G.I. Joe Vs. the Transformers #4

October 25, 2003

Quick Rating: Good

Optimus Prime breaks free of Cobra Commander’s control as the Joe team’s mission is altered irrevocably.

Writer: Josh Blaylock
Pencils: Mike S. Miller
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: Lynx Studio
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Mike S. Miller (Cover A), Mark Brooks (Cover B)
Publisher: Image Comics/Devil’s Due

With the release of Dreamwave’s TransFormers/G.I. Joe miniseries, this book seems to have gotten a little lost in the shuffle, which is a shame, because even though the Dreamwave book is better, this is a solid tale with lots of old-school action between the two classic properties.

Like the other title, this series creates an entire new continuity for the properties, rather than trying to meld the existing G.I. Joe and TransFormers universes. In previous issues we saw Cobra recover the remains of both the Autobots and Decepticons in the ruins of the Ark that brought the robots to Earth five million years ago. Dr. Mindbender managed to reprogram the robots to follow his commands, although the “big red one” gave him problems. When Cobra launches a series of attacks using their new toys, the United States government responds by forming a team of crack specialists to take them down: G.I. Joe.

In previous issues we saw the few Autobots Cobra failed to recover join with the Joe team to both save their friends and stop the threat. When this issue opens, Optimus Prime has broken free from mind-control, and Cobra Commander’s only hope is to let loose the Decepticon leader he’s kept under his thumb all this time: Megatron.

Blaylock has written the current G.I. Joe series since the first issue (although he will be leaving soon) and he’s clearly got a great handle on those characters. With this series he’s proven he gets the TransFormers as well, with both heroes and villains acting mostly in character, even in this alternate universe. Some of the dialogue is a little clunky, Optimus Prime saying lines like, “Give it up, Cobra Commander. It’s time you were delivered to your homeworld authorities,” but these lines aren’t prevalent enough to ruin the book, just to distract from time to time.

The Joe characters also behave the way we’ve grown to expect, although they aren’t given quite as much a chance to shine as the TransFormers. (Oddly enough, in the Dreamwave book it’s the TransFormers that stay out of the spotlight.) This book does throw a great twist in for the Joes, reminding us that they are soldiers first and foremost, and not the almost-superheroic characters we’ve seen from time to time, and that soldiers sometimes have to do things they don’t want to.

I’m rapidly becoming a big fan of Mike Miller’s artwork. He tells a story as good as anyone in the business, and he’s clean and not overly-detailed, either. The alternate designs for the TransFormers characters, Optimus Prime in particular, are great, as are the Gundam-like designs for the robots Cobra builds after reverse engineering some of the TransFormers technology. This is the kind of project he was meant for.

I’m really not sure how well this book is doing, sales-wise, but I hope fans of these two properties are giving it a fair shot. It’s old-fashioned action for both of these properties, and it’s really a lot of fun.

Rating: 8/10

Wonder Woman (1987 Series) #198

November 18, 2003

Quick Rating: Average
Title: Down to Earth Part Three

As the world deals with the ramifications of Wonder Woman’s book, an old friend is found to be missing.

Writer: Greg Rucka
Pencils: Drew Johnson
Inks: Ray Snyder
Colors: Richard & Tanya Horie
Letters: Todd Klein
Editor: Ivan Cohen
Cover Art: Phil Noto
Publisher: DC Comics

If Greg Rucka’s name wasn’t on this book, I never would have believed he wrote it. He has shown incredible proficiency in writing crime comics, detective stories, urban heroes (I’d love to see his take on Daredevil someday), but this story just isn’t clicking for me.

Wonder Woman’s book is stirring up controversy on the political scene and raising eyebrows as high as Mount Olympus, where a very different version of Ares than readers are used to seeing shows the book to Zeus. Back on Earth, Diana is horrified to learn that her old friend Vanessa, alias the Silver Swan, has been kidnapped from the hospital where she has been trying to recover from her obsession with the Amazon for six months.

Rucka’s Wonder Woman, somehow, doesn’t ring true to me. She seems gruffer, harsher than the peace-loving character readers expect. The “controversial superhero” storyline isn’t exactly new either, although to my knowledge this is the first time it’s been applied to Wonder Woman on a scale like this, and the scene with the debate on the “Crossfire”-style TV show is incredibly tiresome, no different from a thousand other identical scenes we’ve seen in comic books, movies and TV shows for years.

In general, I’m a big fan of Rucka, and on the strength of his name alone I was considering trying to jump back on to reading Wonder Woman regularly with issue #200, but this issue has somewhat quelled my enthusiasm for that. I’ll still probably pick up that issue to see where the book may go, but I’m no longer as excited about it.

Rating: 5/10

(2010 Note: It’s fair to point out here that, as time went on, Rucka’s Wonder Woman grew on me considerably. By the end of the run, I was sorry to see him leave the book.)