G.I. JOE

G.I. JOE #7

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G.I. JOE #7Although the cover teases the reappearance of Snake Eyes (who apparently died in the final issue of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow before IDW’s New 52-ish soft reboot of all the G.I. JOE properties) everyone’s favorite JOE sadly doesn’t return (unless you count Quick Kick dressed up as Snake Eyes as part of a covert test of new JOE stealth technology – which I don’t).

The real story here is the Mad Monk, the man Cobra Commander has entrusted with control of Cobra’s actions in New York, to the mutual displeasure of both the Baroness and Destro, who decide to pool their resources, as well as Duke who discovers the man has kidnapped the JOE’s comatose wife to blackmail Duke into doing his bidding.

I like the series bringing Destro and Baroness together (for apparently the first time?), and given Destro’s reasoning for distrusting the man and the kidnapping of Duke’s wife G.I. JOE #7 does what is needed to showcase the character as a legitimate threat to both friend and foe. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #6

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G.I. JOE: Special Missions #6With Tripwire, Hard Drive, and Beach Head all captured by Zartan‘s crew of Dreadnoks and thrown into a serious of death traps for the outlaws’ amusement, Roadblock and Spirit set out to stage a daring rescue of the group’s compound while Zartan’s new soldiers become a little concerned with their mini-despot’s obsession over the object retrieved from the crashed satellite.

G.I. JOE: Special Missions #6 does a good job of reintroducing both the character of Zartan and the importance and lure of the M.A.S.S. Device as well presenting the dangers of such technology falling into the wrong hands. And Zartan is very much the wrong hands (can you imagine army of genetically created Zartan’s loosed on the world?).

With the focus on Zartan and the JOEs we don’t get as much of the Dreadnoks as I’d like (who only really see cheering on during the various death traps they can think up), but there’s certainly enough here for fans of the characters to check out. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files #5

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G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files #5After wrapping up the business with the Night Creepers in the last issue, the beginning of G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files‘ second arc shifts the focus from Chameleon to the the only member of the team with less battlefield experience, the team’s computer and intelligence expert Clockspring whose continued loyalty may be in question thanks to his unreturned romantic feelings for Chameleon which the untrustworthy Tomax has begun to use to twist the man to his will.

The issue takes the opportunity to spell out Clockspring’s rather sad life story which contains only a few bright spots such as when the computer geek finally found a home with the JOEs (although he’s far less comfortable with his current role in the field with far less resources than he became accustomed to working with).

I don’t expect big changes in beginning next month, but this issue certainly foreshadows dangerous territory for Clockspring and his teammates who may no longer be able to trust the man in charge of the covert team’s valuable intel.

…

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G.I. JOE #6

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G.I. JOE #6Although this one-shot opens the idea of storyline that will no doubt continue to be played out over the next several months (whether or not Duke may be the traitor with the JOE ranks), the main focus of the latest issue is to offer readers a primer on a single member of the team: Cover Girl.

Told mostly through a prolonged flashback, G.I. JOE #6 humorously examines the career of a somewhat lost Courtney Krieger who found herself on an extreme reality-TV survivor show and how the events on a small tropical island let the Krieger to discovering an entirely new skill set and being recruited by G.I. JOE.

Other than Cover Girl’s suspicions about her boyfriend and her discovery of the wife he neglected to tell anyone about (including Cover Girl), the issue is mostly a self-contained story to help new readers get a better feel for another member of the team and explain how a supermodel became a member of G.I. JOE. It works really well, and I hope we see more of both Cover Girl in the months to come as well as similar issues featuring other JOEs. Worth a look.

[IDW, $3.99]

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G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files #4

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G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files #4The series wraps up its first arc with Chameleon being forced into action with Lady Jaye and Ronin to rescue Flint and stop the Night Creepers who detonate a dirty bomb under the Potomac to attack the JOE’s bunker.

With all the new G.I. JOE titles each wrapping up their first arc I’m still waiting for one to stand-out and match the enjoyment I got out of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. The Chameleon, a former Cobra agent now using her skills for the other side is a character I expect could lend itself to some interesting arcs and the art of G.I. JOE: The Cobra Files has been more consistent than the other titles.

Even if I find Chameleon intriguing, I’m not quite sold on the rest of the team. I’ve always found Flint to be a blander version of Duke and the wild cards of Clockspring and Tomax haven’t quite worked for me so far. I’m also not wild about the nuclear event which never feels as big and dangerous as it should. That said, I did like this issue giving us Chameleon’s take on her female teammates and would like to see that kind of insight continue. For fans.

[IDW, $3.99]

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