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G.I. JOE #2
"Reinstated! 2 of 4"
Recommended (8/10)
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Image Comics
Writer/Layouts: Josh Blaylock
Pencils: Steve Kurth
Inks: John Larter
Colors: Hi-Fi Color
Editor: Scott Wherle
Price: $2.95 US |
Okay, I know I'm being a huge nostalgic fanboy and a symbol of everything that's wrong with modern comics. Guess what? I don't care, because I'm really enjoying this comic, and it's not because I have nostalgic blinders on. Blaylock has a real feel for what made G.I. Joe so popular in the first place,
and while his tone is a little more super-heroic than I remember from Hama's
run, he's managed to move the concept forward without completely destroying it
or relying too heavily on familiarity with the characters. While older readers
are definitely getting more out of this, I'd be surprised if anyone picking this
up and looking for a slightly goofy super-hero/military mixture wasn't pretty
pleased with what they've got. Especially with Kurth and Larter on art, showing
off a mixture between J. Scott Campbell, Bart Sears and others.
Last issue was really for the
old fans. The call to order for Cobra and Joes, the reunions, a pretty quiet
issue as far as action went. This one starts off that way, but quickly begins
introducing some hefty mysteries and launches into a pretty impressive action
sequence near the end. Blaylock is mixing some of the cliches of military
stories in with the familiar G.I. Joe riffs to good effect. I particularly
enjoyed each Joe sort of picking a recruit, and the new recruits getting to show
off what they know, but the continuing look at the Dreadnoks is also awakening
an appreciation for them that I didn't know I had.
Blaylock's take on the team is one that moves forward with technology into the realm of science-fiction, giving it a bit more of a super-hero tinge. The Joe-Com is a pretty nifty idea, and works on the same "cool! gadgets!" level as much of the Joe team did originally, and Snake-Eyes's use of a little net gun mounted on his wrist is another fun bit that sort of blurs the line between the military and the costumed hero aspects of the book. Honestly, as long as we don't get Ninja Force and Space Command and the sort of silliness that overwhelmed the original G.I. Joe book, I'll be perfectly happy with this blend.
Steve Kurth still hasn't
completely won me over, as his storytelling is sometimes a little cluttered, but
there are definitely glimmers of something beyond simply good art. Several of
his shots, particularly the full-page shot of Zanya, show a definite J. Scott
Campbell influence, with all the energy and style that implies. Others are just
really nice pieces of work, including the shot of Cobra re-wiring a satellite in
the opening or the redesigned look for Mainframe.
Look, I'll be honest, if you weren't a G.I. Joe fan back in the day or the concept just strikes you as too goofy, you're probably right; It's not for you. But as a fan of G.I. Joe who was afraid that all I'd get out of this work was a nostalgic thrill, followed by desperately trying to convince myself that the book was better than it was for the sake of memories, I'm pretty pleased. The Image series of G.I. Joe
captures all the fun, inventiveness and energy that the Marvel series did, and
I'll be quite happy if it lasts as long.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
