GI Joe #2 – Review (with preview)

Because it’s Tracy Icenhour’s birthday, we’re going to review the latest issue of GI Joe. For those not paying attention, the U.S. has surrendered to Cobra. Duke resisted and was shot in the head by Major Bludd.

GI Joe #2

Writer: Paul Allor
Artist: Chris Evenhuis
Colorist: Brittany Peer
Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Cover Artist: Chris Evenhuis

Solicitation:

With Cobra ascendant across the globe, the G.I. Joe program takes on new recruits to fight back. Are the recruits, everyday people determined to fight for their country, ready for the realities of war? Or will Cobra root out and destroy the initiative before it has a chance to launch?

Review:

It’s nice to see the world of GI Joe turned upside down. It’s appropriate that with this apparent victory by Cobra, it makes sense that there would be new recruits. I find it especially nice to see the turmoil going on in a new recruit. It is also refreshing that in light of Cobra’s victory, it becomes apparent that General Hawk will have GI Joe continue to resist and fight. I imagine that for fans of GI Joe, that seems very appropriate.

The art is refreshing and is colored suitably bleak. The repetition of panel design, keeping the “camera” static to drive home the repetition of the actions. The futility of resisting is driven home. It illustrates that GI Joe has no choice but to keep fighting. There are a few places where the art seems to miss a little, but they’re few and far between. The lettering was a little hard to get to used to, but after a while, it wasn’t an issue.

Overall, This issue was impressive. It gave me more than I was expecting. I find a few of the characters to be two-dimensional. However, the characters in the forefront of the story come across as refreshingly human. If Paul Allor and company can build on this, I could be convinced to give this series some attention.

Final rating: 6.5 (out of 10)

Preview Pages: