G.I. Joe: Special Missions #2
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Paul Gulacy
Colors by Aburtov & Grafikslava
Letters by Shawn Lee
Consulting Editor: John Barber
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Covers by Paul Gulacy, Aburtov & Grafikslava, Sean Chen & Joana LaFuente, and Jim Rugg
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 3, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe: Special Missions #2 picks up right where the first issue left off-with Joes racing against The Baroness to recover the treasure of a fallen ship. All this, and Serpentor is up to no good. Actually, he’s up to GOOD, but that’s a whole nother story.

Writer Chuck Dixon has taken to this new title like a duck takes to water. He really brings a nice contrast to the G.I. Joe line, as this book is pretty much straight-up, Tom Clancy like military maneuvers and Fred Van Lente’s flagship G.I. Joe title has a little more of the theatrics that’s come to be associated with the franchise. Again, this is straight up military action, and that’s what makes it awesome. It’s totally believable characters in totally believable situations. This book is the one with elements of James Bond like levels of spying, action, locations, and intrigue. All the characterizations are strong, accurate and Dixon throws some good old fashioned Joe hallmarks in just for good measure.

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!

G.I. Joe #2
Written by Fred Van Lente
Art by Steve Kurth
Inks by Allen Martinez
Colors by Joana LaFuente
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Steve Kurth, Allen Martinez & Joana Lafuente, Juan Doe, and Ryan Dunlavey
Consulting Editor: Carlos Guzman
Editor: John Barber
IDW Publishing
Release Date: March 20, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

I honestly don’t know how I waited a whole month for G.I. Joe #2. But, I’m glad I did. Wait, I’m not glad that I WAITED, I’m glad that the moment is here and I got to read it. Issue #3 comes out next week, right? RIGHT?!?!

Fred Van Lente is quickly becoming my favorite writer. I don’t know how I missed his awesomeness all these year. And for that, I apologize. Now, I’ll be making up for it. Ladies & Gentlemen, G.I. Joe is BACK! BACK to its comic greatness. BACK to the stories that we all imagined while we played with the toys when we were kids. Remember a couple of years ago when we were all so pleasantly surprised when we watched G.I. Joe: Resolute? Yeah, it’s like that.

Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow #21
Written by Chuck Dixon
Layouts by Robert Atkins
Art by Atilio Rojo
Colors by Simon Gough & Joana LaFuente
Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Editors: John Barber & Carlos Guzman
Cover by Robert Atkins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 6, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow #21 is a bittersweet ending to not only the series, but to the “Dixon/Atkins” era of G.I. Joe comics. They’ve certainly done the franchise proud by the stories they’ve told, the art they’ve created and the hours of entertainment that they’ve provided for us. But, how does this last chapter measure up?

Chuck Dixon knows what he’s doing. This is a G.I. Joe book. It STARS Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow. And, it’s #21. So, it HAS to be a silent issue. Larry Hama set the bar for silent issues back in Marvel’s G.I. Joe #21, and ever since then, there have been many imitators. My problem with a lot of silent issues is that they don’t really NEED to be silent. They just go out of their way to be. This is not the case here. There’s really no need for dialogue in this issue. I’m not going to say much about the story, but, it’s pretty great.

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!