GI Joe: Cobra v2 TPB

Here's what I don't get; this is the noir, espionage title for the GI Joe line, yet Antonio Fuso still manages to make Chuckles look like his old GI Joe figure for his first few appearances in the book. Why can't they do more of that in the main title? I usually don't start off with art, but I seem to weigh that a bit more in Hasbro books than in my other stuff. Fuso modernizes the old Joe figures in ways that makes them COOLER. I thought nostalgia was the only way to enjoy some of these characters, but in this title, I think anyone could be great while sporting the core of their old look.

This is actually stronger than the core title in a lot of ways. Christos Gage and Mike Costa have created a world of bad people, there are no good guys in this book. Even Hawk comes off like a jerk, and the only person who seems at all decent has to leave before she's corrupted. The hero of the book, Chuckles, is crazy, and while we can still cheer for him, he's clearly messed up.

Erika La Tene is a more likeable character this time, but she's still pretty bad. I do feel bad for her in her terrible situation, embedded in a paranoid observation where retirement is not an option. Things get even worse when some of those awful old Cobra guys show up. They had funny toys, but Croc Master and Crystal Ball aren't funny the way IDW is bringing them back now!

And what an ending. Both our leads are trapped in the world of their enemies, and I can't wait to see how they handle being trapped there.

Good