For me...a little Joe squee...

[jackwabbit]

G.I. Joe: Origins #1

"Yes, Hama’s still got it. In fact, he’s got more of it than he did back in the day!"

By Chad Derdowski March 03, 2009
Source: Mania

Review: G.I.Joe Origins #1
© Mania IDW’s G.I. Joe reboot continues with the first issue of G.I. Joe: Origins written by none other than Larry Hama, the man responsible for so much Joe goodness back in their ‘80s heyday. For the uninitiated, Hama is the man who wrote nearly the entire run of the Marvel series (1982-1994), as well as the writing the majority of the file cards. Basically, it’s the guy who created G.I. Joe getting back behind the steering wheel of a new Joe series. For long time Joe fans, this is akin to something called “perfection”.
So let’s answer the most obvious question right off the bat. Yes, Hama’s still got it. In fact, he’s got more of it than he did back in the day! This issue opens briskly with Hawk sending new recruits Duke and Scarlett on “… an exercise, a test and a real mission combined”, which begins with him throwing their parachutes out of an airplane then sending the two out after them. Obviously, making the team isn’t an easy thing to do and it doesn’t get any easier throughout the rest of the issue. The scene cuts to a stand-off between ATF and a billionaire Army deserter who seems to have lost his marbles after the collapse of his pyramid scheme energy company. The guy has murdered his family and absconded with loads of military hardware. The rest of the issue cuts back and forth as these two stories intersect.
I’ve been pretty excited about the G.I. Joe relaunch and even more excited about the fact that IDW has chosen to hit the reset button on the franchise. But the icing on the cake is putting Larry Hama in charge of this comic, which details the formation of the G.I. Joe team. First and foremost, it’s just a classy thing to do: Without Hama’s guidance, G.I. Joe would just be another ‘80s fad being trotted out to appeal to nostalgic fanboys. But there’s a reason why people like me are still obsessed with G.I. Joe and its Larry Hama, plain and simple. He didn’t dumb stories down or write for kids back in the ‘80s, which gave the book a level of sophistication a lot of toy properties didn’t have. So they owe it to the guy to at least give him a mini-series. (Editor's note: it's ONGOING NOW! w00t!)

Cover art to G.I Joe: Origins #1 by Andrea Divito and Chris Sotomayor

© IDW Publishing

Furthermore, as I said earlier, this comic is awesome. It’s not like the only reason Hama got the job is because they wanted to do him a favor; the guy can write. G.I. Joe Origins #1 is a non-stop action from beginning to end. It’s totally familiar, but at the same time brand-spanking new. I feel like I’m a kid again and I actually feel pretty bad for Chuck Dixon, who is writing the main Joe title. This book makes his look like a turd floating in the toilet bowl. I actually liked the first two issues of Chuck’s new book, but it didn’t exactly set my world on fire. This does. This is G.I. Joe as it was meant to be written by the man who was meant to write it. All others are just imposters and pretenders to the throne.
I was going to give the book a B+ because some of the art looked a little weird and because I’m trying not to just throw out A’s willy-nilly. But then I re-read it and… you know what? I’m going to go ahead and give it an A anyway. The thing is, there’s nothing particularly wrong with the art (it’s better than a lot of stuff I’ve seen), it just isn’t my style. Maybe an A- would be more appropriate, but my overwhelming love of G.I. Joe and my excitement over reading a book that gives me the same feeling I had back when I was a kid cancels out any problems I have with the art. G.I. Joe fans, the time to rejoice has come. The movie might suck, the new books might not be great, but at least for the duration of this mini-series, G.I. Joe is back. (Editor's note: It's ongoing! It's ongoing! It's ongoing! It got picked up! YO, JOE!)