The most daring and brilliant side of IDW’s G.I. Joe reboot continues with this second mini-series that delves deep behind enemy lines and into the sordid world of Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world.
Sorry… I can’t help it. It’s impossible to resist. It’s just ingrained in my head. Every time I say “Cobra”, I have to follow it up with the rest of the cartoon intro, despite the fact that this mini-series is about as far from the old G.I. Joe cartoon as you could possibly get. This book is about as far from any version of G.I. Joe that I could possibly imagine. It’s G.I. Joe for those of us who grew up with the old Larry Hama series but never quite grew up. It’s for fans of 24 and the Bourne films, only twice as gritty and steeped in violence and subterfuge. It’s for people who like their espionage stories filled with shadows and shades of gray… and dudes who hang out with crocodiles while wearing creepy breathing apparatus’. Because after all, this is Cobra we’re talking about. And as dark and gritty as you want to get, if you take out the weird stuff, it just ain’t Cobra anymore.
Luckily for us, the first issue of G.I. Joe: Cobra II is already delving deeper into the many colorful characters that inhabit this world of terrorism and counter-terrorism. The majority of the story is told through the eyes of Erika Le Tene, an assistant to the Paoli brothers Tomax and Xamot. She’s been with Cobra for some time now and still isn’t quite comfortable, especially when she has to do a meet & greet with Croc Master. Yeah, Croc Master – the last guy from the old days that you’d expect to show up in a book that has thus far prided itself on taking a very realistic approach to the worlds of Joe and Cobra. But in just two short pages, Costa, Gage and Fuso manage to make his entry into the story seem perfectly believable and completely creepy as well. In a sense, it reminds me of the 80’s Joe book – it was crazy and wacky and ridiculous, but it was told in a manner that never spoke down to you or seemed out of place, so you just accepted it (as a kid, anyway). This version obviously isn’t done in as much of a tongue-in-cheek fashion as the old Joe book, but thus far it treats the wacky aspects of Cobra with the same respect as the shady business dealings and spy stuff. So in the end, it all works.
The other side of the story gives us a new recruit to the G.I. Joe team (though it is never referred to as such). She’s another martial arts master with expertise in assassination and infiltration and she’s going to go undercover in order to find Chuckles, who has apparently been missing since the end of the last mini-series. What’s interesting about this part of the book is that it shows that G.I. Joe is just as creepy and underhanded as Cobra. As Hawk forces an old Colonel to hand over another new recruit who will undoubtedly be killed in action, die in a car wreck, get cancer or simply disappear, the old warhorse gives Hawk a piece of his mind. He doesn’t like what he’s doing, considers it Un-American and says that there’s no honor in Hawk’s little private wars. We’re starting to see that this isn’t necessarily an organization that fights for freedom wherever there’s trouble; it’s a covert group of nasty dudes that just does America’s dirty work. It’s a far more realistic and not exactly likeable approach to G.I. Joe, and I love every single page of it.
Cover art to G.I. JOE: COBRA II #1 by Howard Chaykin
It still shocks me that Hasbro allows a book like this to be published, but I am definitely thankful because it’s been one hell of a good read. I’m overjoyed that the same creative team from the first series has returned because it just wouldn’t be the same without them (and probably wouldn’t even be worth reading). As you might expect, I’m giving this one a big, fat A. I might not be reading the other Joe series’ from IDW, but as long as I can get my hands on more G.I. Joe: Cobra I say “Let the reboot continue!”
Folks who like to justify expensive comic books by saying “the quality level is so high that I don’t mind paying the extra dollar” need to read this book. THIS is a book worth paying an extra dollar for!
LOGIN
REGISTER
RSS
HOME
Hey, that sounds like crap.