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01-14-2009, 02:02 PM | #1 |
VALKYRIE
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Over the rainbow where your mom is at son
Posts: 23,515
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G.I. Joe #1 Review
Alright folks the very first issue of IDW’s G.I. Joe #1 written by Chuck Dixon and drawn by Robert Atkins is on shelves now. This issue gives us a lot to look forward to, and is a great place to start if you are either a new to G.I. Joe comics, or a Joe fan who wants a breath of fresh air. A lot of familiar faces are already introduced into this issue, and we have many hints at the upcoming storylines. This issue builds off of the storyline hinted at in G.I. Joe #0. It starts off on the ship seen in issue #0, with an eerie recording device that stirs the interest of the crew. The crew try to inspect the device but have sinister results. Initially, issue #0 was advertised as containing the first five pages from G.I. Joe #1, and you actually don’t find those pages here. This is a good thing, as that makes this issue completely new, and makes issue #0 unique. Next we see Beachhead and Duke running in the desert outside of the PIT. They converse about what they miss from their former lives prior to joining G.I. Joe. Duke misses the simplicities of everyday life, Beachhead is used to the military lifestyle of always having a set schedule to go by. We also learn that he craves danger, he thinks the crew on the ship could have easily been dispatched by the girl scouts, so he wants more. He’ll get his wish. Here we get into corny dialogue, as Duke tells him that he needs a “check up from the neck up”. This threw me off, it seemed out of place, it sounds like the dated dialogue from the Sunbow cartoons. While they are talking we see the interior of the PIT, and it is drawn with good detail, this updated PIT features helipads for the Tomahawk helicopters, multiple levels for the ground based vehicles, and much more. We haven’t even seen the entire thing thing yet but the initial impression that I get is that it is vast. We see trainees running in the distance, tanks, and a Skyhawk being transported around on a trailer. The amount of depth shown by the pencils and inks is impressive, Atkins did a great job of using different line weights to establish depth in the PIT scene, so it is pleasant on the eyes. For that matter, the colorist did a good job of gradually desaturating the color as the objects fade into the distance. One important thing here is that the colorist did not overpower Atkin’s linework, which is a problem all too common in today’s comics. The colors complement the linework very well. The colors weren’t oversaturated, airbrushed to death, and didn’t scream “Hey look what I did in photoshop!”, which is a good thing because it is something that plagues the comic book market. What immediately caught my attention was the clarity of the artwork. The illustrations are clean and crisp, the depth created by the varying lineworks is great, and the flow from panel to panel is consistent. This is something oft ignored in comics these days, and I am glad it wasn’t overlooked here. The panel design is good too, sometimes showing the view from the mystery recon device that made it’s way to the pit. The colors do a good job of complementing the linework and the color holds are done well too. The colors are neatly applied, as well as the inks. Nothing seems rushed, nor sloppy. The only thing I’d like to see less of with regards to the coloring, is less airbrushed metallic highlights, for example on the guns and cars. Less of it as to not deter from the lineart. Dial Tone, who is a female in this continuity, greets Beachhead and Duke upon return to the PIT and they meet up with Scarlett, who is in charge of intel. The ship that the joes boarded to inspect in issue #0 has sunk, and Shipwreck, along with Deep Six and Torpedo, explore it. Scarlett and General Hawk play close attention to what the divers are observing, and they soon see the device that wrecked havoc onboard the ship. Hawk requests that Duke and Scarlett work together to try to find out what Cobra is, as they heard a spike on background noise mentioning it. Hawk is stern and doesn’t care for Duke’s joke about Scarlett, and it’s here that we notice tension between Duke and Scarlett. I hope that this is explained in G.I. Joe: Origins, as other joes such as Dusty also notice the tension later in the book. After hearing the request, Duke wishes Snake Eyes was there because Snake Eyes likes that kind of work. Speaking of Snake Eyes, we see him soon enough. Those of you who are tired of seeing this guy will be glad to know that he actually isn’t in the majority of the pages. He basically does recon on a riviera. This riviera is owned by the guy who secured the cargo shipment with the mystery device, onboard the ship that was sunk. His name is Nico. While Nico talks on the phone in stereotypical broken English with presumably Cobra agents, an assassin that reminds me of Wraith appears, shoots up the bodyguards, then melts. The main issue I have is with the dialogue. Nico’s stereotypical broken English distracted me as much as Duke’s rhyme. Fortunately, most of the book does not have that kind of dialogue, it is relegated to just a few panels. Nico runs off to his car and drives away. Snake Eyes shows up, and gathers some of the substance which was left of the assassin, for evidence. Worth mentioning is the fact that Snake Eyes does not start using ninjitsu and going all out making half the book a showcase of his skills. He was about to unsheathe his sword on a bodyguard but that’s as close as it gets. I have a feeling we will be Snake Eyes used very well in this series, not overtaking the book. He is drawn very well too, that’s something that immediately stood out as soon as he prepares to unsheathe his sword. Dusty and other joes at the PIT examine the mystery device that Shipwreck and the divers retrieved from the ship’s wreckage. The joes decide that it has to be cracked open, and mention that it has a sound similar to a cat while it’s sleeping. While this is happening you can see that the mystery device can see it’s surroundings by many angles, as it feeds into monitors at a currently unknown location. The story definitely shows Cobra as a more threatening organization. They have already invaded the PIT with their mystery recon device. At this point, the joes do not even know who, or what, Cobra actually is. Yet Cobra knows who they are, and more importantly, where they are. We are introduced to a bigger roster of joes than I thought I’d see, which I certainly liked. I wasn’t expecting to see Deep Six, Dusty and Dial Tone, and I’m glad that they were introduced. Beachhead is one of my favorite joes, and it seems like he will be playing a prominent role in the book. In this comic Hawk is already a general, Snake Eyes is already a ninja commando, and this issue proves to be easily accessible even to the casual joe fan who has not read the comics. Everyone is similar to how we generally perceive them to be. If you collected the toys, or watched the cartoon, these characters won’t seem much different than what you are used to. I like how this issue introduces us to aspects to be explored in future comics. For example the tension between Scarlett and Duke leaves something to be explained in G.I. Joe: Origins. We’ll learn more about Cobra operates in G.I. Joe: Cobra, as Chuckles infiltrates them. We barely know anything about Snake Eyes, except that he likes to explore mysteries. Maybe we will see the battles that turned Hawk into a stern, battle hardened general. The direction that IDW is taking with the Joe license is exciting, as they are building up wide spanning, interweaving storylines. The first issue alone already gives you two other books to look forward to, all of which complement each other. We haven’t even seen the entire PIT yet! Just a small glimpse, and I’m sure fans are going to want a playset of that thing soon. IDW has a good team assembled, not only of talented writers and artists, but all of them are joe fans to begin with. For us fans, this license truly worked out in our favor. One last thing I’d like to add. I’ve mentioned the Marvel/DDP continuity before. I am a fan of that continuity, and as such, I am personally glad IDW decided to make an all new continuity, as it respects the older one by leaving it alone. Can you imagine if DDP’s WWIII storyline was retconned, Billy came back to life as a cyborg Zombie Ninja, Lady Jaye turned out to be Baroness in disguise and all the other stuff that could possibly go wrong had the Marvel/DDP continuity not been left alone? Anytime a new license holder continues a series, what everyone worries about is how they are going to change the story, how they might ruin it. Well with an all new continuity, IDW is not ruining the Marvel/DDP continuity, nor are they rendering it irrelevant. They are simply leaving it as is, untouched, unchanged. In addition to the IDW continuity books, we are also getting the CLASSIC G.I. Joe books; the Marvel Comics collection featuring 10 issues each. IDW is giving something to all of us fans, new and old. So give the book a chance. It’s new, it’s something to look forward to as the year goes on, and it’s got professionals who also happen to be joe fans like us working on it. |
01-14-2009, 02:20 PM | #2 |
Epically lazy bastard!
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: My Recliner
Posts: 24,035
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You forgot to mention Dial-Tone's Sex Change.
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01-14-2009, 02:26 PM | #3 |
Don't call me Dataframe!
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Boston
Posts: 2,590
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No he mentioned the Dialtone role reversal, I just wonder if Doc and Lifeline performed the surgery.
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01-14-2009, 02:36 PM | #4 |
Cobra M.C.
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Seattle
Posts: 122
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I'm still on the fence on this one. After all, I've been reading Joe since Marvel #14 and a new start has the same appeal as GI Joe Reloaded for me (which I skipped all together).
I think it would have been great if IDW would have taken different time lines from Joe present past and future and played around with that idea. I will probably pick this up to check it out but I dropped Storm Shadow series pretty quickly and the #0 IDW preview didn't do a whole lot for me. This actually may be a good time for me to retire from comics and consider the story closed. I think IDW may face a challenge here with fans that have invested over 20 years into the comic story. Change is not always necessarily a good thing.
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01-14-2009, 02:37 PM | #5 |
Cobra Intel
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 4,753
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Thanks for the review. As silly as it sounds I heard the "check up from the neck up" line a lot when I was in the Army. Not directed at me of course. It was used when someone needed an attitude adjustment or a soldier just said something stupid, like wanting more danger or something.
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01-14-2009, 02:56 PM | #6 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: ?????????
Posts: 4,540
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~~do they even pencil in any cobra?where is cobra in all this idw?~~
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01-14-2009, 03:02 PM | #7 |
VALKYRIE
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Over the rainbow where your mom is at son
Posts: 23,515
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Quote:
~~do they even pencil in any cobra?where is cobra in all this idw?~~
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01-14-2009, 03:08 PM | #8 |
#voteblackjack
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Northwood, NH
Posts: 35,747
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Shin,
It is not the same boat from issue #0. Beachhead and Duke even reference #0 in their conversation.
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01-14-2009, 03:11 PM | #9 |
Jumpmaster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: K-town, Germany
Posts: 190
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The Captain is right... those type of phases are common Army lingo. Another common phrase is "It must be Operators Head Space and Timing." Which is refers to setting the head space and timing on the M2 50 cal machine gun, but means the person in question does not know what’s going on. I kinda neat seeing a common Army euphemism in the comic. Great review
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01-14-2009, 03:14 PM | #10 |
VALKYRIE
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Over the rainbow where your mom is at son
Posts: 23,515
|
Quote:
The Captain is right... those type of phases are common Army lingo. Another common phrase is "It must be Operators Head Space and Timing." Which is refers to setting the head space and timing on the M2 50 cal machine gun, but means the person in question does not know what’s going on. I kinda neat seeing a common Army euphemism in the comic. Great review
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