G.I. JoeVersity: Heroescon 2012 and Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow #14 with Chuck Dixon

Welcome back to G.I. JoeVersity, a weekly look at all the goings-on in the awesome world of G.I. Joe, including new issues of IDW’s awesome G.I. Joe titles, and the latest action figure releases and movie news!

So what’s on our plate this week?  Well, “Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow” #14 hit shops on Wednesday, so we’ll be taking a look at it, and asking SE/SS writer Chuck Dixon will stop by to answer just few quick questions about the issue.  But first, we’re going to let you know about a particularly cool G.I. JoeVersity event taking place this upcoming weekend at Heroescon in Charlotte, NC!

G.I. JoeVersity LIVE!

JoeVersity is taking the nation by storm!  Well, the Southeast, at least, but still…  Charlotte, NC’s Heroescon is one of the finest and friendliest shows in the USofA, and this weekend, June 22-24, marks the show’s 30th anniversary.  Some of comics biggest and brightest will be in attendance, including Stan “the Man” Lee, Neal Adams, Mike Mignola, Frank Cho, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction, Phil Noto, Scott Snyder, and the list just goes on and on and on.  We’re not kidding, it’s a fabulous show, and if you’re a comics lover who’s anywhere close to the area, you should really be there.

But it’s not just Heroescon’s 30th Anniversary.  Marvel’s “G.I. Joe #1” originally dropped in June of 1982, making June 2012 the 30th anniversary of G.I. Joe comics, and this year, Multiversity and G.I. JoeVersity is honored to host an All Joe panel on Sunday at 2:00PM

Room 203A

GI JOE: A Great American Comic Book
Chad Bowers assembles a crack force of SL Gallant, Jeremy Dale, Michael Golden and General Herb Trimpe in order to battle the hoards of Cobra.  A must see fight to the finish! Anyone trying to get in late will get a free demonstration of the patented Kung Fu Grip–ouch.  So, don’t be late.

Would you look at that guestlist?!

SL Gallant is, of course, the current penciller of IDW’s “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” and one of the most talented guys to ever illustrate the Joe cast.

Jeremy Dale is a great guy who’s worked with Larry Hama and with Hasbro directly on a bunch of fantastic pack-in comics — if you got a comic with a new Joe figure in the last several years, there’s a pretty good chance Jeremy drew it.

Michael Golden is responsible for some of the most memorable Joe imagery ever.  As every fan knows, his interiors on “G.I. Joe Yearbook” #2 led an entire generation of kids to pick up a pencil.

And last, but most certainly not least, the man who started it all, the astonishing Herb Trimpe!  Herb’s drawn just about every Marvel character in his career, but it’s his work on G.I. Joe that wowed us the most.  Taken as a whole, Herb’s drawn more G.I. Joe than any other artist, and we can’t wait  for him to tell us all about it.

In addition to the names above, there’s also a good chance we’ll be joined by “Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow” artist Robert Atkins, too, and maybe we’ll even have a few more surprises by Sunday.

In a weekend full of startlingly good talent and panels, G.I. JoeVersity LIVE! has shaped up to be one of the best, and quite honestly, most unique.  Mainstream shows don’t usually give this kind of attention to “toy books”, so it’s a big thrill for us to be able to honor one of our favorite comics and its fantastic family of creators.

Snakes on a Train

Written by Chuck Dixon
Illustrated by Robert Atkins
“Serpent’s Shadow,” part 2!  Ninja versus Ninja! SNAKE EYES goes deeper into the Arashikage clan–but will his mission succeed or will STORM SHADOW corrupt the commando? Differnces will have to be put aside as both turn their swords against–Zartan!

‘Serpent’s Shadow’ kicks into high gear, as Snake Eyes alliance with Storm Shadow gives way to another attempt to take Zartan off the map.  If you don’t already know, IDW’s take on Zartan is quite a bit different from the classic, biker with a camo-suit Aussie, and this week, we asked Chuck Dixon about the guy.

Zartan’s literally starting to fall apart! This is probably the most unbalanced we’ve seen the guy, and I’m curious as to what he’s going through. Can you elaborate on the psyche of your Zartan a little bit? Clearly here, he’s sort of running for his life, but I have to wonder, what exactly IS life to Zartan?

Chuck Dixon:Zartan is a child in a man’s body. A very venal, selfish, nasty child. He knows he can manipulate people by scaring or deceiving them but that’s all he really knows. The world is a new place for him. Remember, his psyche’s only been around for three years.

Something that’s never come up in our back and forth is Helix. I’m pretty familiar with her toy roots and creation, but for those fans unfamiliar with her background, fill them in. Who is Helix and how did she come about?

CD: She’s an intelligence agent who was operating outside the Joes until recently. She used to be strictly under Hawk’s aegis but now acts in concert with the units. She was part of Team Fox under Snake Eyes control and still has a loyalty to him that supercedes her service to the Joes. The thing that makes her special is that she has a brand of autism that allows her to “see” all the possible moves of an opponent in a fight. This gives her vital one second jump on anyone she faces. Snake Eyes is one of the few people alive who can make it past her defenses. Some of the time.

NOTE:  Agent Helix was created as an original, un-lockable character for the 2009 movie-inspired video game, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.  She later received an action figure to coincide with her video game debut, but outside of that, was mostly a blank slate until the IDW team took her into the fold and built a real story around her.

With this issue’s flashbacks, we’re getting even deeper into Snake Eyes’ past. I mean, the whole found in an army jacket in a field thing is brand new. Without giving too much away, how far do you plan on going with this? Is there an origin in your mind, and will we be seeing more of it?

CD: We’ll see hints in flashback as they become relevant to the story. That’s all I can say right now.