Archive
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #27
February 28, 2004
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Paradigm Shift
Snake-Eyes oversteps his authority, and the G.I. Joe team is sent on a desparate rescue mission.
Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Tim Seeley
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: Brett R. Smith
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Tim Seeley, Andrew Pepoy & Val Staples
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing
Eight G.I. Joes set out this issue to rescue an obscure member of the team sent by Snake-Eyes to infiltrate the Red Ninja Clan. This is a very interesting twist for the man who is, arguably, the most popular character in the entire franchise, the hero, the warrior, the model soldier. To see him overstep his authority goes down hard, not just with General Hawk, but with the readers as well.
After the last rather subdued issue, we’re right back into the thick of things with plenty of action. We get to see the usual stars of the book, the Ninja squad (Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Jinx and Kamakura), but we also get a good showing from some of the members more suited for the mission in freezing Tibet: Alpine, Frostbite, Snow Job and Iceberg. If only Jerwa had told us how the heck to pronounce T’Jbang (the codename of the missing Joe), it’d be an almost perfectly well-rounded issue.
Our buddies at Cobra aren’t missing, although they don’t put in a big appearance this issue. We see the machinations of the villains to spring the Dreadnoks from jail, an interesting scene between Destro and the son that tried to usurp him back in the first story arc of this title, and a look at what the Coil is doing since the loss of Serpentor.
Jerwa is maintaining the same great balance of character and action that Josh Blaylock had in his 25 issues on this title. Showing us some of the heroes and villains that don’t usually get much screen time in this series helps mix things up a bit, and he manages to plant some seeds in this issue that will certainly spout into more and better storylines later on.
Tim Seeley continues to impress with the art chores. We get some wonderful fight sequences in this issue, really showcasing the martial arts skills of the heroes and the villains of the series.
Jerwa and Seeley are a perfect match for this title. They’ve got a handle on the characters and they’re finding ways to use them that I, at least, haven’t seen before. But they’re building on the characters, not tearing them down the way a lot of creators feel they have to do to put their own mark on a comic book. This series will continue to please any fan of G.I. Joe.
Rating: 8/10
Life With Archie: The Married Life #3
November 2, 2010
Title: Dear Dilton & Saturday
Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Pencils: Norm Breyfogle
Inks: Josef Rubinstein & Andrew Pepoy
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Jack Morelli & Janice Chiang
Cover: Norm Breyfogle
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Publisher: Archie Comics
Two more tales of Archie’s possible life are rolled out this issue, and once again, I’m finding myself really impressed with the direction of this series. First up is “Dear Dilton…” the Archie Loves Veronica tale, in which Archie composes a letter to his absent friend to try to help himself make sense of the lunacy that’s going on all around him. Midge and Jughead desperately search for ways to prevent Mr. Lodge from taking over Pop Tate’s, Moose gets help in his run for mayor from the most unexpected of sources, and rumors about Veronica and Reggie begin to sprinkle throughout Riverdale.
Although I am, at heart, a Team Betty man, I have to admit the Veronica storyline in this magazine has been the more compelling of the two, if only marginally. The dirty tricks Lodge is stooping to are making him much more villainous than he’s ever been in the regular Archie comics, and I’m frankly stunned that this magazine is even flirting with an infidelity storyline. Granted, nothing is happening between Reggie and Veronica, but the implication is being made by other characters. It reminds me of the scene in The Incredibles where Helen finds a hair on Bob’s old uniform. Even though the viewer (and in this case, reader) knows full well that she’s wrong in her assumption, we were still rather shocked that they’d even bring the subject up in a “kids’ movie.”
The Betty half of this book, “Saturday,” doesn’t have any moments as shocking as Veronica’s side, but it’s very well written in its own right. Archie and Ambrose have decided to work better to keep pursuing their dreams in New York while Mr. Lodge, once again, starts making plans to tear Betty and Archie’s marriage apart. Reggie, meanwhile, finds himself lamenting the dismal track of his own life, and Mr. Weatherbee and Miss Grundy continue to prepare for their own nuptials, while keeping the secret of Geraldine’s illness between the two of them.
Here’s the strangest comparison I’ll ever make to an Archie comic. Reading this magazine reminds me of Stephen King’s two novels: Desperation and The Regulators, the second of which was published under his pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Those two novels featured parallel versions of the same core characters, some of whom were very different, and when I read the books back-to-back I invariably compared them to one another. I find myself doing the same thing with these two stories. The good news is that this makes the reading experience more fun somehow. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes next.
Rating: 8/10
Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror #13
October 8, 2007
Quick Rating: Good
Four haunted tales of Springfield, USA!
Writers: Brian Posehn, Gerry Dugan, Patton Oswalt, Ian Boothby, Pia Guerra, Thomas Lennon
Pencils: Hilary Barta, Jason Ho, Pia Guerra, Tone Rodriguez
Inks: Mike Rote, Terry Austin, Andrew Pepoy
Colors: Nathan Hammill, Kane, Villanueva, Reese, Ungar, Robert Stanley
Letters: Karen Bates
Editor: Terry Delegeane
Publisher: Bongo Comics
Wow – 13 years of the Treehouse of Horror comic book. And even that is about six years behind the TV specials. How long can they keep this up?
This year’s quartet of terror includes a few “celebrity” writers, as has become the norm for this annual. Comedian Brian Posehn reunites with his Last Christmas co-writer Gerry Dugan and artist Hilary Barta for the first story, “Gnaws.” When a monster on the beaches of Springfield begins gobbling up swimmers, everyone in town comes together to try to find a way to capture the gigantic beast. This isn’t a bad little story – what begins as a rather stereotypical Jaws parody takes some bizarre left turns that, in the end, makes it pretty unique.
“They Draw,” by Patton Oswalt and Jason Ho, is really the low point of the issue. Lenny finds a mysterious pair of sunglasses that reveals to him the truth of his existence – not only is he a character in a comic book, but he’s a background character. This is actually a pretty clever idea, but it isn’t really used well. Oswalt takes enormous leaps in the story, jumping from point A to point Q without hitting on any of the stops in-between. It’s one thing to leave some gaps open for the reader to fill in, but it’s another thing entirely when those gaps are so big that the story feels incongruous.
“Prop, Prop, Whiz, Whiz!” is by Ian Boothby and co-written and drawn by Y: The Last Man’s Pia Guerra. The Comic Book Guy scores a major find of movie and TV props on the internet, only to find that anyone who touches them winds up trapped in the movie. Naturally, this is irresistible to some of the patrons of the Android’s Dungeon. This is a cute little story that allows Boothby and Guerra to parody a slew of popular movies in one fell swoop without having it feel cluttered and forced.
Finally, Thomas Lennon and Tone Rodriguez give us “The Pygmy Elixir,” in which Mr. Burns gets word of a magic elixir that can make anyone 20 years old again. And by a wild coincidence, the tribe of pygmies that conjures up the elixir just happens to resemble Springfield’s own Bart Simpson. This is probably the most genuinely creepy story in the issue, but the creators manage to keep the humor present as well.
Three good stories and one dud – but hey, .750 would make a heck of a batting average.
Rating: 7/10
Life With Archie: The Married Life #2
September 26, 2010
Title: Main Street Mangle & Different Drummers
Writer: Paul Kupperberg
Pencils: Norm Breyfogle
Inks: Josef Rubinstein & Andrew Pepoy
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Jack Morelli & Janice Chiang
Cover: Norm Breyfogle
Editor: Victor Gorelick
Publisher: Archie Comics
The tales of two different Archies continues this issue. In the world where he married Veronica, the Andrews couple is facing a split over Mr. Lodge’s intention of taking down Pop Tate’s. Archie is angry at his father-in-law for using him as a pawn, while Veronica is convinced he’s just got business on the mind. Moose, meanwhile, gets his political career off to a rocky start.
In “Archie Marries Betty,” meanwhile, Archie is ready to surrender on his dreams of becoming a musician in New York, but Ambrose tries to convince him to stick with it. Back in Riverdale, Pop’s is in trouble (again), while Mr. Weatherbee and Ms. Grundy being the planning for their wedding.
Paul Kupperberg takes over the storytelling this issue from Michael Uslan, who initiated these two new looks at the world of Archie, and the transition is seamless. He picks right up on every idea and plot thread Uslan left dangling and runs with them, including the hints that the missing Dilton Doiley (missing in both realities, one should remember) is in fact straddling the two somehow. We might actually be looking at a multiverse/worlds collide scenario, one which would take both of these stories into a totally different direction. I love the angle this series is taken. It’s totally unexpected and totally entertaining, and those are the two most important things when you pick up a comic book.
Rating: 8/10
Futurama Comics #50
September 19, 2010
Title: Your Mother Wears Pilot Boots
Writer: Ian Boothby
Pencils: James Lloyd
Inks: Andrew Pepoy
Colorist: Alan Hellard
Letterer: Karen Bates
Cover: J. Ho
Editor: Bill Morrison
Publisher: Bongo Comics
Mom (evil corporate genius) is going on her annual week-long youth restoring treatment, leaving her three numbskull sons in charge. Leela, meanwhile, is irritated when Hermes doesn’t show her the respect she deserves for keeping Planet Express flying. When she encounters Mom’s boys, who are having their own responsibility issues… well… things happen.
Ian Boothby structures this issue to pretty closely mirror the structure of a TV episode, even throwing in a B-plot about Amy fearing that Kif is out-cuteing her and a minor C-plot with the Professor and the son he and Mom share. None of those assorted stories is really a knockout, though. The Leela story, the A-plot, is the best we get out of this issue, with a good number of in-jokes and Easter Eggs to keep the sci-fi fan entertained. There are lots of little good moments, funny little scenes, but nothing to really write home about, even in the big 50th issue of the title.
On the other hand, they aren’t charging extra for the 50th issue either, not even with the black light poster insert. The poster is actually kind of cool, but it’s stapled into the binding of the comic, pretty much requiring you to disassemble the comic if you want to hang it… and as I’m not in college any more, I find I’d rather have the comic book than a black light poster on the wall.
Okay issue, but as the 50th, one kind of wants a little bit more.
Rating: 7/10
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #26
January 24, 2004
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Scott Sturgis is a Reasonable Man…
A new publisher… a new writer… a new member of G.I. Joe!
Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Tim Seeley
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: Brett R. Smith
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Tim Seeley, Andrew Pepoy & Val Staples
Publisher: Devil’s Due
People worried that the quality of this title would suffer after Devil’s Due jumped ship from Image should have their fears quelled this issue – the quality is just as high as ever in all categories; story, artwork and production values. In fact, were it not for the absence of the “I” on the cover, you’d never know the difference.
The same great things can be said for new writer Brandon Jerwa, taking over after Josh Blaylock’s stellar 25-issue run. Jerwa did the best story arc in the defunt G.I. Joe: Frontline series, and he carries that story over here to tell the aftermath of G.I. Joe’s epic battle with The Coil. As the team buries their dead and begins the job of cleaning up Coil cells all over the world, a computer hacker is trying to chase down the secrets of America’s highly trained special mission force.
This issue is low on action, save for a singe battle scene where the Joes try to wipe out one of the last remnants of Serpentor’s army, but it doesn’t feel like filler. The best of it, in fact, is that it feels like a book about regrouping, pulling yourself together. Jerwa also uses the computer hacker character, the titular Scott Sturgis, to great effect, even using him as an excuse to do a roll call of both the heroes and villains of the title. Thanks to his perspective, this issue is an excellent jumping-on point for new readers.
With low action, we don’t get to see much of our villains this issue, but what we do see is quite good. Destro’s appearance in a surprising location makes him out to be a very honorable villain, and Sturgis’s realization that G.I. Joe may not be the only group looking for him comes across very well.
Seeley, over the last few issues, has become one of the best G.I. Joe artists. He manages to give each character a distinctive look (except for Duke and Hawk, but frankly, every G.I. Joe artist in history has had trouble distinguishing between those two for some reason), and he does a great job on storytelling, pacing and layout – all the hallmarks of good artwork.
Jerwa and Seeley are going to make their mark on this book, they’ve already started. It’s been high-quality since the relaunch, and now that they’ve left the big company that got them going, the G.I. Joe team looks as strong as ever.
Rating: 8/10
Life With Archie: The Married Life #1
August 14, 2010
Title: Lodge… A Complaint? & Love Finds Archie Andrews
Writer: Michael Uslan
Penciler: Norm Breyfogle
Inkers: Joe Rubinstein & Andrew Pepoy
Colorist: Glenn Whitmore
Letterer: Jack Morelli & Janice Chiang
Cover: Norm Breyfogle
Publisher: Archie Comics
Last year, Archie comics took an interesting risk with a story in which Archie, in a possible future, married Veronica. Three issues later, they showed the other side, where he married Betty. The experiment was fun, and the stories has potential, but the end was a little flat. Little did we realize at the time, though, that wasn’t the end. Welcome to the new and revamped Life With Archie, which will feature the ongoing stories of both of Archie’s possible futures. And to my true surprise, this new series is incredibly entertaining.
Starting with Lodge… A Complaint, the Archie Loves Veronica story, we pick up with the young married couple in the employ of Veronica’s father, Hiram Lodge, who has been buying up the land around Pop Tate’s malt shop. Now he has his eyes set on the gang’s hangout, and he gives Archie and Veronica the job of making Pop his final, non-negotiable offer. But Archie and Veronica aren’t the only members of the gang in turmoil. After years of frustration, Midge breaks up with Moose, who goes off to find a way to put his own life together. Betty and Reggie are terribly unhappy in their own lives, and Jughead – as Pop’s heir apparent – finds an unexpected shoulder to cry on.
Meanwhile, in Love Finds Archie Andrews, the Archie Loves Betty tale, things aren’t looking much better. Living in New York, Archie has been unable to find work and Betty’s job cuts salaries across the board. As Archie wanders, despondent, he finds an old friend to whom life hasn’t been very kind either. Meanwhile, another missing friend is observing it all…
Michael Uslan is doing some remarkable stuff here. Both stories are, in essence, soap operas, but he’s taking genuine risks with the characters. He’s not afraid to break up status quos that have been in place for decades, mix them up, and try something new… and the things he’s trying are working. By the end of the first Veronica chapter, Moose has become a drastically different character than he’s been in the past. The return of a Little Archie character in the Betty story adds a new dynamic to the story. And both stories note the strange absence of the group’s resident scientist, Dilton Doiley – an absence that comes into play towards the end of the Betty story and opens up the possibility for some far-out science fiction. Uslan doesn’t flinch away from some mature topics either, with economic problems being a strong theme in Betty’s tale, while in Veronica’s we see Moose coming to grips with what has genuinely been a rather abusive nature. What’s more, Uslan takes a character that’s always been at odds with Archie and transforms him from a simple antagonist to a true villain.
Norm Breyfogle draws both stories, and draws them well. The characters remain on-model with the classic Archie house style, but he spices things up with the layouts and page construction, making the look of the book quite different from the classic comics while still being respectful towards them.
This comic is released in a magazine format, and as such, includes a few magazine-style features, including a an interview with the CEO of the company, John Goldwater, and candidates for an online poll regarding who the fans would cast as Archie and the gang in a (as far as I know, hypothetical) movie. These features aren’t of any particular interest to me, but as we’re getting two full-length comic book stories for the price many companies are now charging for one, I can get past that.
This book isn’t the simple sitcom I would have expected. It’s something different, something new, and something fans of Archie should be reading.
Rating: 8/10
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #25
January 1, 2004
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The Last Stand Part Four
It’s G.I. Joe versus Cobra versus The Coil in the biggest G.I. Joe battle in a decade!
Writer: Josh Blaylock with Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Tim Seeley
Inks: Andrew Pepoy
Colors: Brett R. Smith
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Brandon Badeaux & Andrew Pepoy (Cover A); Tim Seeley & Andrew Pepoy (Cover B)
Publisher: Image Comics/Devil’s Due
Three armies duke it out in this massive issue, with both G.I. Joe and Cobra launching assaults on Cobra Island to take out Serpentor’s new army, The Coil. As they battle it out, The Coil assaults capitals all over the world, making a bid for world domination that puts Cobra Commander’s schemes to shame.
With characters that have fought each other for so long (nearly 20 years), there’s always a danger of the story falling into cliché – Blaylock escapes that trap several times. The “united against a common foe” bit doesn’t go how you would expect. Characters on all three sides of the battle are killed. Cobra Commander is shown to be a devious, dangerous man, not the craven coward he became in the television series. Hawk is a man of honor, and one who will not compromise his honor easily, and one of my favorite characters, Duke, gets the obligatory rallying point speech. Everyone shines for a moment in this book.
Seeley does a good job on this title – each character gets a different, distinct look, the Coil troopers look even more menacing than the average Cobra Viper, and he does some spectacular battle choreography.
This is Blaylock’s swan song on the book, and he goes out in style. It’s a little sad to see the man who brought back this title leave the book, but Brandon Jerwa is the best man to replace him short of Larry Hama. If there’s anything this issue proved, it’s that the book that started the 80s revolution in comics still has plenty of life in it.
Rating: 8/10
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #24
November 28, 2003
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: The Last Stand Part Three
Cobra Commander and the captured G.I. Joes make their break from Cobra Island as three armies amass for war.
Writer: Josh Blaylock with Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Tim Seeley
Inks: Andrew Pepoy
Colors: Brett R. Smith with Ben Hunzecker
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Brandon Badeaux, Andrew Pepoy & Brett R. Smith (Cover A); Tim Seely & Andrew Pepoy (Cover B)
Publisher: Image Comics/Devil’s Due
This title just gets better and better as Blaylock rumbles on towards his final issue as writer. Serpentor’s new army launches invasions across the globe, and G.I. Joe and Cobra strike an uneasy alliance to bring him down.
Plenty of characters get their chances to shine in this issue – on the cartoon show Cobra Commander was often portrayed as a rather incompetent whiner, characterization that didn’t do justice to a man capable of building an evil army. While he’s still not the leader the risen Serpentor is, in this issue he gets to show some of the craftiness one imagines got him to the top in the first place. Firewall, one of the new “tech” Joes introduced in this series, gets a few moments to show she’s got some fighting heart and skill as well. A fan-favorite character gets a good “hero” moment in this issue too, although even though this title has never shied away from killing characters in the heat of battle, no one believes this character won’t pull through.
Blaylock shows a great deal of respect for Larry Hama’s run on this title as well, re-introducing an incidental character from one of the most shocking issues of the Marvel G.I. Joe run and making him a new major player.
The best part of this book, however, is the anticipation it generates. The last three pages jazz you up, charge you with adrenalin and get you ready for what promises to be a spectacular battle sequence in next issue’s concluding chapter to this storyline.
If there’s one problem this title has had since its inception, it’s the lack of a stable artist. No single artist has done more than four consecutive issues in this book yet, and even the one with the most longevity has only done a total of eight. After doing the first two issues of this story arc, regular artist Brandon Badeaux hands over the art chores of this issue to frequent G.I. Joe fill-in artist Tim Seeley. There’s nothing wrong with Seeley’s artwork – it looks good and he does a great interpretation of all the characters (except for Firewall, who looks a bit young in this issue, although it may just be the giant Manga pigtails she wears in her hair). There’s one full-page shot in particular, where a wounded Joe is tended to, that’s simply a great piece of comic book art. I just wish there were more consistency.
This comic book is getting better and better – this current storyline may be the best since the property was resurrected by Devil’s Due. Although new writer Jerwa has proven his chops as a writer, Blaylock will be missed as he moves over to editorial duties and other projects. But any time he wants to come back for an issue or two, he’ll be more than welcome.
Rating: 8/10
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #22
October 25, 2003
Quick Rating: Good
Title: The Last Stand Part One
Serpentor returns!
Writer: Josh Blaylock
Pencils: Brandon Badeaux
Inks: Andrew Pepoy
Colors: Brett R. Smith
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Michael Turner
Publisher: Image Comics/Devil’s Due Publishing
I didn’t read the last several years of the previous G.I. Joe series from Marvel, so I’m not sure if the prologue of this issue is alluding to specific events from that era or not. Fortunately, you don’t need to know that to understand what’s going on – a cadre of ex-Cobra operatives is resurrecting their fallen leader, Serpentor, in the body of a clone. As the original Serpentor was cloned from the remains of history’s greatest warriors, this isn’t too far-fetched.
Blaylock has been a consistently effective action storyteller since this series began two years ago, and this issue is no exception. While the first half of this issue is made up of mad scientist and talking heads stuff, the action sequence, once it begins, doesn’t stop. There are two basic types of action scenes in G.I. Joe – the hand-to-hand, martial arts stuff like we got last issue, and the heavy ordinance, “let’s blow some stuff up” kind of action, which is what we get this time around. Blaylock writes this stuff as good as anyone does, and Badeaux does a good job of conveying how nasty the battle zone gets. Smith’s colors clearly play a big part in this, particularly when it comes to showing off the explosions, and the whole thing has a very incendiary look, like the scene is so hot that the pages could spontaneously combust.
One of the things that set the old G.I. Joe series apart from other toy tie-in comics were the consequences, the facts that even the good guys weren’t safe from injury and death. This isn’t a theme the current series has really touched on – until this issue. The return of Serpentor is as brutal as they could make it, and it works well.
I’m not completely enamored of Serpentor’s new look – shades of the overdesigned characters of the early ‘90s. In his old look, he literally appeared to be wearing a snake – this armor isn’t as threatening.
This is Blaylock’s last story arc before Brandon Jerwa will take over the title, and it looks like he has every intention of going out with a bang. This remains a really fun action series – it’s nice to know that the book that ushered in the return of the ’80s to comics is still one of the best.
Rating: 7/10
The Back Issue Bin 