely love it, and I really dig seeing the Cobra mech’s being used in the IDW universe.

Part of me does wish they stuck with the original paint scheme, but that red and black would have stood out quite a bit in the jungle foilage.

To see the full review, click the Read the Rest of this Story link below.

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Many of us really saw it coming throughout the Cobra Civil War that Krake was destined to be the new Cobra Commander, but I still thought it was a very fun ride getting to the end result. But I think most folks were complaining a bit that we didn’t really know Krake’s history and what makes him tick.

No longer. The entirety of the 2012 G.I. Joe: Cobra annual is devoted to the backstory of Cobra agent Krake and how he becomes who he is. I was approaching the issue with some hesitation, just because I wasn’t entirely sure how much I cared. Turns out I did care.

Click the read the rest of the story link below for the full review.

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Over on his Ryalltime blog, IDW Editor Chris Ryall has taken three separate covers from Kelsey Shannon, which are on G.I. Joe #11, Snake Eyes #11, and Cobra #11, and combined them into one large image.

It is… stunning.  Seriously.  This is one heck of an awesome piece of artwork.  I love the new Cobra Commander design, I love the face off between the Joes and the Cobra’s.  This is just fantastic.

Check out Chris Ryall’s blog, and take a peek at the mirrored image below.  Try not to drool.

Feels like it’s been forever, but the guys behind the G.I. Joe Review Podcast have been plenty busy with their real lives…but they have found some time to record the 43rd episode in their landmark G.I. Joe podcast, a direct inspiration for What’s on Joe Mind.

Check out all the pertinent details below:

(45:08) The guys review Issue 59.

You can direct download Episode 043 at: http://traffic.libsyn.com/gijoereview/GIJoeReview043.mp3

We’re on iTunes. Our direct link is: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=259720874 If you are non-iTunes, our rss feed is: http://gijoereview.libsyn.com/rss

Our email address is: GIJoeReview@gmail.com

You will be able to find our archives at: http://gijoereview.libsyn.com/

Discuss this episode at http://gijoereview.army4one.com

If you like the show:

(1) Leave us a positive review on iTunes.

(2) Vote and leave some comments for us on PodCast Alley at: http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=49736

Enjoy!

The awesome guys at the GIJoe Review Podcast have notified me that their latest edition is now online.

(36:23) The guys review Issue 58.

You can direct download Episode 040 at: http://media.libsyn.com/media/gijoereview/GIJoeReview042.mp3

We’re on iTunes. Our direct link is: http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=259720874 If you are non-iTunes, our rss feed is: http://gijoereview.libsyn.com/rss

Our email address is: GIJoeReview@gmail.com

You will be able to find our archives at: http://gijoereview.libsyn.com/

Discuss this episode at http://gijoereview.army4one.com

If you like the show:

(1) Leave us a positive review on iTunes.

(2) Vote and leave some comments for us on PodCast Alley at: http://www.podcastalley.com/podcast_details.php?pod_id=49736