G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #38

December 24, 2004

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Union of the Snake Part Three

G.I. Joe and Cobra both face schisms as they teeter towards the brink of collapse.

Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Emiliano Santalucia
Colors: Brett R. Smith
Letters: Robin Spehar
Editor: Mark Powers
Cover Art: Tim Seeley & Andrew Pepoy
Publisher: Devil’s Due

Last issue Duke and Snake-Eyes got sprung from prison by the unlikely duo of Scarlett and Storm Shadow. This issue, as they make their escape, Zartan and the Dreadnoks plan their own jailbreak – to free the imprisoned Cobra Commander!

Devil’s Due promises that next year will feature the biggest storyline in G.I. Joe history, and Brandon Jerwa is working overtime to make that happen. The Joe team has been pruned down to just 12 members, under the command of General Rey, but the members left out (or under fire) aren’t going to go down without a fight. Meanwhile, Destro has seized command of Cobra, but Zartan’s faction has other ideas.

We get a few nice revelations in this issue, about who’s really been in Joe custody all this time, the truth about Zartan’s mysterious condition, and a powerful scene between Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow, brothers too long at odds. There’s also a surprisingly powerful scene between Flint and Lady Jaye, the married couple caught up in the midst of this torment.

Emiliano Santalucia handles the pencils on this issue, stepping in for regular artist Tim Seeley, and the transition is almost seamless. The artwork looks a little more detailed, a little polished than usual, but the style is nearly exactly the same. It’s a great-looking comic book – as good as Seeley is, Santalucia would be a perfect artist on this book full-time if it came to it.

The Joes were my favorite toys as a kid, and even at the ripe old age of 27 I’m a huge fan, and this may be the best they’ve ever been. I can’t wait to see what’s coming up in 2005.

Rating: 9/10

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (2001 Series) #32

July 24, 2007

Quick Rating: Great
Title: Players and Pawns Part Five & Fathom Part Two

Cobra plots to go after Destro – and G.I. Joe is ready for them.

Writer: Brandon Jerwa
Pencils: Tim Seeley & Talent Caldwell
Backgrounds: Jason Millet
Inks: Cory Hamscher & Jason Gorder
Colors: Brett R. Smith & Christina Strain
Letters: Dreamer Design
Editor: Mark Powers
Cover Art: Tim Seeley, Cory Hamscher & Val Staples (Cover A); Talent Caldwell, Jason Gorder, Peter Steigerwald & Christina Strain (Cover B)
Publisher: Devil’s Due

When Cobra learns that G.I. Joe will be transporting the captured – and very cooperative – Destro, they plan a daring ambush to take him from the custody of the Joe team and into their own.

Meanwhile, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett set out to rescue Claymore from Overkill, and the leaderless splinter group called The Coil finds a new home. And Duke, dressed down last issue for insubordination, tries to bury the hatchet with Hawk.

The culmination of this issue, simply put, blew me away. There have been some fantastic battles in this series, most notably the gigantic three-way war between the Joes, Cobra and The Coil in issue #25. But this issue contains, quite possibly, the greatest hand-to-hand combat scene I’ve ever read in a G.I. Joe comic. And yes, I’m including the various Snake-Eyes/Storm Shadow duels in that statement. The conclusion of this issue has that epic feel, like the first time you saw Optimus Prime and Megatron slugging it out in TransFormers: The Movie. You just knew this fight was different somehow, you knew that something huge was going to happen, and you get the same feeling here. And it pays off. I’m a little miffed that this issue ended with a “to be continued,” since it’s labeled as the last issue of a storyline, but it’s such a fantastic cliffhanger that you can’t be mad about anything other than the fact that you have to wait to see what happens next.

Jerwa and Talent Caldwell continue their “Fantom” back-up story. The mercenary named Wraith has been hired to spring two Cobra agents from G.I. Joe custody. This is an oddity – on the one hand, you don’t want the bad guys to win, but on the other hand, Wraith is one of those characters that is just so cool you want to see how far he can go.

Caldwell also contributes fantastic artwork, as well as a fantastic cover. Tim Seeley’s artwork on the main story is also really solid – Overkill is suitably grotesque, and this is one of the few times ever that Duke and Hawk are really distinct from one another visually, mainly because Seeley gives them each a different hair texture. Finally, I can look at the two of them and tell who is who without having to check the dialogue and guess.

This is a great issue, the best since Brandon Jerwa took over this series from Josh Blaylock, and it’s one that has some serious consequences. G.I. Joe has always been distinct from other titles, in that characters can die without warning and you never know that anyone is safe. Even so, the end of this issue left my jaw on the floor. Fantastic.

Rating: 9/10

G.I. Joe Vs. the TransFormers #6

January 4, 2004

Quick Rating: Good

As nuclear warheads head for Cobra Island, G.I. Joe and the Autobots stage a final attack on the bad guys.

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

This meeting of the two most popular licensed comics in America comes to a bang-up finish in this issue, as the Autobots and Joes face off against Cobra and the Decepticons, knowing that a volley of nuclear missiles is headed their way to destroy the robots. What the military didn’t know when it launched the missiles, though, is that when the blast hits the Energon cubes stockpiled on the island, the resultant explosion will rip the planet apart.

This book is basically one long fight scene, and it’s a good one. We get unlikely match-ups like Bumblebee versus Storm Shadow, Wheeljack and Mainframe double-teaming Dr. Mindbender more logical things like the alliance between Cobra Commander and Starscream, and the requisite “epic final battle” between Optimus Prime and Megatron that no TransFormers tale would be complete without. Optimus tears loose in this one, and that fight scene in particular is great.

The climax actually has elements from both of the feature films featuring these characters (the Prime/Megatron battle and the “blow ‘em up in space!” bit), but since this is a story told by cobbling together pieces of other stories, that’s somewhat allowable. Blaylock also takes advantage of the freedom of this “alternate universe” to throw in more casualties than you would normally see, even in a major battle of the two regular titles.

Mike Miller shows himself to be a great TransFormers artist throughout this miniseries, especially in this issue. The massive battle sequences are great, the designs for the robots are spectacular, and even the way the robots look when broken and beaten mirror the animated series quite well.

The ending, of course, leaves a big, wide gaping hole for a sequel, but that’s fine by me. Blaylock created a really fun universe mashing these two properties together, and it would be a shame to see it end with the end of this series. There’s plenty of room left to find new stories to tell.

Rating: 7/10

G.I. Joe Vs. the TransFormers #5

December 4, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good

It’s G.I. Joe and the Autobots versus Cobra and the Decepticons in a massive battle!

Writer: Josh Blaylock
Pencils: Mike S. Miller
Inks: Cory Hamscher
Colors: Lynx Studios
Letters: Dreamer Design
Cover Art: Mike S. Miller (Cover A); Dan Norton (Cover B)
Publisher: Image Comics/Devil’s Due Studios

Everything in the first four issues of this crossover has led up to this point, a massive battle on Cobra Island. This issue, for the most part, is fight scene after fight scene after fight scene, and they’re all done exceedingly well. There’s a real sense of fun in seeing Snake Eyes take on Starscream with just a sword or with the Autobots facing down Storm Shadow in the “Snake” armor Cobra reverse-engineered from the robots.

Some of the battle scenes are surprisingly brutal, even considering that robots get most of the damage. Optimus Prime taking on Soundwave and Ravage is fierce, showing how powerful the Autobot leader really is. Jazz and Bumblebee, often thought of as some of the less war-like Autobots, display a surprising degree of ferocity in their fight with Devastator.

Sure, there’s a plot. Megatron and Dr. Mindbender are amassing a stockpile of Energon Cubes (power source of the TransFormers for the casual reader). Meanwhile, the president has ordered a nuclear strike on Cobra Island to wipe out both Cobra and the robots in one fell swoop, not realizing that when the bomb hits the Energon Cubes it will trigger a train reaction that will probably blow up the world. But let’s face it, we all know that, by the end of the last issue, the Autobots and the Joes will avert the cataclysm somehow, so why not just enjoy the great fights? It’s like watching an action movie where the outcome is never in doubt.

Blaylock writes a good script (including a particularly good joke from Cobra Commander, but the Miller/Hamscher/Lynx art team is the real star of this comic book series. Their re-imaginings of the TransFormers in their “Cobra-ized” forms are a lot of fun. I’d be willing to shell out big bucks for an Optimus Prime-turns-into-a-Cobra Hiss toy. Come to think of it, why hasn’t Hasbo ever attempted to meld their two most popular toy lines? Seems like a natural idea.

Anyway, I’ve become a real fan of Miller over the last five issues. He draws great action scenes and giant toys as good as anyone in the business. I only wish the other Image series he’s working on, The Hedge Knight, wasn’t so hopelessly delayed.

If you haven’t been reading this title already, I doubt this issue will be where you want to come in. If you’ve read and enjoyed the previous four issues, fear not, this is another very good installment.

Rating: 8/10

TransFormers/G.I. Joe (2003 Series) #3

November 28, 2003

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Trial By Fire

The Autobots and G.I. Joe rejoin the fray.

Writer: John Ney Rieber
Art: Jae Lee
Colors: June Chung
Letters: Benjamin Lee
Editor-in-Chief: Pat Lee
Cover Art: Jae Lee
Publisher: Dreamwave

The World War II-era alternate universe crossover continues. The G.I. Joe team believes Snake Eyes dead in battle, but in reality everyone’s favorite All-American Ninja is locked in deadly combat with Storm Shadow and Ravage. Meanwhile, the G.I. Joe team and the Autobots finally take the initiative in the battle while Megatron and Cobra Commander get locked in a power struggle of their own.

This is another good issue of this crossover event, but it’s starting to wear a little thin. It feels like an example of the “decompressed” storytelling Marvel is putting to such use right now. G.I. Joe and the Autobots have been preparing for battle for two issues now, and the Snake Eyes/ Storm Shadow/ Ravage fight is starting to feel a bit padded and stretched out. Also, it makes perfect sense and is perfectly in character for Megatron and Cobra Commander to get locked in a power struggle, but that doesn’t make it any fresher. I feel like I’ve read the scene with them a dozen times already.

What we get works well, though. We get introduced to a couple more villains (well… re-introduced, since they’re longtime bad guys from both of these properties), and Rieber has these characters down pat. I particularly enjoyed the scene with Roadblock and Grimlock rolling into battle together. They make a pretty well-matched pair, I must say.

On the art front, Jae Lee continues to prove he is the perfect choice for this project. His dark, gritty style is well-suited to what is essentially a war story. Pages in this book are like reading “Saving Private Ryan”. He’s also fantastic at drawing the TransFormers characters in their World War II forms – but again, I have to complain a little about the fact that we still haven’t gotten really good looks at most of the redesigned forms. There’s a nice shot at the beginning of the issue of one of the Aerialbots with Stalker, and I still think making Grimlock a tank in this incarnation instead of trying to explain a tyrannosaurus rex was a stroke of genius, but we’re halfway through this series and most of the shots we’ve gotten of the big guns — Optimus Prime, Megatron, etc. – have been in the shadows. This is done, I presume, to have some “big reveal” moments later in the series, but the audience is still itching for more of what they paid admission for – great big robots.

On just a side tangent, I hate the title of this issue. “Trial of Fire” is one of those titles that has been overused so much I think it should be retired permanently.

This is a good series, but it’s getting stretched out too much. The hand-to-hand with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow is getting old. We need some big action, and we need it soon. Hopefully, we’ll get it in the next issue.

Rating: 7/10

TransFormers/G.I. Joe #4

December 20, 2003

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Wolves

The World War II era battle of man and machine heats up.

Writer: John Ney Rieber
Art: Jae Lee
Colors: June Chung
Letters: Benjamin Lee
Editor: Roger Lee
Cover Art: Jae Lee
Publisher: Dreamwave

With two issues to go in this miniseries, I must admit, my enthusiasm is beginning to dwindle. John Ney Rieber is still serving up a good script, but it’s beginning to feel quite padded. The battle scenes are getting more drawn out and, while there is some development of the plot in this issue, it’s starting to feel like it’s taking too long.

This is not to say that the battle scenes aren’t good. The battle with Scarlett and Bumblebee versus Rumble was one the best bits in this issue – particularly the part where the robot begins to develop a little crush on the human woman – and the bits showing the friendship between Roadblock and Grimlock also worked very well. The scheming between Starscream and Destro makes for a very good use of the characters, and there’s a good spotlight in this issue on the two “combined” robots, Superion and Bruticus.

Other things aren’t working as well. The Storm Shadow/Snake Eyes fight has been going on for four issues now, and it feels like it could have been wrapped up in one. Lee’s art isn’t quite top-notch here either. While one appreciates the style he is attempting, there are simply too many shadows and sometimes it makes it difficult to tell one character from another. Particularly with the redesigns of the characters for the World War II-era, this is bad. You can get away with more of this if the characters were in their classic costumes and configurations — in unfamiliar ones, it’s more important to differentiate between them. In the aforementioned Storm Shadow/Snake Eyes battle, where there is no dialogue to differentiate one combatant from the other, the shadows make it hard to figure out who is who, and I found myself needing to look back at earlier issues to remind myself so that I even knew who won the fight. (Hopefully, it’s over.)

Zartan and Bumblebee are the standouts in this issue, with Zartan posing as a Joe leading up to his battle with Flint. Bumblebee is not only developed well, but we also get a great look at his new form in this alternate world, a clever alternate shape that suits the story well.

Like a lot of comics this days, this book seems to suffer from a desire to stretch out a story that could be told quicker. People may criticize earlier writers, but Stan Lee could tell more story in one issue than a lot of today’s crop can in four. This is a book that will almost certainly read better in a collected edition, where you won’t have to wait a month (or longer) between installments only to read a book where not much has happened.

Rating: 7/10

TransFormers/G.I. Joe (2003 Series) #2

October 25, 2003

Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Transformed

An alliance of heroes is formed while an alliance of villains is strained.

Writer: John Ney Rieber
Pencils: Jae Lee
Inks: Jae Lee
Colors: June Chung
Letters: Benjamin Lee
Editor: Roger Lee
Cover Art: Jae Lee
Publisher: Dreamwave

First, the basic premise for those who came in late: Rieber’s take on the Joes and TransFormers is an “Elseworlds” viewpoint, set during World War II. When the terrorist nation of Cobra enters the war, allied with powerful robots from the stars, the Decepticons, America’s greatest mission force is assembled to combat the threat. In this issue, the Joes find more of the giant alien robots, but this group, dubbing themselves Autobots, claims to be on their side. As the Autobots and the Joe team form an uneasy alliance, the Joe named Snake Eyes is forced into bitter combat with his arch enemy, the Cobra warrior named Storm Shadow.

The initial draw for this series, for many people, was the chance to see Jae Lee reimagining these two classic properties in a World War II context. Joe. Cobra. Autobots, Decepticons… Lee has found new designs for these characters that all fit in perfect with the 1940s time frame, yet are still respective of the classic looks that the readership has grown up with. If anything about this issue can be said to be a disappointment, it’s that we don’t’ really get a good look at the new designs for the Autobots, with the robots spending most of their time in the shadows. We get our best look at Grimlock, the Dinobot reimagined as a tank, which is quite clever and appropriate. One can only hope for a “big reveal” moment for the new forms of Optimus Prime and the others in the next issue.

Speaking of Grimlock, Rieber has nailed the character perfectly, writing a far truer version of him than we’re presently seeing in the regular TransFormers: Generation One comic book. (Or am I the only one who thinks that Grimlock is being written a bit too intelligently these days?) Rieber writes this title like he’s having the time of his life, taking the pieces of the characters we all know, blending them with the proper set pieces and historical pieces for the setting he has chosen, and putting them all together.

It was odd, however, that he chose to give Snake Eyes a running interior monologue. Throughout nearly every incarnation of G.I. Joe, Snake Eyes has been utterly silent – no words, no thoughts, no captions. His characterization has always been handled through his actions and through the respect afforded him by friend and enemy alike. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it was surprising and unsettling to read it. Of course, Snake Eyes gives us a great cliffhanger, so it’s a bit easier to forgive.

Rating: 8/10