This is clearly not the G.I. Joe you are familiar with. Gone is the camp of the original series; Gone is the bright and happy color palate; Gone are the silly costumes and world domination bits. What we have in G.I. Joe #1 is a reinvention of the series that is focused squarely on a ‘ripped from the headlines’ style of political intrigue. Not a single gun is drawn or bullet fired within the issue, and yet somehow this still felt very G.I. Joe.
Right off the bat writer Karen Traviss does a marvelously wicked job at weaving a tale of political intrigue with G.I. Joe, Cobra, and the world at large. No longer is it good against evil in a quest to save the world from whatever laser mounted animal herd Cobra managed to whip up, instead we are left with a whole lot of gray area.
The story follows a large cast and does a respectable job of laying out the foundation that this series wants to bring readers. There is no lead up, no long and drawn out backstory, and no explanation for the events currently at hand. The reader is left guessing and questioning just what is going on and how Cobra has managed to reinvent itself.
For a book with zero action (something out-of-place in the world of G.I. Joe) there is enough meat in the script that you will be kept on the edge of you seat for most of the read. The story itself isn’t perfect though as the constant jumping around and flashing forwards and backwards can become a nit confusing, especially to reader not aware of the cast of characters. Still, it works well enough and would hold up against any political thriller that is currently on television.
Steve Kurth has art duties and does well with matching the tone of the story with the art. So many times in recent weeks I have read comics that just don’t match up tonally with the art, so it nice to see how well G.I. Joe #1 pulls it together. Gone is the cartoon stylings that many will equate to the G.I. Joe brand, but the change in this case is welcome. The coloring is to be commended as well with Kito Young on duty. The use of reds really helps panels pop in just the right way and keep the book from becoming another brown and gray pile of generic slop.
For all the visual and stylistic changes, enough of the core that makes G.I. Joe tick is still in play. We know Cobra is still the evil organization and that the Joe’s are the team to save the day, but what has changed is the publics perception of that. The story is teasing just for easy it is for someone, or some group, to change their image thanks to a little time and PR. Cobra has become a peacekeeper organization during its rebuilding, while the G.I. Joe’s are losing favor within political circles for now being unnecessary.
While I hope the action does come soon (issue #2 looks like it will deliver), I really hope Kurth can handle the action set-pieces just as well as he does the political stuff. If you are a fan of Gi.I. Joe then this is an easy recommendation and if you have long thought the series to be silly camp tailored towards kids, then this book might just change your mind.
I should also note that the cover to issue #1 is gorgeous. Seriously, it’s the kind of cover that will make you buy the book without even knowing anything about it.
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