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Review: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #300

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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #300

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #300 is a comic that should be a celebration. It’s the final issue of the long running series being published by IDW Publishing with a future that’s still unknown. It’s also an amazing accomplishment for writer Larry Hama who has been the architect from the early days. The finale to a long running storyline, the issue should be fireworks and excitement to wrap things up. Unfortunately, like the C-130 within the pages, the result is a crash.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #300 is an oddity of an issue. Pure action and over the top moments, it encapsulates so much of what makes G.I. Joe fun. The concepts are out there mixing military action and sci-fi weirdness, mixing in a dash of laughs and humor. It’s classic Joe. But, the comic ends on a cliffhanger, an unfinished story that feels both fitting and frustrating. Like a good “to be continued”, the issue leaves you hanging right at a big moment of action waiting for the next episode (issue in this case). But, that may never come leaving it all a bit of a letdown. It’s not so much a celebration as an oddity of a “finale” that doesn’t quite satisy.

Featuring the art of S.L. Gallant with ink by Aria Keane, and color of J. Brown, the art is good. I’m not the biggest fan of Gallant’s style but there’s something for how much is packed into the issue. The action scenes are entertaining and there’s a lot to keep track of and change up. The team handles that well with all of the characters looking solid and each scene hitting its beat visually.

The comic features a PSA from writer Erik Burnham, art by Billy Penn, and color by Luis Antonio Delgado. Like the rest of the comic, it captures the feel of classic G.I. Joe PSAs but like the overall issue, something is slightly off. It’s a nice fun send off but again, doesn’t really feel like that special finale.

And that’s probably what bothers me most about G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #300. It doesn’t feel like a send off. It feels like an unfinished piece by a maestro who deserved a better ending. Still, there’s something interesting and gutsy about leaving things the way it is. This is an issue that’ll be debated for quite a while by Joe fans.

Story: Larry Hama, Erik Burnham Art: S.L. Gallant, Billy Penn
Ink: Aria Keane Color: J. Brown, Luis Antonio Delgado Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Story: 6.5 Art: 6.5 Overall: 6.5 Recommendation: Pass

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle

IDW salutes and celebrates Larry Hama with G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #300

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IDW Publishing will bid farewell to its long-running series of G.I. JOE comic books with the publication of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #300, written by indispensable visionary Larry Hama with art by SL Gallant, inks by Maria Keane, colors by J. Brown, and letters by Neil Uyetake. The final, overlength issue of the IDW comic will be published in November, and one of its sensational cover variants—illustrated by Jamie Sullivan—sets a new world record for the most characters featured on a comic book cover! 

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #300 marks the culmination of a culture-shifting 40-year franchise helmed throughout by industry legend Hama. Nearly every issue of the original 155-issue run was written by Hama until Marvel Comics ended publication in 1994, and when IDW acquired the license 15 years later, Hama was welcomed with open arms to continue the storyline right where he left off! Hama, was recently recognized for his lifetime of achievements as an inductee of the Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame.

In the bombastic conclusion to IDW’s G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero, Cobra is on the verge of creating its deadliest army ever by resurrecting both dangerous villains and heroes. Will the warriors of G.I. JOE foil their archenemy’s evil machinations before it’s too late? Or will the devious Revanche robots have the last word over both the Joes and Cobra?

In honor of the final issue, A Real American Hero #300 will feature a record-shattering cover image by artist Jamie Sullivan that pays tribute to the scope and impact of the 40-year-old franchise. Sullivan’s cover sets a new world record, featuring a total of 313 unique, named G.I. JOE characters together in a single image.

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #300, the final issue of IDW’s G.I. Joe series, will be available with six cover variants, including Covers A and B by Jamie Sullivan; Cover C by Netho Diaz; Cover D by Kieran McKeown; two retailer incentive covers by John Royle and Ron Joseph, respectively; and a special retailer incentive wraparound of Sullivan’s world record-setting cover without trade dress, so every single detail and character can be seen in its full glory.

Review: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero – Best of Storm Shadow

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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero – Best of Storm Shadow

When it comes to conflicted antagonists, it seems as though Marvel may have cornered the market. You can see this in three of their biggest movies. In Black Panther, Erik Killmonger  is nothing what he seems. We find out that he’s T’Challa’s cousin, and by the end of the movie, audiences were as conflicted as he was. In Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,  the Manadarin is a father who longs for his dead wife. It’s a grief that pushes him to unleash an ancient evil. In Thor: Love & Thunder, Gorr The God Butcher, doesn’t kill because of sheer hate, but out of grief, when a God denied him the right to bring his daughter back to life.

Comic book fans will tell you that there’s so many great villains to discover in comics. There is more than a variety of characters that cannot be painted into being a hero or a villain. Take for instance Storm Shadow, from G.I. Joe whose journey in comics is very complex. He was an assassin for Cobra than came to be a soldier for Joe. Just like Snake Eyes, his first true allegiance is to the Arashikage ninja clan. In this collection of stories, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero – Best of Storm Shadow,  we find out just what makes him such a fan favorite.

In “Judgments”, Storm Shadow  is in a moral quandary  where he  disagrees with the rest of COBRA on a prisoner, eventually betraying and helping the prisoner escape. In “The Tenth Letter”, Storm Shadow helps G.I. Joe liberate a Gulag where Snowjob is kept captive. In  the next story, through a diabolical plan  of Copbra Commander, they weaponize the one man who they did not have an answer for, Snake Eyes. In the last story, we get an origin story about Snake Eyes before there was G.I. Joe, as we get a picture of a complex ma, who found it hard to assimilate to infantry life.

Overall, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero – Best of Storm Shadow is a collection that actually highlights two of the best characters in this classic franchise. The stories by Hama are fun. The art by the different creators are gorgeous. Altogether, a collection that will have fans wanting to watch old episodes of the 80s cartoon.

Story: Larry Hama Art: Rod Whigham, Ron Wagner, Agustin Padilla, Andrew Lee Griffith
Ink: Andy Mushynsky, Randy Emberlin Color: George Roussos, Bob Sharen, J. Brown
Letterer: Rich Parker, Joe Rosen, Chris Mowry, Neil Uyetake
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: TFAW – Zeus Comics – comiXology/Kindle

Review: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #276

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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #276

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #276 kicks off the first part of “Untold Tales”. Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, and the gang drop down in Abysmia to locate a tech dabbling in poison gas and nuclear material. They meet up with their Abysmia contacts, one who is incredibly versatile with a knife, who more or less clears a path for the Joes to get to their target, only to have her own personal vendetta stand in the way of justice.

I can say I don’t know everything about G.I. Joe and I’m not sure how many stories don’t feature COBRA as the antagonists but there was no hint of that organization within the story. Writer Larry Hama, who has written this series for so long, gives them a break and instead it gives the story a bit more realism, I think. This issue felt very wordy. Even more so when you think that issue 275 was a silent issue. My only bone to pick with this issue was the ending felt very rushed but other than that, the pacing is great for such a story.

Netho Diaz is still doing art on G.I. Joe and with this issue, I thought I saw a few times where his art looked better than normal. He’s got a good hand for detail and in my opinion, is one of the best artists working on a licensed book. I’m glad IDW has an artist of this caliber working on the Joes. There are times when I feel like his art draws a bit of inspiration from the likes of Neal Adams, especially in the facial details. Jagdish Kumar’s coloring is used in a variety of different locations throughout the issue and he helps sell what’s going on within the pages.

I don’t know if “Untold Tales” is going to be a bunch of single-issue stories or if this issue will build onto something much bigger but as far as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #276 goes, it works well as a solo issue story comprised of a good team of Joe favorites. One chapter in, “Untold Tales” is shaping up to be another quality story.

Story: Larry Hama Arti: Netho Diaz
Inks: Jagdish Kumar Color: J. Brown Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Story: 8.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.5

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle

Review: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #275

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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #275

Who doesn’t love G.I. Joe? Well, I guess some people probably don’t but G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #275 is a big deal and I’ve been reading the series off and on for the last bunch of years. Last issue, COBRA kidnapped a man named Sean Collins, who they think might be the original Snake Eyes and they want to brainwash him to work for them. It sounds like something that might have happened in one of the old cartoons.

But wait, there’s a big twist with the issue that I didn’t see. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #275 calls back to another issue from many years ago, issue 21, or, “Silent Interlude”, in that there are no words. No dialogue. No caption boxes. That means we, the readers, have to piece it together from the art. In removing the dialogue and taking out of my mind the voices of these characters that have been ingrained in it, it actually makes for a rather pleasant read…or viewing.

I think one of the most interesting things about this is that series writer Larry Hama continues to do innovative things with these characters. When I picked up this issue, I had no idea it would be silent. But what is lost in words, this issue certainly makes up with in action. Non-stop, no-holds-barred, all guns blazing. You pick it, it’s what it is. All the big Joes and Cobra guys and gals just blasting each other all throughout a hospital. And it was something you could follow. Does it bug me there’s no dialogue? Eh, not really. I do feel that it would add something substantial to the experience, but having this issue be a silent one does also make for a memorable issue.

The art team on this issue of G.I. Joe had to do a lot of work. Tony Atkins and Netho Diaz create a great action sequence of an issue. I think they do satisfying work on the title. But on a silent issue, the art has to do so much more work to keep the reader invested in what they see and I feel it was mission accomplished in that category. And what’s more, I love seeing their renditions of so many classic characters that I grew up with.

Overall, an issue like this can hit a few different ways. I thought G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #275 was one of the better issues with no words I’ve read. It got me from point A to B and sometimes, or in this case, part 9 to part 10, and what a way to wrap a story. It’s not a perfect issue, but it’s a good one that, I think, pays off for those who have followed Hama’s G.I. Joe comic. It’s not one I’d recommend to a new reader.

Story: Larry Hama Art: Robert Atkins and Netho Diaz
Ink: Brian Atkins and Maria Keane Color: J. Brown Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Story: 6.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 6.5 Recommendation: Good for those who follow the series but not for new readers

IDW Publishing provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Purchase: comiXology – Kindle – Zeus Comics

Review: The Be-Bop Barbarians

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The Be-Bop Barbarians is a graphic novel set in the late 1950s – with jazz, the burgeoning Civil Rights Movement, and the Red Scare. Three African American cartoonists’ stories weave together through tragedy and perseverance.

The Be-Bop Barbarians is by Gary Phillips, Dale Berry, J. Brown, and Justin Birch.

Get your copy in comic shops today and book stores on February 26! To find a comic shop near you, visit http://www.comicshoplocator.com or call 1-888-comicbook or digitally and online with the links below.

Amazon
TFAW

Pegasus Books provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review
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