G.I. Joe, Vol.2 #6
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Will Rosado
Colors by Romulo Fajardo
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Robert Atkins, Tom Feister & Will Rosado
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 5th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

As much as G.I. Joe Renegades was supposed to be “the G.I. Joe cartoon you remember watching when you were a kid,” IDW Publishing’s G.I. Joe comic is the G.I. Joe comic you remember reading when you were a kid. Only now, it’s better, because you’re an adult (I assume) and you can enjoy it on a completely different level. And, the book has many levels. First, it features the toys, yes toys, you loved playing with when you were a kid. Second, it’s an all-out great action movie, and third, a solid, well put together comic book.

I don’t want to say it’s a bad time to pick up a G.I. Joe comic if you’ve never tried one out before, but the G.I. Joe family of books are in the midst of a fantastic story which was kicked off by the death of a major character, and the search for his replacement. No, I’m not going to reveal spoilers, but the title of Cobra Civil War should be a dead giveaway. Thankfully, writer Chuck Dixon and editor Carlos Guzman quickly bring you up to date with an inside the cover recap, so you can hit the ground running with this issue, even if you haven’t read the previous ones — but you’ll want to after finishing this comic. Long-time readers of the series get HUGE payoffs in this issue, and hardcore Joe fans get some love as well via surprise characters that are introduced.

Will Rosado, as penciler, does a fair job at clean storytelling. You won’t find anything groundbreaking art-wise in this comic, but you don’t need to. Let’s be honest, it’s gotta be a headache to draw a GI Joe comic. Even with all the reference sites on the internet, you have got be constantly checking and double checking how many grenades Roadblock has on his vest and does Flint’s beret go to the right or to the left? Rosado’s art does a fine job at getting you lost in the look of the book.

If you haven’t been reading G.I. Joe because you thought it was a “kid’s toy” comic, you could not be more wrong. VERY intelligent storytelling makes for a great read and totally worth the cover price.