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䷾ scryptic
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"The only way to bear the snakes is to become one." - Cobra Commander, Cobra Reborn

Love the classic look of Rod's cover! That's the one I'll be picking up.

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I'm a huge Rod Whigham fan, but strangely this cover looks a bit awkward. Perhaps it's Billy's hands on the sword. A bit weird.

I must say, the covers on this run are making me consider dropping my "only one cover" rule, since Padilla's cover are looking amazing and I'm such a fan of Rod Whigham. But really, what will I do with the 2 covers? They'll sit in my comic box with the rest of them.... Hmmm decisions, decisions.

On a side note, have Rod's covers for 156 and 157 been revealed anywhere? I believe this is the first we've seen of his return to GI Joe. If anyone has a link, please share!

At Joe Con, Carlos Guzman, assistant editor of GI Joe for IDW, said that at least one of the covers is based on a sketch by Larry Hama. And that sometimes they will have three unique covers because of Hama's sketches.

But since the first one hasn't come out yet that is probably tentative, anyway, I would suspect for #156 there to be the traditional 4 to 5 covers. But IDW hasn't announced any retail exclusive covers yet.

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GI Joe comic fan since 1982

The YO Joe Comic Book Section
&
The YO Joe International Comic Book Section

I can't wait to see how this one plays out it should be action packed like the last two have been.

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"I wanna be an airborne ranger...

I wanna live a life of danger..."
— Beach Head

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"Those with knowledge and information,not guns and ammo,have the true power over others."

Piles of action in this one.

****SPOILERS****





We've got the infiltration of the silent castle going on here, from a few angles. Snake Eyes and Scarlett coming in from underneath in a gigantic water system we've never seen. (I know Destro at least overhauled this castle, or perhaps rebuilt it... I'd love to see a history of it before never seeing it again!) Inside the castle, the Commander is upset over having no troops left to give orders to, since they are all dispatched in America, but Storm Shadow returns to the castle having realized that it is the Joe rally point.

A decent fight breaks out between Storm Shadow, Snake-Eyes, and Scarlett, and man I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed the more skillful ninja trained Scarlett. It's been a long time since we've seen that aspect of her... I know it was somewhat controversial back then, but it's been a big part of her character for me in the intervening time. Snake-Eyes getting wounded is always somewhat welcome to, especially since I feel Tommy is always downplayed against Snake-Eyes (and I'm beginning to think his name really IS Charlie Mike, like all the jokes keep suggesting!)

Hama's classic tone is here intact, as a Pentagon guard quips that Hawk is a "black-bag psycho-chicken loose-cannon.. let's get on with his 'accident while being taken into custody' " which was pretty awesome. Seeing Hawk being lone against the system, as he always seems to be, even without Jugglers, was pretty fun.

Interesting developments with Baroness and Billy. I'm now fully expecting the Dr. Venom theory you have all proposed to follow through, that is, a manifestation within Billy. Considering my beliefs of the formation of Cobra, and the Commander and Baroness' history, that scene with her and Billy is getting a little weird. I've never quite settled on whether Destro should ever trust her or not, bw scanner or not.

It's nice seeing Stalker and Rock and Roll in action again... both the first and now the second time that I am reading this issue the trojan horse entry into the castle is fiercely reminiscent of the "Frontline" arc which is now happening in some other universe.... eugh, I never want to think about Joe universes that way. Now I feel as nauseous as when the "Reloaded" was first announced.

And then the most striking image in the book... the Commander trying to suit up into his Armor V.3 without any help. That one scene forever changes my feelings on the armor's look... it literally is as bulky and unwieldy as it looked compared to the first two armors he sported. I forgot I was going to go back and do an animated comparison of the three of them, just for fun.

As the Command group is coming together, it is nice to see Zartan utilizing holograms instead of something more wacky here. I miss that aspect of the old series, too. "I'm not lyrical or spherical, but I can be as confounding as a limerick oyster" WTF? Nice. Weird.

Nice issue, looks like the whole martial law situation is going to be wrapped up much faster than I expected. For some reason I thought it would be a status quo statement. Ah, well, it made a statement.

Again, good stuff all around.

Whatever Hawk is up to is a slick move befitting of Hawk. The rally point being the Silent Castle was a great twist and shows real preparation from the Joes. Destro being "head of security" makes sense. Snake Eyes getting bested by Storm Shadow, but lucking out that he has Scarlett around echoes "Without A Hope, Without A Soul" where Firefly would've had him beat if not for Scarlett. Here is a little more "random chance in battle" like we've seen over the years, but just as personal of course.

Duke being the "captured Joe" for his strategy makes a lot of sense. As Field Leader ... Duke would never let one of the others put themselves in harm's way like that and basically be the "sacrificial lamb" if things went wrong. That's what I like to see from Duke, and it seems clearer with every new issue that Hama "finally" knows exactly what to do with the character.

That "rock & roll, Rock & Roll" line was pretty priceless.

I hope Cobra doesn't get chumped or anything too quickly - after all, they have massive numbers in America "hidden in plain sight". If this plan fails, there are so many options - try to use those Security Firms as occupying forces ... break them up and use them as splinter cells spreading terror ... have them escape across the same borders they're "guarding". Cobra Commander is usually pretty good about salvaging situations.

Baroness & Billy is a weird situation. The Doctor Venom thing is still perplexing and interesting, but he is very much certainly a character who deserves some "full circle, ghosts from the past" treatment. Still, grown up a lot or not ... Billy can't even be much older than 18! It's hard to tell if a lot of it is the brainwashing, or if Baroness is trying (as she's done MANY times) to use her feminine wiles to manipulate him ... or frankly what her reaction to his new Venom-induced "boldness" is at all.

It's interesting that Cobra might be over-committed with their troops, and it's interesting to wonder where the rest of the Joes are in all this (we've heard that they've been given the sign to "hide out" until the Core can fix things.

Also awesome? Mainframe's battlefield intelligence. Larry seems to be boosting Mainframe a ton now, and I appreciate it - having him take out that Tele-Viper's RTC gear was fantastic, and the Joes teamwork in their insertion scenario is highly skilled, with sound tactics, and strong goals.

Now ... who knows what kind of CRAZY complications Larry will throw in next issue?!

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2013, NEW SPRITES!

I believe the reference is to Lewis Carroll's "The Walrus and the Carpenter" in Through the Looking Glass...



Okay, I have to say that I'm really wondering about the colorist's choice at the top of pg. 5 where he makes the windshield wiper end up inside the vehicle... WTF?!?

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"The first rule about Punisher Club:
nobody talks about Punisher Club..."

Great action issue Classic Hama.

Minor art complaint: Padilla systematically draws the Arashikage symbol wrong. In 157 also. It's either upside-down or has an extra (fourth) bar. See the Padilla cover to 158, SE's shoulder in 157 (p. 20) and the swords in 158 (p. 9 especially) and 157 (p. 19).

Ironic, because Larry chose it because it was easy to remember

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䷾ scryptic
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"The only way to bear the snakes is to become one." - Cobra Commander, Cobra Reborn