Review - GI Joe: Cobra 1 - 4

This is an older review I wrote June 29th, 2009.

story by Christos Gage and Mike Costa
art by Antonio Fuso
covers by Howard Chaykin
IDW

I never was into the new GI Joe as a kid. It was a little after my time. Instead I had the old school tall talking beaded supercool GI Joe as a boy. But there were two main reasons I picked up this limited series from IDW. First off, IDW will be attending the library readers festival in September and also the covers were done by Howard Chaykin.

Now that I've finished reading all four issues, I thought they were well done. The story involves a malcontent GI Joe soldier, with the code name Chuckles, who is taken out of regular training and sent into deep cover to try to infiltrate Cobra. Unlike the GI Joe that I remember, there is no camp or super improbable technology in this story. Something must of happened to the "Yo! Joe!" early 1990s version to today because this story, by Christos Gage and Mike Costa was a gritty spy story with blood and sex that would make any espionage fan happy. But if you're familiar with any of the deep undercover types stories, many of the same tropes are used. How to maintain cover. That point where the agent decides to do something rash to go deeper. And ultimately, how to get out. And this story has all these elements.

The artwork by Antonio Fuso is good. Dark and thick, its almost expressionistic, and portrays the dark story well. The characters are easy to recognize and the action is easy to follow. There is a starkness to the frames that, though doesn't distract from the story, is different than the "marvel" style of everyone flexing. And the backgrounds a muted and clean, without too much added detail to distract from the action. The only drawback is that seems to be little movement in the figures.

So this GI Joe book I picked up because I felt I should, I actually enjoyed. The espionage and intrigue was well done and there was no hint of any of the old, cheesy Joe I remember as a kid. I might need to look at the other GI Joe titles when I have a chance.