I think this will be my last review of the main G.I. Joe book, at least for a while, because it's becoming clear that I'm repeating myself, and that the book isn't really being geared to readers like me. Blaylock is doing plenty of name-dropping and showing off familiar faces to appease the nostalgic fans, but he's not offering up a very compelling story and he's crowding the book with characters who don't get much definition. There are some interesting moments, but the overall story isn't really connecting with me, and after eight issues, I think it's time for me to give up.
This is clearly Blaylock's show, as even the addition of artist Jamal Igle doesn't make the story much clearer, leading me to believe that the storytelling difficulties are in the layouts more than the finished artwork. It's a shame, because the actual art is pretty solid, although I did find the take on Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow both to be a little cartoony. Some more distinctive costumes for the various characters, particularly similar characters like Snow Job and Frostbite, would also have been appreciated. But the basic anatomy and the detail on clothes, background details and faces is generally good.
Unfortunately, the difficulty at the heart of the book continues to be the storytelling. Rapid cuts between sequences and way too many panels on a page make for crowded and confused reading, and though I'm not a fan of unecessary splash pages, I do think that Blaylock and company could really serve to open up the action scenes a little more. The book also wouldn't suffer from a decrease in the number of characters or a more focused plot, rather than an attempt to cram in new favorites in each issue. In attempting to convey the twists and turns of counter-intelligence, Blaylock has delivered instead a story that doesn't really seem to have much of an actual point behind the smokescreens, and the story seems to be aimed to get the "payoff" moments without putting much time into the build-up.
On the other hand, there are some fun moments for those who are here just for the nostalgia. Everyone gets a chance to see or hear about their favorite, with such third-string Joes as Snow-Job, Frostbite, Tripwire and Chuckles given a moment or a name-check in this issue. In addition, though I felt the build-up was lacking, I am intrigued by the promise that is offered by the confrontation that closes out the end of the issue.
Marvel's G.I. Joe was the comic that got me into comics, and I still have enough of a nostalgic fondness for it that I am picking up the Marvel reprints of the classic stories. However, my nostalgia doesn't extend far enough to enjoy new stories of the Joes unless the book stacks up independently of its nostalgia appeal to the other action comics on the market, and in that regard, G.I. Joe is disappointing.
