Monday, May 30, 2011

GI Joe: Cobra: Serpent's Coil TPB



Wow. Another fantastic chapter in the Cobra saga. Say what you will about the core GI Joe series these days, the Cobra book is doing just fine. Where the core title has been meandering for a while, treading water as we wait for some real conflicts between the Joes and Cobras, the Cobra title brings it full force.

This chapter focuses on Scoop, a minor, late-model toy/character that wore a ridiculous helmet. This version of Scoop is a lot more down to Earth; he's a washed up PI who fell from grace as a respected journalist. It seems Hawk maintains a list of non-affiliated assets to use when he can't or won't use his normal forces, and Scoop is one of these assets. Hawk tasks Scoop with seeking out the Serpent's Coil, a cult that says all the right things in public, but has earned some nasty whispers (couldn't be from that threatening name, I'm sure).

This is Serpentor's introduction to the core IDW universe, and boy is he evil. He's like a religious Crystal Ball, using a cocktail of drugs, religion, and conversation to convert important people to the Coil (and therefore to Cobra). Scoop bravely walks in to face down Serpentor, but he quickly finds himself in a pretty rough situation. Christos Gage and Mike Costa do a great job playing this thing out like a TV movie, but with an ending you won't see coming.

The core story is strong enough, but fans of Croc Master or Skullbuster REALLY need to check this thing out. Cobra is getting fleshed out nicely!

Sergio Carrera does a great job with this. His best work has to be in the ominous Croc Master chapters, that guy is plain awesome.

Good

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