GI Joe: Origins #2

Larry Hama has a style I can't exactly define, kind of stilted and unrealistic, but awesome. I grew up loving it in GI Joe from Marvel, and he's using it again here. Duke, Heavy Duty/Roadblock, Hawk, and Scarlett don't talk like normal people, they talk like confident bad-asses who need to show off that confidence every time they speak. Their language inclues acronyms and slang no one I know would ever use, but that's what makes his GI Joe. I also love the way we're seeing Cobra Commander start Cobra from the ground up. Seeing his group of dissatisfied folks are a neat contrast to the robbers who break in on Snake Eyes. There is honor in some scum bags, but that honor was drilled in from a clear place. I like seeing the team forming up, and I dug Stalker's interaction with Snake Eyes' old commanding officer, I actually found myself wondering if he'd end up on the team too. It is interesting that out of the current team, only Hawk was ever one of my old favorites, yet I find myself really loving the book. (Actually, in the old days you knew if Stalker was leading a team, a cool story was about to break out.) Duke is actually becoming one of my faves. I loved that Snake Eyes isn't hopping around slicing and dicing yet, but he's actually kind of helpless and a non-factor in the story. IDW has a perfect set up here: they're delivering my dream GI Joe comic in the core title, and giving me backstory I didn't even realize I wanted in Cobra and Origins. I highly recommend this line to anyone who digs the concept of GI Joe.

Tom Feister's art is decent, but not great. I can recognize everyone and the action is clear, but he has big shoes to fill. Mike Zeck covers and Rod Whigam art from my childhood is almost unbeatable at this point, but I find myself missing it all the same. That said, Feister's art is clear and gets the job done.

Good