Written by Chuck Dixon
Illustrated by Alex CalCOBRA troops are forcing and entire populace to become refugees while eliminating any who dare stay behind. Snake Eyes is now in the killing fields, playing his own game of predator and prey with Storm Shadow and the red ninjas of the Arashikage clan!
As Multiversity’s resident, albeit self-appointed, GI Joe guy, it falls to me to read all of IDW’s core monthly Joe titles. It’s a job I don’t take lightly, folks — I take GI Joe just as serious as most folks take Batman, and in this business, that can be pretty damn serious. Thankfully, with the current Cobra Command arc running through GI Joe, Cobra, and Snake Eyes, it’s been a satisfying venture, as IDW’s version of GI Joe is finally doing a lot of things I’ve been wanting since the series’ reboot.
Let’s talk about this week’s issue of Snake Eyes after the jump!
If you’ve been reading my reviews of Cobra Command, you’re probably already aware that a) there’s a new Cobra Commander, b) he’s far more vicious than his predecessor, and c) the Joe team has been caught off guard by him and COBRA’s current, organization-wide mission to cause as much harm to GI Joe as possible. What I haven’t written about too much is just how nicely each chapter syncs up with the actual titles. All three participating books make sure to move the overall story forward, but what happens in GI Joe doesn’t feel like it should be happening in COBRA, and vice versa. Unlike some other major company crossover titles, each one makes sure it tells the story appropriate to whatever’s on the cover, and this issue of Snake Eyes is no exception.
If you like GI Joe, chances are you probably like Snake Eyes too. Just like Wolverine is everyone’s favorite X-Man (yes he is, don’t you lie) Snake Eyes is the number one Joe, and most folks just accept it. And this goes doubly so in world of GI Joe comics, where Snake Eyes is the closest thing readers have to a superhero. Really, the guy wears a cool costume, has a gimmick in that he doesn’t speak, and has powers beyond those of a mortal ninja — heck, he’s even died and come back to life a coupe times. Still, despite being ultra popular, he’s never had an ongoing series before now. Oh sure, the Marvel series briefly changed its name to GI Joe Starring Snake Eyes and the Ninja Force, but it wasn’t all Snake Eyes, and honestly, neither is this solo series. Snake Eyes’ current black ops team in Cobra Command — known as Foxtrot, — are just about as close to the Ninja Force as you’re going to get. The only difference being Foxtrot doesn’t just employ ninjas, but instead drafts the talents of multi-taskers like Helix, Iceberg, and Alpine. Even cooler, I think, is how aware the book and its cast is of Snake Eyes’ role in the Joe-verse. There’s even a moment in this issue where Iceberg asks Helix, “Ever notice how Snake Eyes’ personal life can always be defined as a vital mission?” That one got a pretty good chuckle out of me, I’ll admit.
Story wise, this one picks up from last week’s GI Joe #10. While the rest of GI Joe are gathering intel and putting together an OP to shutdown COBRA’s operation in the Southeast Asian nation of Nanzhao, Snake Eyes is already inside, doing what he does best and taking apart Cobra’s forces under the cover of shadow. But his recent sabotage efforts have attracted the attention of his Cobra counterpart and one time sword brother, Storm Shadow, who has put together his own group of Red Ninjas and is hell bent on stopping Snake Eyes once and for all. Unlike the Marvel series, we’re not sure what Snake Eyes’ full relationship is to Storm Shadow, though, and I’m definitely anticipating getting just a little more background and seeing what Chuck Dixon does with the former bros.
Continued belowAnd speaking of Dixon, who I wrote about last week and briefly complained about his lack of fun in GI Joe, I have to admit — I get the feeling he has more fun here than he does on the parent book. Snake Eyes features a much smaller cast operating on a much smaller scale so Dixon can really zero in on the personalities and interaction, and what you get is something slightly more engaging. And kudos to the man, because I can’t imagine that’s easy to pull off with a main character who doesn’t speak.
Yet again, Alex Cal pulls art duty on this one, forcing me to believe that the man is in fact a team of men calling themselves Alex Cal. (I’m only kidding, of course.) Clearly Cal’s enjoying his time on all of the books, and becomes a better storyteller with every subsequent issue. Sure, in the past, I’ve complained about Cal’s tendency to use photo reference for his characters, but I have to applaud the guy, as this issue looked very sharp and felt a lot more organic than previous outings.
Month after month, Snake Eyes continues to be a great read, dishing out some of the coolest action and intrigue in comics. And now, with a major Snake Eyes / Storm Shadow clash coming up next month, it’s possible that Cobra Commander’s dealings may not be the most exciting aspect of GI Joe for much longer. And suddenly it’s just like 1993 all over again!
Final Verdict: 8.0 — Buy
