Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews

GI Joe America’s Elite #35
DDP Comics
Powers, Bear, Shoyket, Quinn & Beaulieu

GI Joe turns the tables on Cobra. This issue is the second to last for the twelve issue arc, as well as the second to last GI Joe comic for DDP. I can understand that with the transferring of the license to IDW, that DDP cant really kill off any main characters or otherwise destroy assets that are about to change hands. However, this arc really feels like all the air was sucked out of it with this issue. The slow build now has a rush to wrap up feel to it. I cant say I totally disliked the issue, but this is no where near the caliber we have seen from this arc. It’s a victim of its own consistency that this story is a letdown.

GI Joe has regrouped and has gathered some intel that Cobra is about to detonate two separate nukes. Two teams of Joes race to stop the nukes from being set off. It is at this point that you might wonder why Cobra is doing this. From what I can gather, Cobra Commander seems to think that the Joes will eventually win and he would rather destroy the Earth’s balance of ecology than fight. It seems so far fetched.

Another odd point in this story is that the five or so Joes per team manages to find the nukes in short order and infiltrate the bases where they are held. All of this with very little resistance – it seems. Does this remind anyone else of the 1980s cartoon? Where is Cobra? They occupy the world, but cant stop five or six Joes?

This issue includes two other factions of Joes, one taking back Fort Meade and the other stopping the Cobra forces using the MARS technology. Both of these fronts have very fast resolutions that are not very believable. What’s the deal with Colton leaving Hawk in the car?

Okay, so we have established that the plot resolutions stink. So what’s to like? Well, the action for one thing. There is plenty of it and it’s up to the status we’ve seen all along from this series. Another item that makes this issue good is the character interaction. Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, Stalker and Wild Bill all have very good moments. Add in some great moments from Baroness, Destro and Colton and we have a solid issue with the core of the characters. Sure, some of them are wasted, like Flint, but this issue uses a great deal of the characters very well.

Another good aspect of this issue that is done really well is the artwork. I recall some of the issues in this arc having an unpolished feel to the art, but not this one. The battles jump off the page and particularly the jungle scenes really give a feel for an actual battle.

So there you have it, some items I liked a lot while others I despised. Generally speaking, though, this issue doesn’t really do much harm. However, it does deliver a letdown to the ten issue buildup. There in lies the failure.

If you were to pick up this issue and only this issue I would suspect you would be pleased. You get a lot of action and some really good artwork. Plus, depending on who your favorite character is, you might even be pleased at how they are portrayed. But if you have read this series for any number of issues you will most likely be left feeling that the emergency brake was pulled on this story or that you wandered into the “Yo Joe” days of the 1980s.

Next issue marks the end. It is certainly possible that there is a twist that would make this issue not all that it seems, but I suspect not. IDW doesn’t want anything broken while this used car is being transported to their house.

3 out of 5 geek goggles


G.I. Joe Americas Elite #35