(This post was due yesterday but Storm Éowyn had other ideasand knocked out my electricity and internet!)
In May 2024 I told you all about a fantastic new Kickstarter project from Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics. With the rights to produce G.I. Joe (and Transformers) comics now in their more than capable hands they were not only carrying on the G.I. Joe A Real American Hero comic from #301 onwards, still written by Larry Hama no less, they’d also be reprinting ALL of the original Marvel run in what promised to be a quite awesome compendium box set.
You can check out the blog post from last year to read about how I became a fan of the comics, about my pledge and the Kickstarter campaign itself. It went on to break all records to become the most funded comics Kickstarter ever, raising over $3.7million (almost £3million). It was a thrill to be a part of that! They promised they’d start delivering the sets to American customers in December and the rest of the world in “early 2025”, so I naturally assumed anytime up until the spring.
You can imagine my surprise when I received word on New Year’s Eve that mine had arrived in the UK, and how ecstatic I was when I got a knock on my door and was handed a (very) heavy parcel on 3rd January! After the awful year 2024 had been it was like 2025 was telling me things were going to be okay after all. In this post I’m going to show you all of the cool things that came in that parcel so be prepared to feel jealous. (I can’t even say I’m sorry about that, it’s just that awesome.)
The box itself is huge and has a lovely glossy finish, with artwork on either side drawn by Andy Kubert (Batman, X-Men, Thor) and coloured by Brad Anderson (Action Comics, BatmanThree Jokers, Ghost Machine). The gatefold lid opens up to reveal the huge spines of four hardback volumes inside. I mean, I knew these were going to be big but it still surprised me just how huge they were when I first opened it.
Reading about their design and seeing mock ups of them on Kickstarter never prepared me for how gorgeous they’d look and feel in real life. I love how they’re embossed and that the star on the front and spine matches each volume’s fancy gilded-edged pages. Aren’t they glorious? At over 620 pages each there’s plenty to get stuck into as well. In fact, inside the four tomes are 155 issues of the original comic, three Yearbooks, 28 issues of Special Missions, four issues of the Transformers crossover, four issues of Order of Battle and one G.I. Joe Special.
In total that’s 195 issues! So even though I spent £235 on this and that may sound like a lot (it was), it’s really only £1.20 per issue, which in itself is a bargain considering how much they can go for on eBay, never mind the fact they’re wrapped up in such high quality presentation! While I’d have preferred the original dotted colouring just for that extra retro feel, the strips do look lovely. It’s a sympathetic updating, each colour and tone replicated perfectly as solid blocks of colour. There’s no gaudy updating or errors and the linework remains crystal clear and detailed, unlike some collections I’ve had in the past (I’m looking at you, Batman: The Golden Age).
Also included inside the books are lots of extras I never saw in the few IDW collections I had, such as profiles and even extra stories. Oh, and the option I went for includes a bookplate signed by Larry himself. On top of all that reading there are also physical copies of the Special, #21 (the famous silent issue) and the first Yearbook, the latter of which isn’t in the hardbacks because it was all reprint material.
But that isn’t all. As the Kickstarter rocketed past stretch goals a whole bunch of extras were added, all of which are included here. There’s a pack of G.I. Joe trading cards, then nine more cards exclusive to this set, an additional exclusive Storm Shadow card, a double-sided bookmark, a sticker, pin badge, patch, prints and four posters showing the sides of both the G.I. Joe set and the red Cobra set that was also available.
Phew!
Having a flick through the first book I think I’ll be reading new stories for me by the end of that volume alone! I’d previously read some in the pages of Transformers and tried collecting the earlier stories when IDW had the licence but I failed miserably (more on that here), so to finally have the full set and be able to read the whole story in order for the first time is incredibly exciting.
I’ve begun collecting Skybound/Images continuation but they’ll be sitting on the shelf for now. With the phenomenal success of this set (originally they only aimed to raise $50,000) I’m hoping for a similar box for IDW’s 145 issues and specials to bring me fully up to date before I begin reading the new stories. Yes, that means the new monthlies will be on my shelf for a while but I’m used to collecting comics and waiting a long time to read them with this blog. Besides, this set is going to take a minute to get through and if they do a second set it’ll be worth the wait to avoid spoilers.
Okay, I’m off to make a massive pot of coffee, cut several slices of Christmas cake, put on some appropriate background music (I’m thinking James Horner’s Aliens and Steve Jablonsky’s Transformers scores) and I might even slip into my comedy shark onesie a friend got me for Christmas and get stuck into this. You might hear back from me by the summer…
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The story of the G.I. Joe Kickstarter that became the most successful in comics history!
This somewhat uninspiring cover welcomes us to the latest issue of G.I. Joe and the penultimate chapter in the Transformers crossover leading up to the launch of the Generation 2 comic. William Rosado and Chris Wallace’s poorly coloured foreground distracts from the silhouette of Megatron in the background holding a captured Dr. Biggles-Jones. Not that we can tell who she is.
Unfortunately, in general the art for Sucker Punch inside isn’t the best I’ve seen in G.I. Joe over the years, or even in these few issues. In particular Megatron suffers from a lack of detail, the end result coming across like the artists just aren’t comfortable with Transformers at all. At some points he looks more like a Go-Bot than a Cybertronian, which is a real shame as his was one of the few really good G2 toys produced by Hasbro.
Written by Larry Hama (who else), this chapter is pencilled by Steven Leiber (Whiteout, Hawkman, Gotham Central) and William Rosado (The New Titans, Green Arrow, Iron Man of 2020), inked by Scott Moulter (a search for comics he’s worked on only brings up this issue) and Chip Wallace whose inking in previous issues has been great, and coloured by Bob Sharen and lettered by Rick Parker, both regulars on the series.
Among the 11 pages of adverts (nearly a third of the comic, normal for Marvel) there’s a strip in there somewhere too and we find out part of Cobra Commander and Megatron’s deal is the handing over of Dr. Biggles-Jones to the Decepticon leader for transport back to Cybertron. Her mastery of advanced weaponry and inventions impressed Megatron so much he saw the potential of letting her loose on Cybertronian tech, just as we saw her excited by the prospect last time.
“The Protoplasm Stripper is just the thing for hacking away all of that excess tissue!!”
Megatron
We also see Biggles-Jones continue to demand Scarlett admit she’s working undercover for the enemy, despite defending her against such accusations from Slice and Dice. Clearly the doctor knew they’d kill Scarlett if their hunches were proved right, which begs the question what have Biggles-Jones’ intentions been all along? Also, did anyone fall for the elaborate ruse?! It appears not. Snake Eyes watches on, ready to pounce to protect his love, but he and his men soon find themselves on a neighbouring rooftop against Cobra Night-Creepers, leaving the two women locked in their potentially deadly conversation.
As you can see, Cobra Commander is still going through his eating-a-thesaurus-for-breakfast phase, so much so that Larry has even included a little translation caption for us. Less successful is how Megatron is presented. Especially after the amazing work in the previous issues where he had real-world weight and scope, where he felt like a real threat. The previous months really spoiled us, it would seem.
See past the art though and the revelation of what will happen to Dr. Biggles-Jones is a shock and a few pages later (after some fighting in the sewers and on rooftops between the male Joes and Cobra), the more interesting story returns just after Biggles-Jones has told Scarlett some big revelation. Before we can find out what it is a huge robotic hand smashes through the window (and half the wall I presume) and takes her away.
I do hope we get the answer to what this conversation was about before the end of next month’s issue because that’s when the blog will be heading off in the direction of the actual Transformers: Generation 2 comic, leaving any unresolved G.I. Joe arcs for me to discover when I finally take delivery of the complete Marvel run in the Skybound box set next year.
Over the next few pages the action ramps up as the leader of the Night-Creepers, angry at Snake Eyes sitting zen-like on the roof instead of fighting him, slowly realises what he’s up against. Scarlett makes her escape in a moment of karma for Dice that was particularly satisfying to see after the last couple of issues, before she tells everyone that he was actually right while she makes her way, no-holds-barred, towards The Ark. Then her lover equally puts an end to things.
There are some other scenes here too, such as the rest of the Ninja Force leaving Snake to go and rescue other Joe teams in the sewers and on the streets, Dr. Mindbender’s continued recovery and Hawk sending Storm Shadow and Spirit back into the town to retrieve Snake Eyes after the former enemy refuses to follow orders to leave. But overall this chapter is very light on story.
This is not a complaint. Thanks to the previous chapter telling a good story this is a welcome action-filled issue with each of these incredibly well-written characters bouncing off each other. The action is pretty much non-stop. I only wish the previous art team had been responsible for bringing it to the page. The one plot that does get advanced is that between Scarlett, Biggles-Jones and Megatron.
The fact Scarlett is ready to go up against Megatron is a much bigger shock ending than any of the grander scale cliffhangers
The final double-page spread has Snake Eyes finally breach the hospital to rescue Scarlett, only to find she’s already escaped. Making light work of those that wished her harm he soon finds himself trapped against overwhelming odds, but the cliffhanger is the more entertaining moment. Clearly, whatever Biggles-Jones told Scarlett was important enough for her to… well, see below.
Now there’s a match up I can’t wait to see! Showing the resolve of the character, the fact Scarlett is ready to go up against Megatron is a much bigger shock ending than any of the grander scale cliffhangers. Vastly out-matched, does she have a plan? Is anger clouding her judgement? Just what was she told?! Next month’s issue is highly anticipated and we’re actually in for a double dose of excitement in September. Why? Take a closer look at the next page.
The Marvel Comics Bullpen Bulletins were identical across all of their titles every month, often containing news or views the company wanted to share with their readers across the board. At the bottom there’s also the Hypeline, a comics checklist which is described as showing what’s on sale that week, but it’s actually showing us what’s going to be on sale the week of the following issue. You’ll notice two certain comics right beside each other.
That’s right, the next G.I. Joe and the first Transformers: Generation 2 went on sale on the same day, so you’ll see both reviews on the same day here too. I’m glad, given the agonising wait there’ll be after this issue. Among the comedic commentary it’s also nice to see Marvel’s executive editor, the late Mark Gruenwald and I agree on comics being created to be read rather than collected for monetary value and never opened.
At the back of the issue is the Postbox: The Pit letters page and this is the first time we’ve seen it over these few months. You can see that the same ‘issues’ (female readers, cover price) that plague dark corners of social media today (where certain ‘people’ try to use these topics to justify their hatred or piracy) were being brought up even back then. At least the former of the two topics wasn’t a complaint at the time. What surprised me was that everyone’s address is printed! A way for fans to reach out for new pen pals at the time? Defintiely couldn’t do that today thanks to those same dark corners of the web.
Some disappointing art aside this has been an action-packed addition to the story, with just enough plot progression to make me eager for the final chapter. The mystery between Scarlett and Biggles-Jones in particular, not to mention Scarlett’s solo standing up to the might of a Deception, have me counting the days. I just hope we get to see some resolution, although with the predicament the doctor is in with Megatron I’m coinfident we’ll get an ending one way or the other.
But what kind of ending? That’s the question. That’s what’s made me impatient, but wait I must. Not for too long though, and with both G.I. Joe #142 and of course Transformers: Generation 2 #1 on the same day the wait will be doubly worth the wait. It’s all been building to Sunday 29th September 2024. Be here for the beginning of a most hotly anticipated sequel.
This cover drawn by Chris Batista and Donald Hudson suggests the action is picking up inside and it’s not wrong. Goin’ South is, as ever, written by Larry Hama, Chris is on pencil duties, Chip Wallace inks, Bob Sharen colours and I’m guessing Rick Parker is lettering again although there’s no credit for some reason. Megatron presents The Ark to Cobra Commander as per their agreement after Cobra rebuilt the former Decepticon commander’s body, giving him a brand new form and paint job.
The title spread below initially threw me a bit. The trees on the surface of The Ark after it leaves its hiding place seemed far too small compared to Megatron, making the ship seem too big as a result. But think of them as being in the background and Megatron in the foreground, and remember that the biggest Transformers would be about the size of those trees, and the scale of The Ark suddenly seems spot on.
In the final issues of the original comic we saw The Ark crash land after a spectacular fight on board that involved Megatron, his future self Galvatron, Shockwave and Starscream. With Megatron revived in the prose story in the last annual, I really do love how Larry’s story is keeping faithful to what has gone before. It would’ve been easier to just do a soft reset set a few years later that wouldn’t have contradicted the first series, but which needn’t have deliberately linked back to specific moments. So kudos to him for the fan service.
Over the next few pages we check in on most of our human cast, beginning with Doctor Biggles-Jones being mesmerised by what their scanners are picking up from within The Ark. Then we see Scarlet still in a hospital bed (although inside a helicopter) giving an ominous warning to Slice and Dice that Cobra Commander isn’t going to need their Doctor friend anymore once Mindbender is revived properly, who it was revealed last month has been cloned since their leader seemingly tried to kill him.
It reminds me of a particularly good episode of the War of the Worlds TV series of the 80s
Destro, Baroness and master of disguise Zartan paraglide into the old castle fortress of his design where this all kicked off two issues ago, avoiding the troops and security systems on the ground. Inside they easily gain access to the throne room and take over the people stationed there by Zartan pretending to be their commander, before revealing his true identity and taking them prisoner. I always enjoyed Destro’s subterfuge as the outsider to Cobra (he’s basically an independent arms dealer) and reading this issue I’ve realised how much I’ve missed him and the Baroness characters in particular.
Meanwhile, we head to a place called Milleville in Canada (The Ark crash landed near there) and it looks like Larry’s script calls for the Transformers to be able to fly in robot form as they did in the cartoon of the 80s, something the comic (and thankfully the movies too) didn’t subscribe to. The town isn’t actually deserted. Instead, its populace are almost like mindless zombies thanks to a previous visit by Cobra and Dr. Mindbender’s Brainwave Scanner.
It reminds me of a particularly good episode of the War of the Worlds TV series of the 80s in which the aliens took over the bodies of everyone in a small American town, so I’m all in on the idea here. However, one of the people starts coming out of their hypnotised state. The troops try forcing an electrified helmet on him but he breaks it on the ground, electrifying a nearby puddle. In the struggle he knocks over Mindbender’s glass case, which smashes right on said puddle and electrocutes Mindbender’s non-responsive body.
As they knock out the man and prepare to hypnotise him again, Cobra Commander hilariously requests that somebody “mop up Dr. Mindbender and re-pickle him before he starts to turn again”! He always had a way with words. But this moment is interrupted when the de-pickled body speaks! I really like the lettering here, although it does return to normal by the time Mindbender talks again on the next page when he sees Megatron looming overhead.
As Dr. Mindbender tries to catch up on the state of the world in his absence it’s funny to see what the main issues are for this crazed evil genius
Cobra Commander tells him that trying to bury him alive (alongside everyone else he thought was against him) was a mistake and that this cloning is his way of making it up to him. Even Mindbender comments that he has some gall! Interestingly, Megatron queries if DNA cloning for the reanimation of organic material will be included in their trade. I wonder what he has in mind?
Meanwhile, the Joes have located Cobra and are closing in. Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and the Ninja Force make their way to the town’s hospital to check in on Scarlett and we witness Biggles-Jones telling Scarlett she knows she’s still working for the Joes. Snake draws his blade as he hears this from outside the window but that’s where this particular plot line is left for this month. It’s one I’m particularly interested in seeing develop next time.
I always enjoy Larry’s sense of humour and his natural ability to introduce laugh-out-loud comedy moments in the middle of what are fast moving, action-packed and dramatic plots. Above, the Joes rely on Spirit’s eagle friend for some covert aerial reconnaissance, giving the stoic character a chance to rise a smile with the reader.
But it’s while the Ninja Force surround the hospital that I genuinely laughed. As the Scarlett scene I described above plays out we also see Dr. Mindbender in another room having an ice bath as he recovers from his cloning. As he flicks through the television channels, trying to catch up on the state of the world in his absence, it’s funny to see what the main issues are for this crazed evil genius.
For me, if you’re going to promote a crossover with the Transformers you need to show transformations and, just as the story is about to end, one is squeezed in when Megatron is asked if he can be a bit more discreet in their current setting. After an example of how well the dialogue between these two characters is written, Tunnel Rat pops up from a storm drain and recognises a Cybertronian when he sees one. (Plus Megatron’s face hasn’t changed, just its colour.)
Their secret is out. The Joes now know that the situation is suddenly much more grave than they could possibly have imagined. So to end on we relocate to Mainframe sitting at a computer screen in the middle of a field of telecommunication arrays pointing towards the stars where he’s beaming a message to a designated point in the galaxy. What? It couldn’t be…. could it? As I turn to the final page I find out the answer to that is a resounding ‘yes’.
I’d always assumed Megatron was the only Cybertronian to feature in this crossover set up to Transformers: Generation 2, so to see Optimus Prime and Bumblebee suddenly pop up was a genuine surprise. Will the Joes remodel Prime’s alt mode with giant letters to give away who the truck really is? I doubt it somehow, but if you haven’t already make sure you read the introductory post to see what I’m talking about. This is a great cliffhanger to end on though.
Far less dramatic is a one-page advert for Stridex Maximum Strength spot cream. Given that the target audience for G.I. Joe would also include teenagers it’s an obvious place for an advert for such a product, but they do so in the most cringe-worthy way imaginable with horrible comic strip heroes. And that bottom-left panel looks more like it belongs in some adult magazine! Lew Stringer did a much better job when Pete and his Pimple went up against The Zit-Busters in OiNKa few years earlier.
After the surprise ending to this month’s strip I’m not sure where I got the information that these issues of G.I. Joe only featured Megatron but I’m glad they were wrong. Of course, I don’t know how much involvement the other characters will have and I’ll have to wait to find out (such is the nature of this blog and I love the anticipation, so no spoilers please if you remember this from your own childhood). It’s also been good to see the G.I. Joe comic still going strong 140 issues in (Marvel US’s Transformers made it to #80), although it only had a little over a year left with its original publisher by this point.
This issue has been a blast. It could easily have felt overcrowded with so many subplots going on but Larry handles them all superbly. Each one advances and they’re interlocked so tightly that each one is affecting the rest to varying degrees. This means Transformers fans can rest assured the non-Cybertronian parts of the story are just as entertaining. We’re still a couple of months off from their own comic so join me for #141 of this comic on Sunday 25th August 2024 as we take another step closer.
With this issue of G.I. Joe (or, to give it its full title, G.I. Joe starring Snake Eyes and Transformers: Generation 2 – phew!) we start down the path to the new Transformers series proper. There may only be one Cybertronian in the tale but it’s Megatron, so you know he’ll be centre stage. The cover by Chris Batista (Steel, 52, Robin) and Chip Wallace (The Legion, Justice League Task Force, Star Wars: X-Wing Rogue Squadron) sets the tone perfectly and throws a hint for both the plot and Megatron’s new body as Transformers fans wouldn’t have missed the fact he’s rather green and blue. More on that below.
As always with G.I. Joe the story is written by the legendary Larry Hama although this issue the art team are completely different. While pencils are by Chris, you’d swear it was another Andrew Wildman/Stephen Baskerville masterpiece but that could be because Stephen’s inking work is so identifiable. There are no less than three other inkers alongside him this month! They are Chip, Keith Williams (Alpha Flight, Action Comics, Sensational She-Hulk) and Donald Hudson (Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe, Forever Amber, Wolverine). Rick Parker and Bob Sharen return for letters and colours respectively, with Bob joined by Jurassic Park story editor Renée Witterstaetter (Silver Surfer, Jason Vs. Leatherface, Savage Sword of Conan). That’s a lot of people. So what are the results of their collective skills?
Personally, I think this opening spread is just incredible! Megatron’s savagery is spot on, and the pages may be a good bit smaller than those that UK Transformers fans were used to but the sense of scale is magnificent. He truly comes across as a terrifying entity. In their own comic it was easy to forget their size because in its later life it all but forgot about human characters (or being in disguise). Facing up against Cobra the might of Megatron feels palpable. I love the little details too in his openly damaged body, in the firepower hitting him and the cracks throughout his frame.
Scarlett is in bad shape after being stabbed by her love Snake Eyes last time, and despite what they saw Slice is still suspicious of her motives. The story kicks off with Cobra Commander making a run for it, aghast that Megatron would open fire when Cobra was just trying to make a deal with him. But as Zarana points out, what could a robot want? “It’s the currency we’re talking about, not the amount!”, realises Cobra Commander. Intriguing.
I just love big transformation pages and this is right up there with some of the best we ever saw in the Transformers comic. Megatron’s voice patterns are somewhat different than normal but it isn’t so drastically different as to take away from anything. He always did love the gravitas of his own voice. Him and the human leader here have that in common at least.
Doctor Biggles-Jones reckons her specially crafted Hyper-Velocity Rail Gun could go up against “that folding robot” (love that, it’s so close to swearing), noting that just because Megatron is alien tech doesn’t necessarily mean he is better tech. She grabs a H.I.S.S. Tank with the gun attached and let’s rip on the Decepticon leader. It hits him but goes straight through with such velocity that it continues travelling until it’s outside of Earth’s atmosphere!
The action is great so far. It does calm down after this to focus more on the negotiations between Cobra Commander and Megatron, which are just as entertaining to read, but the first handful of pages are quite breathtaking in their relentlessness. The only thing that’s ever so annoying is the American comic’s insistence to shove adverts on to nearly every-other page, interrupting the flow somewhat.
Convinced the technology is of alien original, Megatron goes in for a closer look, grabs the doctor and squeezes her. It looks like she’s about to die when a voice calls out. Pausing momentarily to listen to Cobra Commander, Megatron is told that the “fleshling” he now holds is the designer of the very-human weapon that damaged him. Instantly, Megatron changes his tune about negotiating.
Acknowledging that these particular humans could actually have the ability to repair and upgrade his damaged body, a deal is struck. There’s a palpable sense of foreboding to this collaboration, one we know won’t be of mutual trust. As the issue goes on, both leaders’ inner thoughts betray their intentions to the reader while their outer speech is cleverly worded to twist those thoughts for the benefit of their partner-in-crime. Larry Hama is just superb at writing this pairing.
Meanwhile, up in the air in their C-130 the Joes, Destro and the Baroness are making their way home. Snake Eyes and Destro are two of my favourite characters (alongside Scarlett and Stalker, also featured in this crossover) so to see them together in Scarlett’s undercover and Destro’s defection storylines is a joy. I just wish I had more issues to enjoy this to the full. (Thankfully that’ll soon be rectified.)
While this storyline continues we pop in on Cobra Commander and Megatron to see how their deal is shaping up, in an image that brings back memories of the first live-action Transformers movie with Megatron surrounded by scaffolding (albeit not in cryostasis this time). I knew going in that Cobra was responsible for rebuilding him (while the Joes were responsible for killing Bumblebee in the American continuity – in ours it was Death’s Head) but I was worried about how that would be depicted. I shouldn’t have been concerned.
Zarana’s vapour-inducing thought on the next page is that they should keep on dismantling Megatron so they can change the deal completely in their favour, however Cobra Commander shuts down the idea, at least until they get their hands on the goodies aboard The Ark. Unbeknownst to them (although surely you would assume) Megatron is listening in and simply smirks to himself.
Doctor Biggles-Jones is a character I’d never seen before until reading the previous issue, so I’ve no idea how long she’s been in the comic or anything about her background. She’s a technical wizard to put it very mildly, responsible for the most destructive of Cobra’s weaponry, and now the rail gun that damaged the giant Cybertronian is going to be installed in him, replacing his previous arm cannon. Things are building nicely towards Generation 2.
Biggles-Jones heads off to stop Slice from killing Scarlett after it’s confirmed the stabbing by Snake Eyes wasn’t accidentally non-fatal, it had been done with precision. Meanwhile, Destro and the Baroness have been taken back to Cobra Island by the Joes which at some point has been abandoned. Again, this is something I’ve missed between the time the stories appeared in Marvel UK’s Transformers and this. They’re rather shocked to find Cobra Commander waiting for them! Until, that is, he starts to glow and change…
… into Zartan, the master of disguise. His “new image” is clearly a reference to a new toy model Hasbro had created for him, and it’s clever of Larry to write in a quick panel or two to show readers (particularly this one who wasn’t aware of the change) his original look. All reacquainted now, Hawk explains why they’ve all been brought here.
On one side of the island is a cave that’s permanently on fire. Apparently when they left the island Cobra had drilled down to an oil deposit and lit it. Zartan mourns the loss of life, the bodies inside unrecoverable ash. That is, unrecoverable without Dr. Mindbender’s Brainwave Scanner and cloning vat, the former being an infamous device in the comic’s lore used to torture more than a few Joes. His cloning vat is missing, which had been used to create Serpentor from the remains of the greatest military leaders in history and resurrect Storm Shadow, both stories I remember fondly from Transformers.
There’s a funny moment here when Destro laments the fact Mindbender’s warped genius wasn’t used to resurrect Newton, Da Vinci or Einstein, while the Baroness would have preferred Elvis! There’s a passing mention of Mindbender having died but his body could’ve been moved along with a computer program able to resurrect the man himself. Having read IDW’s continuation of the story decades later in which Mindbender turns himself into a mad, mobile, weaponised computer system (yes, really) I’m assuming this is the start of bringing that character back into the comic.
To finish off this month’s chapter we return to the headline event for Transformers fans as a door slides open at Cobra’s current base and a huge green and purple tank rolls out. It makes light work of three H.I.S.S. tanks; we see its artillery slice through them like butter and continue out the other sides of them. This means it’s equipped with the rail gun, which means this is the new alt mode for Megatron! In case there was any doubt the tank shifts and changes on the next page to reveal his new body.
I have to say I really like the new look! It suits him. Cobra Commander gets a rude awakening as he realises Megatron could hear what they were saying all along. Yes, they’d only been praising the doctor on her great work a distance away from the test, but it means Megatron heard everything earlier too. How will this affect their deal or their mutual distrust of each other? We’ll find out soon I’m sure.
After he gives a quick run down of his stats the story ends with Megatron telling them his sensor arrays have located an experiment in the basement of the castle. Cobra Commander tries to dismiss it but Megatron warns him it’s started breathing… and we see Dr. Mindbender suspended in liquid with electrodes attached to his naked body. I knew it. Just to finish off, we’ll take a look at the back page advert which once again places the comic in the timeline of my life.
I remember all the fuss over Mortal Kombat at the time but I’d never been a fan of one-on-one beat-‘em-up games (I’m still not) and when a friend rented out a copy for his Mega Drive from the local video store we were both left feeling rather “meh” about it. That didn’t stop shows like GamesMaster and Bad Influence wetting themselves on an almost weekly basis over it though, or the British press making a whole overblown hoo-ha over its unconvincing digitised gore.
Not only have I enjoyed the Transformers aspects of this issue, it’s been a blast to read new (for me) adventures of the Joes and Cobra. Recently on the blog I’ve written about Skybound Entertainment’s Kickstarter in which they’ll be collecting the whole of Marvel’s run in a gorgeous hardback collection. These two issues so far have really whetted my appetite for that collection to arrive next year. For now though, I’ll look forward to the next part of this particular story in #140 of G.I. Joe, which you’ll see reviewed here on Sunday 28th July 2024.
I do love it when I get to start a brand new real time read through and this is one I’ve been particularly looking forward to. Not only have I never read Transformers: Generation 2 before (and as usual I’ll be discovering it one month at a time and telling you about it as I do) but the story actually kicked off in a special crossover event in the pages of another favourite comic, G.I. Joe.
I discovered the Joes and Cobra when they were known as Action Force in the UK in their position as back up strip in Transformers, after their own weekly was cancelled. When reading their adventures as part of that read through on the blog’s Instagram I became a huge fan all over again, collected some of IDW’s continuation and am now a dedicated reader of the same comic under the stewardship of Image Comics.
In case you didn’t know, this actual comic continues to this day and it’s still being written by Larry Hama! So going back to read these issues is extra exciting for me because they’re earlier stories of the new comic I’m reading today. Regarding that title on the cover, the Ninja Force were a sub-section of both sides of the conflict and a new range of Hasbro toys at the time. With Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow as the main characters the comic’s name was temporarily changed to promote the range.
Instantly I recognise the art style, that unique Marvel UK look produced by Andrew Wildman and Stephen Baskerville
That secondary title would be replaced with ‘and Transformers: Generation 2’ from the next issue and initially I thought that was where I’d begin with the four-part story between #139 and #142. But this issue was also in the bundle of comics I purchased from eBay and a quick flick through it showed me why. You’ll see why, so let’s begin.
Instantly I recognise the art style, that unique Marvel UK look produced by Andrew Wildman (also on cover duties) on pencils and Stephen Baskerville on inks, now in this American comic. Together they produced some incredible art for the original Transformers towards the end of its run. Andrew is best know for his Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters and G.I. Joe work, while it’s the former two and 2000AD for Stephen. The art is completed with letters by Rick Parker (Spider-Man, Time magazine, Tales From the Crypt) and colours by Bob Sharen (Alpha Flight, Ghost Rider, Invincible Iron Man), both of whose work I recognise from those earlier back up strips.
“I want that uxorious chrome-visaged twit and his xanthippic consort winkled out like the limeceous bivalves they are!”
Cobra Commander
So I immediately felt right at home. Things begin with one of my favourite characters, Scarlett going through a mental crisis. She’s apparently defected to Cobra although in reality this is just an undercover mission. However, she believes her actions led to the death of Hawk and Stalker, however they survived whatever transpired in previous issues. She just doesn’t know this yet.
Obviously I haven’t read the chapters leading up to this so I can only tell you what happens here. In a nutshell Destro and Baroness are trying to escape from Cobra with the aid of G.I. Joe (a separate story from Scarlett’s). The action takes place inside a tall fortress of Destro’s design that can shift its shape into different defensive and offensive configurations. Destro also included secret crawlspaces behind the walls, where they are currently hiding. However, these have now been discovered, a hole has been blown in a wall and Cobra Commander has sent his troops in to capture them.
At this point in the story it seems Cobra Commander has a… unique use of language. Throughout this issue he seems to use half a dozen words when one would suffice. It adds to his superiority complex and I enjoy it. Only Larry could carry these lengthy speech balloons off in the heat of the action. We also see Destro’s use of cool 80s tech from within his metallic face mask that I hadn’t seen before and we find out just how dedicated the Joes need to be to Scarlett’s mission.
Despite Scarlett and Snake Eyes being very much in love, he and Storm Shadow must treat her like any other Cobra enemy if she’s to remain alive. It’s a fine balancing act that leads to a shocking moment later in the issue. (If you’re wondering, “Xin-loi” is a phrase used during the Vietnam war and roughly translates as “tough luck”, albeit a more vulgar version.) Once inside the crawlspaces, laden with boobie traps, Larry shows he’s still not afraid to kill people in glorious fashion in this children’s comic, something the cartoon couldn’t do.
Storm Shadow and the ever-silent Snake Eyes skilfully parachute in on top of the transforming building and we can see how it’s whole form is shifting about, taking care of many of the Cobra grunts as it does so. I’ve searched online and I can’t find evidence of this strange castle being a toy in the original range but I’m happy to be proven wrong if any readers can point me in the right direction.
I’ve seen some wonderful fan-made models of it though, complete right down to the colour of the stone and the ability to alter its shape. It’s this shape altering that brings us to the first shock of the issue, at least for anyone who had been reading this in 1993 and especially those who had been fans of Marvel’s other popular licenced monthly from a few years previous. As the building continues to change it’s caught the attention of an outside force.
Many fans of Transformers were also fans of G.I. Joe (and this continues to be the case today, like me for example) so imagine the impact that page would’ve had as they’d been reading what is already an exciting climax to a story. That’s just a tiny glimpse, one that perhaps those not au fait with the Transformers wouldn’t have fully grasped, but I’m sure the majority were thrilled. I wish I hadn’t flicked through the issue when I first got it as part of my eBay bundle, I’d loved to have been surprised by this.
Back to that story though and the plan will be familiar to those who have seen The Dark Knight (as one example). To extract Destro and Baroness they’re fastened to Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, and long wires with balloons on the end are attached to the ninjas. The balloons are inflated and travel far up into the night sky where planes grab the wires and haul all four of them off the ground at high speed.
Imagine being a fan of both franchises and reading this for the first time without knowing it was coming
But what Snake Eyes didn’t reckon on was Scarlett being part of the Cobra team sent to return Destro to Cobra Commander. They come into contact with each other on the roof of the castle. Quite literally! Now remember, Snake was ordered by Hawk to treat Scarlett as if she were any other enemy so as not to blow her cover. What happens as a result is truly the most shocking moment of the issue.
This shocked me even though I know Scarlett is in the modern comic! I can only imagine what impact this page would’ve had decades ago. A few pages later though, this moment proves to be cathartic for Scarlett. Slice, a member of Cobra who is suspicious of her still isn’t convinced despite seeing it happen, even though Dr. Biggles-Jones declares Snake trying to kill her is clear proof of her loyalty.
However, back on board the Joes’ plane Storm Shadow explains Snake had to do the near-impossible; he had a split second to make it convincing and at the same moment make sure his aim was “pure”. It had to be so, so close. Hawk tries to sooth Snake’s obvious anxiety by telling him Scarlett of all people knows how good he is, she knows he never misses “except on purpose”, that even if she still believes she was responsible for Hawk’s and Stalker’s supposed deaths she “now knows that you couldn’t hold it against her!”
Back at the now-stationery castle Scarlet is in incredible agony, yet has a smile beneath all the tears and is just about able to utter the words “I know” before passing out. Amongst all of the action, whether that be the ninja-based, sci-fi or war storylines the comic flipped between, Larry’s characters have always been fully formed, grounded and believable, even when their very existence is far fetched. Decades of writing them hasn’t blunted any of that expertise either.
The panels above form the bottom half of the penultimate page of the strip, with Cobra Commander’s cold reaction to Slice’s request to gut Scarlett, to see how the Joes react as a final test of her loyalty. Then a huge shadow falls over the group. The terrorists looks up in horror. And we turn the page.
What an ending! Again, imagine being a fan of both franchises and reading this for the first time without knowing it was coming. Especially with Andrew and Stephen’s familiar superb work on Megatron! The last time we saw ol’ Megs was in the final UK annual released for Christmas 1991. The Decepticons were trying to use the unstable nucleon (which had had unexpected side effects on some Transformers) to resurrect their fallen leader, recently separated from the body he shared with Autobot Ratchet before The Ark was blown up and crash landed on Earth.
Here he looks suitably patchy, with wires hanging out of battered parts of his body. I knew this was coming but it was still a thrill to read this page as the end of this story. I’m super hyped to get stuck into the next four issues of G.I. Joe and even more so for the 12 issues of Transformers: Generation 2 to come after that! Simon Furman writing that forthcoming series and having these robotic characters resurrected by Larry Hama is going to be something special if this small preview story (as it is for me) is anything to go by.
Before we wrap up, a quick look at a couple of contemporary adverts from the issue. First up, a movie that has been derided in the years since but which I still enjoy. Super Mario Bros was a flop (and the recent animation knocks it out of the park) but it’s a zany, ridiculous and oh-so-90s film that’s completely unique. I have the BluRay and the documentary tells a fascinating tale about its creation. Apparently the original script was great, aimed at a teenage-and-up audience and the cast were very happy with it (as were Nintendo). But just a few days before shooting was to commence the studio produced a new, more child-friendly script that threw everything out that had been created before, so its directors had to shoot something they didn’t like while using all of the sets and effects created for the previous script!
In the documentary John Leguizamo explains how they made the most of such a horrid situation and to me it’s a miracle any movie got made. As much as I enjoy the silliness of the end result, I can’t help but wonder what this talented cast could’ve done without the interference of studio executives who didn’t understand the original source material. Oh well.
Another ad that stood out (among the many, many adverts in the comic that often interrupted the strip on every other page) was for classic video game Flashback. I remember seeing friends play it on their Commodore Amigas and it looked stunning in a demo for my own 3DO but I never played it myself. Well, as it turns out it’s been rereleased for the Nintendo Switch so after seeing this ad I just had to break out the wallet.
It’s a great start to this latest real time read through and for all intents and purposes it’s not even the beginning yet, that’ll come next month with the actual first part of the G.I. Joe and Transformers: Generation 2 storyline by Larry Hama. It seems suitably timely with a crossover movie coming to our screens in the not-too-distant future. Be sure to check back on Sunday 30th June 2024 for the next/first chapter.
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