GI Joe #1 (Allor, Evenhuis, Peer)
Recap
Cobra has the world in its coils. Some forces are trying to stop Cobra from taking over the globe, but things aren't looking too good.
Review
In GI Joe #1, we get OUR first peek at the War on Cobra. This isn’t quite an origin story, which is great because GI Joe doesn’t need one. And speaking as a Joe fan, I don’t need to spend 6 issues learning how this incarnation of the Joe team came to be,
Paul Allor’s writing is simply superb in this issue. The audience’s point of view is one of a young man who’s witnessing some important events take place, and for a Joe book that’s a nice change of pace. It’s also nice that we come in at a point where the “war” has been going on for some time. As a rule, showing origins for characters that everyone knows the origins of is a waste of time and comics, Here, we just jump right in. Allor makes some VERY brave choices here. Ones I think are really interesting, they make me want to see what upcoming issues are going to bring, and ones that I’m sure will outrage the internet. Some really solid writing, here.
After reading this, artist Chris Evanhuis may be one of my new favorites. I like art that’s simple and can get the point across without going over the top on hyper-details, crosshatching, in short, I don’t like my art messy. I like it neat and clean and Evanhuis is about as clean as they come, He’s a really good storyteller who doesn’t need a crazy amount of panels to get his point across, I’m curious as to what Military personnel both past and present will think of this book when they read it. Although Evanhuis draws a number of guns that are based on real hardware, I don’t think he’s drawing from any sort of references, but it doesn’t take me out of the book in the least,
Final Thoughts
I really can't believe how much I like this book!! I wasn't expecting it to be bad, but I wasn't expecting the book to be what it is, and I think that's why I enjoyed it so much. If you're a long-time Joe fan, you'll want to pick this up. If you're a person who's never read a GI Joe comic, you NEED to pick this up!!!
GI Joe #1: Life During Wartime
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10