Written by Mike Costa
Illustrated by Alex CalCOBRA COMMAND CONTINUES! As the new COBRA COMMANDER lashes out against an unprepared world, the rest of Cobra questions The Council’s decision… with deadly results. Meanwhile, the Joes search for a pattern in Cobra’s attacks, and a fan-favorite character returns–but will even that be enough to turn the tide of battle?
I’ve reviewed almost every issue of the current GI Joe mega-event, Cobra Command, and if you look back, you’ll see I’ve enjoyed just about every chapter of the story so far. And while it’s true that I’ve liked the story’s overall direction, I’d be lying if I said things don’t get bogged down with maybe too much time devoted to establishing and re-establishing the same points about the new Cobra Commander’s master plan. But, almost as if IDW knew exactly what I was missing, this week’s issue of Cobra does what it does best, and zeroes in on the in-house politics of Cobra’s vilest and most despicable elements, adding another twist to the saga.
Catch up with us after the jump and we’ll fill you in.
Cobra Command really has two voices. The first one belongs to veteran comics creator Chuck Dixon, writer of both G.I. Joe and Snake Eyes. The other 1/3 comes from Cobra writer Mike Costa, and even though his share of the pie is smaller, he delivers more than his share. Dixon’s Joe and Snake Eyes are appropriately military-oriented, driving the franchise and laying the groundwork for the Joe-universe. Where G.I. Joe runs back and forth between a big cast doing a big job, Snake Eyes gives Dixon a chance to just cut loose and have fun with the franchise more than anything.
Costa’s Cobra has a very different feel from its sister titles. There’s plenty of action and intrigue, of course, but the approach is notably different than Dixon’s two books. There’s a kind of dejected realism to Cobra that keeps you from looking away, and quite honestly, it probably has more in common with Ed Brubaker’s Criminal than it does with anything military.
With the onset of Cobra Command, Cobra has shifted its focus from single character, spy-centric stories, to become the chronicle of a terrorist organization in flux. Cobra is no longer a comic about G.I. Joe’s efforts to tear things apart from the inside. Now, it’s about the actual insiders, and while it doesn’t actually treat them as heroes, there’s no doubt that the book is about them and not G.I. Joe. In fact, Cobra doesn’t spend a whole lot of time thinking about G.I. Joe because to these guys, up until recently, a special ops military team just didn’t seem like that big of a deal.
For instance, Cobra #10 spends very little time showing us the Joe’s side of things. Joes Scarlett and Mainframe show up near the end, but only to set up a nice reveal that I’ll avoid spoiling. The issue follows Major Bludd and Serpentor (who, if you don’t already know, is almost nothing like the one from the cartoon or Marvel’s G.I. Joe) as they discuss the machinations of the new Cobra Commander, a man who has taken Cobra out of the shadows and into the open with his occupation of Nanzhao. Bludd’s dissatisfaction and concern over their new leader’s methods leads Serpentor to share something that they, along with Tomax, can seemingly use to usurp the new commander. Of course, none of them really trust each other, so the stage is set for the inevitable double cross. While the boys are busy plotting, the lovely Baroness, working for the new commander, is two steps ahead of everybody and does something that will change Cobra forever. And there you go. Six parts into Cobra Command and G.I. Joe is the least of Cobra’s concerns.
On last week’s episode of The Hour Cosmic, I recommended Cobra as my book club selection, and this week I’m doing it again. Seriously, even if you’re not a fan of G.I. Joe, I promise you that if you read Cobra you will be. It’s sad, ruthless, corrupt, seductive, and always just a little bit funny. It’s everything you never knew you wanted from of comic inspired by a thirty year old toy line, and the best part is, it keeps getting better.
Final Verdict: 8.75 — Definite Buy
