Broken Frontier

The elite team of G.I. Joe returns to active duty when American soil is threatened once again.

I haven’t read a G.I. Joe comic since the heyday of the 80’s when Marvel had the rights to the book. So it’s been a long time since I remember the original team of Joes in action. This time around a new commander is assigned to lead the team, and joined alongside him are some familiar faces from the past. Despite the changing times, this team is pressed into action after an act of terrorism hits the city of Chicago. I was delighted with the appearance of some longtime standing members, and of course it helps to have a myriad of intriguing plot twists to help get things moving along.

The story opens with the team reeling after the incident that took place in Chicago in issue # 0. The team is undergoing a briefing by commanding officer General Colton (the original G.I. Joe) at the Rock H.Q. in Wyoming. This time around agents Duke, Roadblock, Shipwreck, Stalker, Flint, Scarlet, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow are all gathered together to form the investigating team. The team is then split into two units and quickly deployed into action to gather as much intelligence as possible. Much of this issue focuses on Scarlet as she heads to Massachusetts to speak with ex-Cobra operative Cesspool. She gets more than she bargained for after discovering him in a coma and then being threatened at gunpoint by his wife. A tussle ensues between the two women, but Scarlet is more than a match for the woman. After putting her out of commission, Scarlet is then attacked by robots disguised as the couple’s children. Meanwhile, there is a debate about Storm Shadow’s allegiance to the team undergoing discussion back at the Rock. General Colton doesn’t trust him, but the ninja assassin is needed to question another Cobra operative held as a prisoner on the base. As intriguing as that sounds, the action intensifies and is ended on another cataclysmic moment.

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and found it intriguing for the most part. Most of the credit should go to the creative team involved. The writing was competent, engaging and paced appropriately for a comic noted for an overabundance of action. Writer Joe Casey managed to balance his story well with solid dialogue and character interaction before giving way to the action sequence involving Scarlet. His story was also well supported with solid artwork by artist Stefano Caselli and Andrew Pepoy. They worked well as a tandem and I enjoyed the style of art which I felt had a ‘European’ influence. Perhaps this was due to the rich and darker tones of colorist Sunder Raj, but more importantly it gave the story that added extra touch. I am very curious to see if they can keep up with the high quality and production values in future issues, and in this case let’s hope they can. It certainly helps make this a more enjoyable read than it already is.

I think it’s safe to say G.I. Joe is back in the saddle again, despite this being another retooling of the series. I didn’t read the series in the previous incarnation, so I can only judge the merits of book with this one here. So far I like what I see and I am sure this book will go a long way given the current political climate in the world. Long live the Joes.