Ninjak #3
Written by Matt Kindt
Art by Clay Mann & Butch Guice
Inks by Seth Mann & Brian Thies
Colors by Ulises Arreola
Letters by Dave Sharpe
Cover art by Lewis LaRosa, Dave Johnson, Rafa Sandoval, Antonio Fuso & Brian Reeber
Valiant Entertainment
Release Date: May 20, 2015
Cover Price: $3.99

Ninjak #3 could not be better than issue #2 was. At least, that’s what I thought. For some reason the creative team seems to be on a mission to make each issue better than the last, just to spite me. Do you know how hard it is writing these reviews, when I keep having to say “this book can’t possibly get any better!”?

G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #2
Written by Mike Costa
Pencils by Antonio Fuso
Inks by Emilio Lecce
Colors by Arianna Florean
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Consulting Editor: John Barber
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Covers by Michael Lark, Antonio Fuso and Dan Matutina
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #2 is all around a great comic. It’s heavy on the talking, a little light on the action, but all in all, it serves it’s purpose by being both interesting AND entertaining.

Mike Costa writes an issue here, that’s a LOT of set up, and you can tell that, when it hits, the payoff is going to be HUGE. He does some really great character work here. You’ve got the Chameleon, Flint, Lady Jaye and others trying to figure out what the first Cobra Commander’s son, Billy, does and doesn’t know about the Cobra organization. One thing that I wasn’t quite clear on, is just WHY they think Billy is such a threat to national security. But, I’m guessing that that will come out in a future issue. Overall, it’s a very interesting issue.

G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #1
Written by Mike Costa
Art by Antonio Fuso
Inks by Emilio Lecce
Colors by Arianna Florean
Letters by Shawn Lee
Consulting Editor: John Barber
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Covers by Michael Lark, Antonio Fuso, Tom Whalen, Jamal Igle, and Brandon Peterson
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 10, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Wow! G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #1 is probably one of my favorite books going right now! And, it’s only on it’s first issue. That’s setting the bar pretty high for any future issues, guys.

Mike Costa returns to write the book that focuses on the G.I. Joe team that’s taking it undercover to Cobra. They have set themselves deep undercover — and I mean DEEP undercover. In fact, I don’t know how they’re going to find their way back at this point. The book has a very small cast of characters, and that’s one of the things that I like about it. Along with all the espionage, intrigue, and awesomeness. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers, and unfortunately, anything that I say about the book’s story can be considered an actual spoiler. Save it to say, if you liked Costa’s last G.I. Joe series, you’ll love this one!

Cobra #21
Written by Mike Costa
Art by Werther Dell’Edera
Colors by Arianna Florean
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Editors: John Barber & Carlos Guzman
Covers by Antonio Fuso, Joe Eisma, Juan Castro & Simon Gough
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 23, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Sadly, Cobra #21 is the last issue of the series. But, in typical fashion of this book, it goes out with a bang and a boom!!!…and some unsolved mysteries.

Writer Mike Costa does just what he’s done with this title for years. He makes it awesome, plain and simple. Let’s face it, everyone thinks that their villains are the most interesting characters, but Costa PROVES it! There’s just about everything that there should be in a book about Cobra. Mysteries, betrayal, crime, etc. It’s hard to really put this book into any kind of genre. It’s part crime, part superhero, part drama. It’s basically a catch-all of everything that you love about comics. While you’d think there’s MORE than enough material to do a book about NOTHING but Cobra, Costa throws in a couple of fan-favorite Joes, that should make everyone happy. I’m sad to see this book go, but it’s been a great ride. Thank you, Mike Costa!

Cobra #8
Written by Mike Costa
Art by Antonio Fuso & Werther Dell’Edera
Colors by Scarletgothica
Letters by Shawn Lee
IDW Publishing
Release Date: December 21, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Right now is a fantastic time to be a G.I. Joe fan (unless you collect the toy line). Although, after reading Cobra #8, it’s a better time to be a Cobra fan. The new Cobra Commander has been chosen and he means business. And, he’s not wasting any time.

You’ve got to hand it to writer Mike Costa. He makes being a bad guy look like a hell of a lot of fun. When I was a kid, I always wanted to part of the G.I. Joe team. My great fear is that kids reading the G.I. Joe comics today will see that being a member of Cobra is a lot more interesting, and in about 20 years, we’ll have thousands of young men starting up their own ruthless, terrorist organization. But I digress.