GI Joe: A Real American Hero #290: Electric Avenue

This issue is a little bit of a side-step from the regular issues. Author Larry Hama takes us back in time a little bit to focus on the Oktober Guard and one of their more exciting “missions”. Normally, I’m not a big fan of the Oktober Guard (especially in these crazy times) but they have proven themselves a hundred times over as allies of the Joe team. Hama really pays attention to detail with the timeline and continuity of the series, which is always really nice. This is a really neat “between the panels” kind of story, that doesn’t fall into the trap a lot of comics do where they ignore the main characters or characters when telling a story that’s not 100% spotlighting them. There’s lots of action and Hama mixes in a decent level of sci-fi into the story without going over the top. 

Artist Andrew Lee Griffith returns and really steps up from previous issues. As mentioned there is a significant level of sci-fi and tech (tech that’s NOT weapons) in this issue and Griffith executes it with impeccable realism, blending it seamlessly with the very realistic looking military environment and spirit of the book. As I mentioned earlier, the book has a healthy dose of action and Griffith has come to excel at that and this issue will not disappoint. Over the past months, Griffith has really matured as an artist, his page layouts are better and he’s taking more risks artistically when it comes to the basics of comic book art.