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IDW Review Onslaught – G.I. Joe: Cobra #10

While I’ve fallen behind on some of the comics, I try to keep up to date on the G.I. Joe: Cobra title.  Far and away my favorite Joe themed series, I’m constantly amazed by simply how intelligent the writing is.  Mike Costa and Christos Gage manage to really delve into the idea of a shadowy terrorist organization like Cobra and really try to rationalize the concept and have it make sense.  In the old school days, Hama just sort of accepted some things and expected the readers to do the same.  Nothing wrong with that idea in the least, but I really like that this new generation of Cobra is trying to exist within a realistic world and the writing team is trying to breathe life and idealism into Cobra as a whole.
Issue #10 was refreshing.  I had no major issues with the last story arc in this series, but it’s like spending the weekend at your best friend’s house when you were a kid.  During that weekend, life was different, yet still fun, with some adventures.  But then you get back home and go back to your own bed, and suddenly, everything just falls into place.  The weekend was fun, sure, but there’s nothing like home, and getting thrust back into the Chuckles and Cobra Commander arc was like coming back home.
Click the “Read the Rest of the Story” link below to see the full review.
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IDW Review Onslaught – G.I. Joe #23 and #24

So it’s the day after Thanksgiving, and while many folks are braving the crowds for “Black Friday” shopping, I’m taking some time to gather the last few releases of IDW comic books and trying to play “catch up” on some reviews.  I was surprised to find that I was actually a couple of months behind on  some of these.  How does that happen?
In recent months, I’ve been pretty hard on the main IDW G.I. Joe title, simply because I try and hold it to a higher standard.  While G.I. Joe: Cobra, G.I. Joe: Origins, and even stuff like Hearts & Minds should all be considered fringe titles, the main run is the run that should continue to breath life into this new G.I. Joe mythology, and while there was a really good stretch going there for a bit, it’s starting dragging just a bit again.
Well, I may be one of the only ones, but I was really looking forward to seeing what IDW was going to do with Agent Helix…and they finally introduced her in the main title in issue #23.  However, based on the 5-page preview I posted, I was immediately hesitant to buy in, simply because it was evident she was being designed as a new “super power”, even in her first appearance.  We’ve spent thirty years establishing what a bad ass Snake Eyes is, and here comes Helix in her first mainstream appearance, and she hands him his ass?  Well, I’m hesitant to base a character and an issue on only five pages, so I will review issue #23 and #24 below.  Click the “read the rest of the story” link below to check out these reviews, but be warned, spoilers will be evident.
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Oh, yeah, there's another show on The Hub today, too…

You know, something has kind of gotten lost in the shuffle, at least on my end, regarding the animated goodness that is to come later on this evening.  I’ve already gone over how much I’m looking forward to G.I. Joe: Renegades, and of course, I’ve talked about Avengers, and even Young Justice.
But what about this whole Transformers: Prime thing?
Since the days of Beast Wars, I’ve been loving the animated universes of the Transformers (well…  besides the whole Armada/Energon/Whatever fiasco) and you would think this next generation of Transformers animated coolness would have me excited.  But it’s kind of gotten lost in the shuffle.  I think part of me has kind of been looking forward to it, but with all of the Renegades furor, I hadn’t really thought about it a whole lot.
Well, the guys over at Seibertron have thought about it, and even received early screeners for it, and posted a review.
Okay, I’m officially excited.
Certainly the discerning folks at Seibertron.com are more well versed in Transformers lore than I am, and probably are harsher judges of how a new animated universe fits into the whole mythology, but they seem pretty enamored with it already.  They claim it takes the best parts of Beast Wars and the best parts of the live action films and blends them all together into a very serious, “aggressive” story…and I really like the sounds of that.
So yes, most of my giddy impatience tomorrow will be waiting for 5:00pm and the debut of G.I. Joe: Renegades, but I will be honest and say a healthy portion of the excitement is also now reserved for Transformers: Prime.  Two cool looking reinventions of the 80’s corner stones of after school animated greatness.  Could we be on the verge of another golden age of boys action animation?  Certainly seems possible.  Even as the father of two girls, I’m all for it.

Happy Thanksgiving

As I begin the day getting ready to truck the family over to the in laws, I wanted to take a minute to say thanks to all the folks who stop by the site on a regular basis.  Considering what’s going on with the world economy and the world in general these days, I have lots to be thankful for, though I won’t bore anyone by listing them all here.
I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday today.   Happy Thanksgiving.