When IDW secured the G.I. Joe license and announced that they were rebooting the continuity, I was (and still am) 110% behind their decision. As much as I love G.I. Joe, I admit that it's hard to keep up with 25 years of storyline, especially when it stretches across three different publishers. Add the fact that so much of G.I. Joe lore is rooted firmly in the Vietnam War and you've got a concept that's completely unrealistic. I can suspend my disbelief if you're asking me to assume that the DNA of historical figures can be collected and used to create a superhuman dictator. But you want me to believe that guys that have been in the service as long as Stalker and Snake-Eyes have would be taking part in black ops missions rather than pushing a pencil behind a desk? Can't do it. Besides that, I'm a firm believer that starting fresh with a property like G.I. Joe is the best way to go. Cut away the loose ends and the ties to the past and start over for a new generation. Of course, we all know that most of the people reading this comic are probably in their 30's and are definitely not new to the Joe universe, but that's beside the point. On with the review.
The first of three new G.I. Joe series' launched this week. I'm sure I'll be back to review the other two as they are released, but for now let's focus on this one. Simply titled G.I. Joe, this seems to be the flagship title for the franchise. Writer Chuck Dixon is in a unique position with this book. Even though he's starting from scratch, most readers are going to be familiar with the basic concepts of G.I. Joe, so he doesn't really need to explain too much. He can pretty much just hit the ground running, which he does.
Cover art to G.I. Joe #1 by Dave Johnson
© IDW Publishing
This introductory tale focuses on a sunken cargo ship, smuggled weapons and the mysterious threat of something called Cobra. It introduces us to a few members of the Joe team and gives us a glimpes of their underground headquarters (will it still be referred to as The Pit? It had better be called The Pit!) as well as some familiar vehicles. We also find out that the more things change, the more things stay the same... and vice-versa.
Rather than simply tell us that G.I. Joe is the code name for America's highly trained special missions force, Dixon shows us. A holographic image of a soldier on guard duty lets us know that this isn't exactly your run-of-the-mill traditional military outfit. These guys are dealing with some top secret stuff here. Stuff that won't be declassified for a long time, if ever. G.I. Joe has always toed a fine line between being a realistic military comic and being a crazy sci-fi book at the same time and Dixon pulls it off really well, using (presumably) real-life technical terms while giving us high-tech weaponry that certainly doesn't exist in the real world. Further evidence of this can be found when a gun smuggler is attacked by an assassin who materializes out of thin air and seemingly disintigrates after killing nearly everyone in the room. But it somehow all comes off as being very plausible. It's all about defining a reality in which these things can work together, and Dixon should be commended for his ability to do so. Or maybe I should say that Dixon should be commended for his ability to follow in the footsteps of Larry Hama, who did it quite well over two decades ago?
Being the first issue, there's a lot of introduction going on here. It's a whole lot of setup and in just 22 short pages, we seem to get to know a couple of the Joes pretty well. Well enough to know that my first impression of Duke is that he's really annoying, calling Beachhead "bro" far too often and making a few rude comments in regards to Scarlett. Well enough to know that the rest of the team knows there's something going on between the two of them. I'd insert a line about how "this isn't your daddy's G.I. Joe" right here, but it's probably more appropriate to say that it isn't really even my G.I. Joe. At any rate, even though Duke wasn't very likable, it seems that the relationship between he and Scarlett will be interesting. Perhaps a bit on the blasphemous side if it turns out to be even the slightest bit romantic... hey, I might be in favor of a total reboot, but the relationship between Scarlett and Snake-Eyes is sacrosanct in my eyes. There's just some things that shouldn't be messed with.
Sacreligious subplots aside, while it was an interesting book and definitely a good book, it wasn't a particularly amazing book. There was a lot of stuff packed into this issue, but nothing really grabbed me by the throat and said "Holy crap, you have got to keep reading this comic!" except a talented writer playing on an overwhelming sense of nostalgia. In writing this review, I had to ask myself: "If this book wasn't called G.I. Joe, would you have liked it? Would you come back for the next issue if the characters weren't named Duke, Scarlett and Snake Eyes?"
And I would answer that yes, it was a good book. But would I come back? Probably not. While there was a lot going on in this book, it seemed as though nothing really happened. I'm of the mind that the first issue of a book has to give you something concrete to make you not only want to pick up the next issue, but to make you feel as though you have to. I'm not saying the book was poorly written or illustrated by any means; but judging by this first issue, if I was a big fan of spy and espionage type stuff, I'd have to assume there's better books on the stands that would scratch that niche. I didn't get that concrete grab that I look for in a 1st issue.
But speaking as a Joe fan, of course I'll be back. At least for a few issues, just to see where they're going with this version of my childhood heroes. As I said earlier, Chuck Dixon is in a unique position. He's writing for fans that are by-and-large quite familiar with the ground rules of this universe, so he's got a built-in audience. Even if the first issue doesn't tell much of a story, you know most people who buy it will buy #2 anyway. Just because. Dixon can take his time with this story. While the average comic fan might not get anything concrete from this issue, the average G.I. Joe fan probably will.
But I didn't get the impression that this book was being written to bring new fans into the fold. I definitely felt like it was written... well, I guess I'd have to say that I felt like it was written for me. A kid who grew up on G.I. Joe and still loves them, no matter what. Will Joe fans like this book? I can't speak for everyone, but for those of you who aren't too hung up on continuity, I'd say it's worth it to at least give this issue a shot.
I was pseudo interested in looking at this book until I saw Chuck Dixon's name on it. He's one of the kings of "meh" to me. He's a skilled writer that gets the job done but his stories have never once really wowed me. I did read the preview pages and was under impressed there as well, particularly with the "bro" talk, yikes.
Just finished issue # 1 and have to agree with the review. It was good but not spectacular. Atkins, Clayton, Crossley and Mowry do a solid job with the visuals but nothing awe inspiring. In particular, when Snake Eyes shows up I should have had geek chills, instead it just felt flat and unimportant. I guess a full page shot of that turn toward the camera was too much to ask for. Chopping that 'meh' two page spread of the Pit down could have afforded the space but anyways. Dixon's plot and dialogue thus far are pretty by the numbers. I am in it for the long haul but you have to grab the bull by the horns in that first issue Chuck. Duke's dialogue felt slightly out of character but maybe it's just my failing memory of the originals. I know this is a reboot but 'bro' still sounded ridiculous. Nice to see the Shipwreck, Torpedo and Deep Six stuff but the gender bending of characters (Dialtone is a Maaaaan baby!) ala BSG was an unwelcome addition.
GI JOE Origins seems like it will be a bit more my speed. Personally cannot wait to see what Larry Hama has for me after all these years.
I couldn't figure out if the "bro" stuff was meant to be funny and/or irritating or if it was the pathetic attempt of an old man trying to sound relevant. Either way, it was terrible.
I'm with you, darkheart00 - Origins is the one I'm most looking forward to. The Cobra book does sound pretty interesting though.
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Hey Chad....any word if they are gonna need their Warrant Officer?