Written by Chuck Dixon
Illustrated by Alex Cal
The Commander demands annihilation! COBRA’s horrific war escalates and the Joes are fighting for their lives in the killing fields. The new Cobra Commander unleashes weapons of unimaginable horror in a scorched earth strategy that will turn the Southeast Asian country of Nanzhao into a lifeless wasteland. Will the Joes stand or run? You already know the answer to that one, don’t you?
With only three chapters left of ‘Cobra Command’, “G.I. Joe” #11 kicks off the last leg of IDW’s current cross-Joe-ver and it doesn’t look like Cobra’s taking any prisoners.
Catch up with us after the jump to see just how bad things are for your favorite real American heroes.
Okay, before I get to anything else, I first have to mention something about the cover to G.I. Joe # 11. I’ve been loving these Cobra Command covers by Dave Wilkins, but c’mon… that’s totally ten time, WWE World Heavyweight Champion John Cena on the cover, right? I mean, it so totally is.
And while the timing doesn’t quite work out perfectly, I’d like to think Wilkins’ inspiration for General Hawk’s look on the cover was a clever inside joke inspired by the upcoming Wrestlemania showdown between Cena and Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson, who, as it just so happens, is also starring in ‘G.I. Joe: Retaliation.’ And with that last sentence — the perfect trifecta of G.I. Joe, wrestling, and comic geekery — I’ve pretty much blown the minds of anyone who’s still reading, so let’s talk about some B.A.T.s.
For those unfamiliar with the term, B.A.T.s is the acronym used to describe Cobra’s in-house line of robot soldiers, the Battle Android Troopers. For any Joe-obsessed kid growing up in the 80s, B.A.T.s were basically a godsend. They looked cool, came with more weapons than you could shake a stick at, and were the perfect army builder toy because, quite honestly, that’s exactly what they were designed to be. However, they were never terribly effective in either the G.I. Joe comics or the cartoon, mostly because they just existed so the Joe’s could technically have something to shot the hell out that wasn’t human and didn’t bleed when it took a hit. You know what I mean — that perfect kind of “burst into flame but they don’t feel anything because they’re cold, emotionless, unfeeling robots” kind of harmless violence that kids eat up. Well, not to burst too many bubbles, but the days of B.A.T.s being tossed around by pro-wrestling drill sergeants are gone. These days, the B.A.T.s are the scariest thing on the battlefield, and they frighten the guys on their own side just as much as they do their enemies.
“G.I. Joe” #11 opens with the Joe team holding the line against Cobra’s ground forces in Nanzhao, until Flint notices them retreating. But just as they’re about to celebrate, they realize what’s really going down: Cobra’s taking their flesh and blood boys of the field and sending in the B.A.T.s, and all hell is about to break loose. Seen only a few times previously in the IDW reboot, B.A.T.s are single-minded killing machines and it’s taken nothing short of an aerial deployed payload to stop just one of them. The handful of Joe’s who’ve already faced the B.A.T.s know they’re in trouble, and of course, desperate times call for flooding the very province you’re trying to protect.
There’s very little Snake Eyes action in this issue. We see him and Helix trouncing through the jungle, heading toward their big showdown with Storm Shadow and the red ninjas, but it’s mostly just set up. Mostly, this issue saw Flint and Roadblock take point for the majority of the Joe action, which is always cool to see. With both being featured in ‘Retaliation’ it makes perfect sense, especially with Roadblock, who hasn’t really seen a ton of face time in IDW’s series. He’s had good moments, sure, but with the book’s usual breakneck pacing it doesn’t always have the luxury of spending a lot of time on every Joe. So it’s always nice when fan-favorites like Roadblock get to showoff just a little bit.
Continued belowI’ve said it before, but Chuck Dixon’s very much the linchpin of IDW’s Joe verse, and that being the case, sometimes his issues feel like they’re just there to move the plot along. That, of course, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As mentioned above, playing with a cast this size is tough, and a writer can get a little boxed in sometimes. That said, as we get closer and closer to the finale of ‘Cobra Command’, Dixon’s really hitting some home runs here. More so than ever before, his G.I. Joe feels like a crack team of military specialists who want nothing more than to kick Cobra’s collective ass. And at the risk of getting kicked out of the Official G.I. Joe Fan Club, I’ll toss this out there: Dixon’s military jargon rivals that of Larry Hama, and in some instances, I’d go so far as to say he surpasses him. I know, I know… take my card. But with costumed ninjas and android foot soldiers all over this thing, it’s a testament to the Dixon’s skill that he makes his take on Joe the most realistic to date.
And let’s not forget my man Alex Cal. Does this guy ever sleep? What a talent this guy has become over the last three months. Cal hasn’t drawn every issue of ‘Cobra Command’, but by god, he’s done most of them. If you look back at some of my previous review, you’ll see that I wasn’t always crazy about Cal’s work, specifically his use of photo reference. But the with the shear volume of work this story arc demanded from the guy, he’s really become one of my all time favorite G.I. Joe artist. After these last few issues, I would put him right up there with Mark Bright, Rod Whigham, or Ron Wagner. And just like Dixon, Cal does a superb job of keeping the more absurdist aspects of G.I. Joe (aka THE BEST PARTS) from feeling out of place, and as we all know, that’s quite an accomplishment.
Final Verdict: 8.5 — B.U.Y.
