Comic Reviews by Walt

“One Word”, “In or Out”, “Deep Cover”

Writers: Chuck Dixon, Larry Hama, Mike Costa and Christos N. Gage
Artists: Robert Atkins, Tom Feister, Antonio Fuso
Colorists: Andrew Crossley, Tom Feister, Chris Chuckry
Design & Lettering: Neil Uyetake
Editor: Andy Schmidt
Covers: Robert Atkins, Chris Sotomayer, Jonboy Meyers, Tom Smith, Scott Kester, Ben Templesmith

I have to admit–I nearly did not get this issue. Oh, I saw it there at the store, but I’m not thrilled with the sudden departure from Devil’s Due and that the franchise is being rebooted to a new beginning–I liked the rich history of the series! Additionally, I’ve never been fond of the high price tag the publisher puts on their books–I simply do not care about cardstock covers and high-quality glossy-paper pages. I want to read a story…and $4 for a standard-size single issue is above my threshold. BUT…for $1, I could pick this up to check stuff out.

I was prepared to dislike this. I’d forgotten that IDW had announced they were doing not one, not two, but THREE Joe titles. One core book, an origins book, and a book looking moreso at classic foe Cobra. This issue offers prologue sequences for all three.

“One Word” involves a routine mission and Duke questioning a prisoner, who gives him one single word for his trouble–a word that means nothing (yet) to these characters, but will mean a great deal to anyone who knows anything of the GI Joe series.

“In or Out” provides an interesting look at how Duke was recruited, which in itself adds a certain depth to his character as well as General Hawk that leaves me honestly interested in their relationship as well as what it means to the tone of the overall Joe team.

Finally, “Deep Cover” introduces us to a character that apparently is headed–as the story’s title suggests–into deep cover with an enemy organization, after being met by representatives of said organization who could have killed him, but wish to talk instead.

All three of these stories seem so brief as to not really have enough room to discuss writing, characterization, and all that. Much of my interpretation and expectation is based on what I know of the (recognizeable) characters from their Devil’s Due (and prior to DD, Marvel) incarnations.

I’m a bit mixed on the art. I think my favorite is Atkins on the first story. The others had a certain look to them that at the moment doesn’t quite say “GI Joe” to me. At the same time, Feister’s art does have a slight surreal quality about it which fits the sequence quite well–though I wonder how it’ll fit long-term for full-size issues and changes of scenery. Fuso’s art–while it doesn’t have that GI Joe feel to it–has a certain grittiness to it that actually fits the tone of the story–a story that doesn’t seem like it will necessarily even be anything resembling a “classic” Joe story but more of a modern take on a story type.

After reading this issue, these three previews–and the “back matter” character sketches with reasoning for costume updates, as well as a brief interview with the three writers–IDW’s done most of what it probably set out to do. After all, I’m interested. I’m intrigued. I want to follow these characters as they follow that one word to its obvious source, and see the fight struck. I want to see how the team came together, how the recruitment of Duke plays out and how similar the recruitment of other Joes is, and how that will affect the team dynamics. I’m also interested in the character going under cover to infiltrate this enemy organization, to see how it affects him as a character, and what it might mean for the rest of the team.

But this issue has two standard covers, as well as two retailer-incentive covers. The images provided for the covers of each debut issue of these three series show that clearly, there will be multiple variants for those as well…

The stories look to be interesting and worthwhile for long-time GI Joe fans as well as those interested in checking ’em out for the first time. However, I am one reader who will probably be kept away by the high cover price and annoyingly numerous variant covers. (Whatever happened to pinup pages in the back of an issue, or as Devil’s Due would do, put a second full-size image on the back cover).

Story: 8.5/10
Art: 6/10
Whole: 7/10

Filed under: Comic Reviews 2008, G.I.Joe (IDW), INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS | Tagged: Christos Gage, Chuck Dixon, Comic Reviews 2008, G.I. Joe, IDW, Larry Hama, Mike Costa | Leave a comment »