Comics

G.I. JOE: Special Missions #1

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #1With G.I. JOE going public in IDW’s recent relaunch of the main title, there’s still plenty of quieter jobs for a covert force to do around the globe. Written by Chuck Dixon, G.I. JOE: Special Missions focuses on Scarlett and her team dropped into the middle of the action in southern Libya while around the globe an old enemy is making plans of her own.

Discovering the location of Cobra’s sunken $40 billion treasure (the one Snake Eyes scuttled while working with the Arashikage) Cobra’s former lieutenant has gone into the salvage business. To retrieve the gold she’ll need the help of some capable sailors (the ones she doesn’t cripple in a bar fight), and to stay one step ahead of Serpentor‘s Coil soldiers (who have been dispatched to kill the traitor) as well as Scarlett’s team who heads after the treasure as well after an unorthodox extraction by Wild Bill.

I’m glad to see Dixon getting another G.I. JOE title, although the covert team is sorely missing the most covert JOE of all – Snake Eyes. We’ll have to wait and see if the still presumed dead JOE turns up or if Dixon has any plans for the masked man’s protege Helix in the coming months. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Daredevil #24

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Daredevil #24Although the latest issue of Daredevil gives us the barest glimpse of the villain behind all of Daredevil‘s current troubles, it continues to hide the character’s true identity or the endgame he has in mind for everyone’s favorite blind lawyer vigilante.

Daredevil #24 focuses more on Matt Murdock than his pointy-eared alter-ego (although Daredevil swinging around town does provide one of the funniest moments) as Murdock sits helplessly by the hospital bedside of Foggy Nelson offer what support he can, getting a little help from Hank Pym, and finally having “the talk” with Kristen McDuffie over the current state of their post-break-up relationship (even if he’d rather fight Electro). Much like Matt, I really hope this isn’t the last we see of Miss McDuffie.

The only real action we get is a gift basket sent to Nelson & Murdock by Daredevil’s unseen enemy containing blind hyper-sensitive dogs who nearly destroy the entire office. It’s a fun, though certainly not action-packed, issue which fans of the character should enjoy. Worth a look.

[Marvel, $2.99]

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G.I. JOE #2

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G.I. JOE #2Cobra has sprung it’s trap. The JOE team is divided and Duke has been captured by the Baroness and Dr. Mindbender as Cobra troops and the locals of Warrenton, Ohio, hunt down the wounded JOEs.

Roadblock, Quick Kick, and Tunnel Rat manage to keep the wounded Shipwreck safe from further harm as Cover Girl and a wounded Doc must deal with not only with the individuals hunting them but naivete of Hashtag who gives up their location to the enemy.

The action heats up in this second issue, and Cover Girl gets some nice kick-ass and wise-cracking moments, as the fractured team find themselves in enemy territory in the middle of the United States thanks to Cobra buying the cooperation of the struggling town’s locals.

Cut-off from the outside world, we’ll have to see how long the JOEs can keep fighting and how long Duke can hold out before succumming to Dr. Mindbender’s mind control. Once that happens, he’ll agree to do whatever the Baroness commands. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #18

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Red Hood and the Outlaws #18After last month’s cliffhanger, Jason Todd struggles through a dream state after putting on the Red Hood mash which the the Joker lined with acid as his final joke on the Bat-Family.

It’s an odd issue with Alfred and Bruce Wayne at Jason’s bedside, whose conscious of them but trapped in a nightmare concerning his past mistakes, the Joker, and Ducra the former head of the All Caste who comes with a message concerning Jason’s failure to move on from the horrors of his past and a warning about what may happen to those he loves if he continues on his current path.

We’re told there will be no lasting physical damage from the Joker’s trap and it seems Todd’s mental state isn’t impaired either, so the entire episode feels a little pointless unless the goal is to use this experience to transform the Red Hood from anti-hero to hero and bring Jason back into the Bat-Family. One further note, Red Hood and the Outlaws #18 also brings Jason and Bruce a little closer (possibly foreshadowing his return as Robin?). For fans.

[DC, $2.99]

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Nova #2

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Nova #2The first issue might have been a little too much set-up, but Nova #2 is a hell of a lot of fun. Sam Alexander wakes up in the hospital to find the fictional characters from his father’s bedtime stories, Rocket Racoon and Gamora, standing at his bedside. Like any rational teenage hit with a crazy ass situation, Sam freaks the hell out (especially after the “talking raccoon” tries to shoot him).

Later that night, after initially deciding to get rid of it, Sam puts on the Nova Corps helmet keyed to his father’s DNA, becomes the new Nova, and watches the final message from his father. The rest of the comic features Sam processing all that has happened over the past few days and experimenting with his new powers before crash landing on the moon at the feet of a Watcher.

Once again Ed McGuinness delivers some great art (although I like my Rocket Raccoon a little more cute and less feral) with so much of the heavy lifting done last issue Jeph Loeb writes a much tighter story with some great humor.

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