Interviews 

G.I. JoeVersity Presents: Chuck Dixon [Interview]

By | April 26th, 2012
Posted in Interviews | % Comments

TEN-HUT! Pay attention soldier and welcome to the first installment of Multiversity’s newest ongoing feature, G.I. JoeVersity! We’ll be reporting for duty with every new issue of IDW Publishing’s “G.I. Joe”, “Snake Eyes”, “Cobra”, and “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero”, and making it our mission to bring you the best in-depth analysis and Joe-related intel on the internet.

Off and on, we’ll be joined by some of the books’ creators, beginning this week with legendary comics writer Chuck Dixon, scribe of not just one, but two of our subject books –“G.I. Joe” and “Snake Eyes.” Chuck, of course, needs no introduction. He’s sat in the writer’s seat for some of comics’ best known characters, most notably “Batman” and the Bat-family titles, including “Nightwing”, “Robin”, “Catwoman”, and “Birds of Prey.” Chuck’s been handling the monthly adventures of America’s Highly Trained Special Missions Force since IDW launched their take on the franchise in 2008. Since then, he’s introduced old and new fans alike to a new G.I. Joe team, and crafted a very modern day take on some slightly outdated tropes. More pertinently, he and “Cobra” writer Mike Costa orchestrated the ascension of an all new iteration of the Cobra organization in the just-ended mega-event, “Cobra Command.”

With the story over, and a new status quo in place, Chuck took some time to answer a few questions about “Cobra Command”, the all-new Cobra Commander, and the world’s deadliest ninja commando, Snake Eyes.

Warning: SPOILERS AHEAD.

Chad Bowers: Congratulations, Chuck, on crafting one of the finest Joe epics ever! “Cobra Command” introduced the world to a brand new Cobra Commander — formerly, the ruthless mystery man known as Krake — whose first outing dramatically “reset” the stage for the series as a whole. Why was it time for a new Cobra Commander, and was there ever any question as to who it would be?

Chuck Dixon: Krake was designed from the beginning to be the new Commander. And we specifuically wanted to move away from the kind of elitist Eurotrash kind of character of the Commander featured in our little corner of the franchise. Joe is a war book, after all. We wanted a more militant, pro-active military kind of guy in charge. A dude born on a battlefield seemed like a good choice.

Chad: One thing that has distinguished your take on G.I. Joe from others was the addition and active role of the Cobra Council, a sort of inner-circle that ran Cobra from behind the scenes and even outranked the Commander. However, “Cobra Command” saw the Council’s elimination and the Commander’s ascension as the sole leader of the entire organization. But I’m left wondering, have we really seen the end of the Council or is there more there than we’re seeing?

Chuck: Nature hates a vacuum and Cobra hates a power vacuum even more. As you’ll see in coming months the scary mask does not rest easily in Krake’s head. He made a LOT of enemies in his rise to the top.

Chad: Both G.I. Joe and Cobra have been outed to the rest of the world, with Cobra getting the better end of the deal. G.I. Joe took some major hits, suffering a number of casualties, severe budget cuts, and finally, a change in leadership. This one’s in the loss column for G.I. Joe, and looking back, you’ve rarely had the Joe’s with a decisive victory over Cobra. They’re kind of the underdog in their own book. Do you feel like it’s just as important for G.I. Joe to lose as it is for them to succeed?

Chuck: The Joes are the underdog as they fight a fight that the rest of the world is either not aware of or doesn’t believe is worth fighting. They don’t even get much respect from their superiors. For me, this keeps them more relatable and more believable. A book about a clan of super warriors going from victory to victory would get tired in a hurry. And a bunch of heroes who keep on going no matter how beat down they get are more admirable. It’s easy to get cocky when you win all the time. That said, Cobra is up for a major ass kicking soon.

Continued below

Chad: Tell us about your take on General Hawk. We’ve never seen the IDW Hawk portrayed as a man of action, so what made you decide to push him into the field in “Cobra Command” and ultimately take him off altogether at the end?

Chuck: I thought, as the leader of a compact elite unit, Hawk would take the field when needed. The Nanzhao campaign was a big operation in a foreign country with all elements of the Joes deployed. It only made sense that Hawk would be “in theater” just as our current CENTCOM generals spend most of their service time in the field with their troops.

Chad: Let’s talk about Snake Eyes’ in Cobra Command, starting with his role Foxtrot unit commander. How do the Foxtrot crew view Snake Eyes as a leader? I mean, clearly Alpine and Iceberg look at him a little differently than Helix, so what’s it like for each of these guys being on Team Snake Eyes?

Chuck: They seem a little unsure if being assigned to Snake Eyes is a good thing or a bad thing. Snake Eyes’ success rate is undeniable but he so often comes back alone. Turns out the guys were right to worry. Snake Eyes took his usual crazy chances and Alpine wound up paying for it. I have to think it’s tough to follow a guy who doesn’t speak. You REALLY need to be in sync with his mission goals or you’re left behind.

Chad: Toy roots aside, G.I. Joe is a story about soldiers and war, so death and violence are just naturally a part of things. But Snake Eyes sort of crosses that line between soldier and angel of death sometimes, doesn’t he? Snake Eyes’ body count has been there since I was a kid, but do you ever find it hard to write a guy like that? How do you think he works?

Chuck: Snake Eyes is a tough write. He’s kind of like writing the Punisher. Neither guy leaves a lot of survivors behind. So, recurring villains are rare. And since Snake Eyes is ALWAYS in a life or death situation it’s on me to figure out ways to keep the climax of each story interesting. Also, keeping Snake Eyes out of the Mission Impossible trope all the time. It’s easy to fall into a formula on a property like this. Snake Eyes is also as hard on the people who love him as he is on the people who hate him. Being his friend is rough. And that creates tension. Only an emotionally challenged person like Helix can stand to spend much time with him.

Chad: Next month, “Snake Eyes” undergoes a little bit of a re-branding and becomes “Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow.” What can we expect from the series beyond the title change? I have to know: are we about to see Chuck Dixon’s “Ninja Force?”

Chuck: Ninjas are like vampires. A little ninja goes a long way. Also, the sheer awesomeness of ninjas gets in the way of a story. So, the emphasis is more on crime and espionage as Snake Eyes moves inside the operations of the Arashikage clan. Ninjas are an element but it won’t turn into “all ninjas all the time.” And we will see my take on Snake Eyes’ early years with the Hard Master.

Chad: Bringing this to a close, what was your ultimate goal with ‘Cobra Command’ and do you feel like you accomplished what you set out to do?

Chuck: We turned the Joe books into war books with an emphasis on military action and clear Joe vs Cobra storylines. We also forced a change in the Joes’ status quo and showed the new Commander off as a ruthless badass!

Visit Chuck Dixon’s website at www.dixonverse.net

Or visit him at http://www.comicspace.com/chuckdixon/

Issues We Discussed:

Continued below

Snake Eyes #12 G.I. Joe NewsWeek:G.I. Joe: Retaliation Trailer #2




New wave of G.I. Joe figures coming to discount stores, including Ninja Force Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow

Email your G.I. Joe questions to me at chad@multiversitycomics.com, and be sure to come back next week when we talk to Larry Hama about “G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero” #178.

YO JOE!


//TAGS | G.I. JoeVersity

Chad Bowers

Chad Bowers has been reading comics for most of his life. His transition from fan to professional is a work in progress. He’s the co-founder of ACTION AGE COMICS, creator of the webcomic MONSTER PLUS, co-creator of AWESOME HOSPITAL, THE HARD ONES, and DOWN SET FIGHT (coming soon from Oni Press) with Chris Sims. He reviews comics, writes G.I. JoeVersity, and co-hosts The Hour Cosmic for Multiversity Comics! If you've got nothing better to do, you can follow him on Twitter or Tumblr.

EMAIL | ARTICLES


  • Columns
    G.I. JOEversity: The Story (Arcs) So Far [Interview]

    By | Jul 30, 2013 | Columns

    Welcome back to G.I. JOEversity, a regular look at IDW’s G.I. Joe comics, and all the goings-on in the world of everybody’s favorite Real American Heroes! This time out, we’re looking at all three of IDWs titles, beginning with the finale to Joe-newcomer Fred Van Lente’s first arc, ‘Homefront’. And after a few months off, […]

    MORE »
    Reviews
    G.I. JOEversity: G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files # 1 [Review]

    By | Apr 22, 2013 | Reviews

    This month saw the release of “G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files” #1, the final title in IDW Publishing’s latest relaunch of their G.I. Joe comics (preceeded by “G.I. Joe” and “G.I. Joe: Special Missions”). Like the titles before it, Cobra Files adds a distinctive and impressive voice to the reborn Joe comics universe, but does […]

    MORE »

    -->