GIJoe

[RoIIo Tomassi]

Yeah, apparently StormShadow and Snake Eyes were locked in mortal combat in the hull of the Flagg as it sank. Obviously none of the Joes have ever read comics or they'd know how ridiculous that premise is.

Whoops. Sorry for the spoilers.

[anarky]

Snake Eyes probably laughs at Jean Grey and thinks, "Fucking amateur."

[anarky]

Thinking about it, Snake Eyes is definitely one of those characters everyone wants to write (or has to, being the most popular character in a licensed property), but only one guy can write well.

It's pretty damned tough to get tired of Hama's Snake Eyes, but it takes about two pages before you're sick of anyone else's version. I guess anyone else who bothers researching what the theoretical abilities and limits of ninjutsu would be, and took the time to empathize with the character on all levels, might be able to do it, but I can't think of anyone else who's written a decent SE, at least not one based entirely on the original (so Renegades doesn't count). Okay, maybe Warren Ellis on Resolute, which was close to the original version.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

There's also the matter of fan expectation. Everybody thinks they want all Snake Eyes all the time, but really; less is more.

[jjreason]

Spoilers, asshole!!!

j/k. I'm not too concerned about spoilers on this title anymore.

I thought you just posted that you had read it & that it was tripe???

[anarky]

Nah, I'd posted about Snake Eyes being presumed dead the previous time, about three or four months earlier. Which was, IIRC, the twelfth time he was wrongly presumed dead in the IDWverse.

There's also the matter of fan expectation. Everybody thinks they want all Snake Eyes all the time, but really; less is more.

Plus, Hama features Snake Eyes constantly, but knows to keep him in the background rather than going all superhero all the time.

[jjreason]

Sorry biznatch. You'll still read it anyhow.

[anarky]

They hyped trimming down the G.I. Joe line from three starting after Target: Snake Eyes.

And, now, it's back to three. There's always one core book and one book about undercover agents inside Cobra. It's the third book that varies. Oh, and Dixon and Costa remain constant. Not complaining about Costa, but Joe is not Dixon's best work.

[anarky]

Read Cobra: Son of the Snake last night. Excellent book, even if they had to keep Firefly as the pudgy black dude from that shitty Hearts & Minds book.

Little help here, though: reading with big gaps in time between volumes, it's a bit tough to keep up with all the black-haired ladies. I can keep straight that Chameleon is Erika la Tene, though it gets tough to figure out who's who whenever Baroness appears since they're drawn so similarly.

But Ronin is giving me a bit of trouble. I know it's said who she was, but it's probably easier to ask here than dig through older volumes. She's Jinx II, right? How did she go from that role to Ronin?

[RoIIo Tomassi]

I think she just changed codenames. It'd be more confusing if she kept calling herself Jinx. Because then you'd have to keep explaining the "real" Jinx got shot in the face because of a cruel joke the Crimson Twins were playing on Chuckles.

Honestly, nobody ever had problems telling Scarlett, Lady Jaye, and Cover Girl apart. But now everybody looks the same.

[anarky]

That's what I was thinking. Something about the way she's introduced in this volume made me think I was wrong, though.

One thing that really bothers me lately is Cobra in general. Specifically, the ground troops. They didn't show up for months in any capacity that the Joes could verify. Then one Viper shows up, and practically kills Snake Eyes in single combat. One. Snake Eyes. Then everyone makes a huge deal about how dangerous they are, stressing that one almost took out Snake Eyes.

And, now, they're cannon fodder and get wasted right and left. Not that I want the Joes to be entirely outclassed, but what the fuck was up with the one Viper? Was he, unofficially, the IDW version of the SAW Viper from Benzheen?

[RoIIo Tomassi]

I'm trying to decipher the last page of Snake Eyes/Stormshadow. After Tommy and the Hard Master finish their duel and kill all the assassins, Stormshadow goes into the dojo and opens up a secret room hidden under the floorboards. There he finds Snake-Eyes' mask.
Now clearly this is to show the reader that SE survived and somehow made it to the dojo and was holed up there (healing or whatever).
But my question is, why would SE leave his mask there for Stormshadow to find? He wouldn't leave it there accidentally. Does he want SS to know he's alive? Why? So they can continue their feud? Does he want him to know he's okay and thanks for the food, it wasn't hobos who broke in, it was me, here's my calling card?
Or is it only for the benefit of the reader to know SE will be back?
My initial thought was SE is symbolically leaving the mask behind. Or perhaps is passing the mask onto Tommy because he wants him to be the new SE. And while the nerd in me thinks that possibility would be cool (temporarily at least) it doesn't mesh with either characters motivations.

I dunno. Color me confused. Maybe the new GIJoe series will have the answers.

When does the Trade come out so nark can answer this for me?

[anarky]

I don't see a solicitation on Amazon yet. They've jacked up the numbering so badly with multiple relaunches, then not consistently numbering the paperbacks at all, who the fuck knows? I'd guess by August.

I just read the 7-page preview of the latest relaunched title. It mostly looks quite good. Well, the read is quite good, at least. The art is a fucking eyesore. This is like the shit Rob Liefeld would be too embarrassed to hand in six months late.

Three things that bothered me, though, which may be addressed in the full issue, or, at least, I'd hope in the near future:

• Why the hell is Shipwreck bitching about his code name? He's always been Shipwreck!
• How do the Joes know what the hell a Maggot is or what W.O.R.M.S. are? Cobra has always been secretive in this universe. It's not like the gag in the Marvel run, where the Joes carry regularly-updated guides to Cobra technology (and vice versa).
• What the fuck is up with Doc? She's talking to her father! How the hell is this possible? Every single Joe had to fake their own death to get on the team, and it was presented as if it took place in a very cloak-and-dagger fashion, where Hawk basically said that anyone who didn't drop everything the second he first met with them would be executed. I'm not sure if either Doc has ever appeared in IDW (there are so many cameos popping in and out, it's really tough to keep track of all but the most important characters), but that meeting has some serious issues. Until very recently, one of those two thought the other was dead. Since elder Doc is giving advice to his daughter as if she's new to combat, I'd be inclined to think he was the Doc on the Joe team. So his daughter is far more forgiving of this whole clusterfuck than I can easily accept. Which also means Duke hand-picked five Joes he trusted with his life and an untested daughter of another Joe. I'll roll with it if the rest of the story is as good as the excerpt, but that's a huge fuckup.

[RoIIo Tomassi]

Van Lente has a "Running Commentary" on his first issue. It's not as clever as the current TF books with the Easter Eggs, but it was pretty good.

I got the Arthur Adams Baroness cover(sweet!!). I'm so glad because the 'A' covers by Juan Doe look AWFUL.

[jjreason]

Just finishing the 21s before I get to GI Joe #1. The Hawk solo story in GI Joe was pretty damned good. "I guess you want an explanation?" "Not really."

EDITED: and just finished GI Joe #1. Quite a departure from the last couple of years. It was kinda like they really wanted Joss Whedon to write them some snappy banter but couldn't rope him into it, so they hired a bad impersonator. Oh and the art wasn't good. All that being said, the issue did move along quickly & had an ending that ensured I'd be ready for issue #2.