Reviews
REVIEW: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #287
Book Title: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #287
Book Description: Cobra Island has a great history with the G.I. Joe franchise. It was created when Cobra tricked the Joes into launching missiles at them in the Gulf of Mexico. When the missiles detonated, they triggered a fault line that caused the island to rise to the surface.
Cobra had troops in position to occupy the newly formed landmass immediately. The Joes fought the good fight, but were unable to get enough of a foothold to clear the island quickly enough.
While this was transpiring Cobra had the wherewithal to have dignitaries meeting with several governments. The dignitaries got these governments to recognize Cobra as a sovereign state. Once that occurred the G.I. Joe team had no choice but to withdraw from the newly born nation’s borders.
Cobra Island also played host to Cobra’s civil war when Serpentor and Cobra Commander (Fred VII) couldn’t come to an agreement about how Cobra would be run. That lead to unlikely alliances as the Joes teamed up with Serpentor and the Dreadnoks joined Cobra Commander in a slugfest that ended with Zartan’s assassination of Serpentor.
During the Devil’s Due run Serpentor was revived and took control of the island once again. He ran his faction, The Coil, from it. That lasted until the United Nations-sanctioned a nuclear strike on Cobra Island that killed everyone in the blast radius. After that Cobra Island was abandoned.
Or so we thought. In G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #287 we see that Cobra has plans for Cobra Island. There’s been enough activity to warrant sending an incursion team in for reconnaissance. Outback, Mongoose, Multo, Black Hat, and Sherlock are the Joes on the mission.
They discover that Dr. Mindbender is giving the island an overhaul. The building that was once Cobra Headquarters is being transformed into a casino. They also see that Dr. Mindbender is having some of his toys shipped to the island. Most notably, his brainwave scanner is amongst the inbound cargo. Will the Joes be able to decipher what the mad scientist is planning before he can put it into effect?
Book Author: Larry Hama
Book Format: Paperback
Publisher - Orgnization: IDW Publishing
Publisher Logo:
Illustrator: Billy Penn
- Story(3.8)
- Interior Art(4)
- Cover Art(4.2)
- Dialogue(3.9)
- Mechanics(3.75)
- Editing(4)
Summary
As a longtime fan of G.I. Joe, I was thrilled to see we were going back to Cobra Island. It was a focal point in the G.I. Joe stories I read as a child. I can still vividly recall the feeling in my gut when the Baroness gunned down Storm Shadow on its beach.
I was sorry to not get a peek at the Terror Drome again, but the events in this story more than made up for it. Dr. Mindbender is a genius. A severely misguided one; but a genius nonetheless. Because of him, II learned about DNA years before it would be covered in science classes in school. I’m very curious to see what he has up that sleeveless cape of his.
We got to learn about Sherlock in the story arc that just wrapped up. It was nice to get more of a background story for Multo and Black Hat. It was sad to see how cruel people can be for no better reason than “just because”. These characters have a background that shows that it is possible to rise above the negativity. I appreciated that Mr. Hama gave readers these examples.
I have always enjoyed the artwork Mr. Williams does. His wraparound cover from the He-Man vs. the Thundercats series was one of my all-time favorites. Of course, I didn’t have the presence of mind to bring it with me to get signed when I met him this summer at Lilac City Comic-Con.
On this cover, I love the determination in Scarlet’s eyes. The Statue of Liberty makes a terrific backdrop for this combat scene. It’s great for grabbing the attention of prospective customers.
The artwork on the interior pages is vibrant. I liked seeing the Mamba and the Moray off the coast of the island. The coloring when Dr. Mindbender unveils his newest creation is great as well.
To me G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #287 is a must-read for any G.I. Joe fan. It takes the reader down memory lane while simultaneously opening one hundred doors with one hundred possibilities.
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