Look, I'm not American (nor am I particularly fond of what various parts of its government have done throughout its history), but I couldn't resist doing this theme. THE THEME: Since it's Fourth of July, I'm reading five more comics starring G.I. Joe, who at one point were billed as "real American heroes." I had a lot of fun with the last one (which I did only a few months ago at this point), so we're doing it again. THE COMICS: ![]() G.I. JOE (2008) #1 Publisher: IDW Writer: Chuck Dixon Artist: Robert Atkins In the debut issue of the IDW series, the Joes have yet to tackle a serious mission and Cobra remains a mystery, but with two incidents involving ships carrying dangerous goods going down, the latter may surface imminently. I like the idea of having Cobra be (for the time being) an organization that operates deep in the shadows as opposed to the usual out-in-the-open supervillain group, and I'm interested in how the Joes go about uncovering the threat. ![]() G.I. JOE #155 1/2 (FCBD 2010) Publisher: IDW Writer: Larry Hama Artist: Agustin Padilla This Cobra-focused issue sees Cobra Commander line up the pieces for his master plan (the goal of which, of course, is world domination), but it seems that there are those in his ranks that take issue with some of the methods he's using to keep the troops in check. It's pretty intriguing, and with the added implication that the Joes have disbanded, I'm interested to see how this story arc goes. ![]() G.I. JOE: COBRA #1 Publisher: IDW Writers: Mike Costa, Christos N. Gage Artist: Antonio Fuso In this issue, we follow the story of Chuckles, a mercenary working outside the Joes' usual haunts deep undercover to infiltrate various terrorist organizations. Here, he's recruited by a mysterious man, and after an impressive display that convinces the latter, Chuckles is officially brought into Cobra. This may easily be my favorite G.I. Joe comic I've read so far; Chuckles' experience in reading people is showcased well through his internal dialogue, and the whole concept of a Joe managing to infiltrate Cobra sounds cool as hell. ![]() G.I. JOE: SNAKE EYES #1 Publisher: IDW Writers: Kevin VanHook, Ray Park Artist: Lee Ferguson Co-written by renowned actor Ray Park (who plays Snake Eyes in the live-action movies but is probably most known for playing Darth Maul in Phantom Menace), this issue follows everyone's favorite silent badass ninja returning to his home to investigate a string of murders which are being made to look like he committed them. Indeed, he finds an impostor as he investigates the area, but not before reminiscing about his days training in the area alongside the boy who would become Storm Shadow, his nemesis. ![]() G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA (OFFICIAL MOVIE ADAPTATION) #1 Publisher: IDW Writer: Denton J. Tipton Artist: Casey Maloney Presumably following the story of the movie (I don't know for sure; I didn't watch it), the first issue features Duke and Ripcord (still regular soldiers for the US Army) get ambushed as Cobra tries to acquire dangerous nanotech weaponry being supplied to NATO. The two narrowly survive as G.I. Joe members intervene and help rout the enemy, setting up how Duke is folded into the team. Once again, I liked what I read here, and there are a few series here I'd definitely continue if I had the opportunity. It's becoming quite apparent that there's more to this series than just jingoistic nonsense that glorifies the military, but that's just me. PANEL(s) OF THE WEEK: - end -
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