G.I. Joe: Special Missions #3
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Paul Gulacy
Colors by Aburtov & Grafikslava
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Consulting Editor: John Barber
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Covers by Jim Rugg, Sean Chen, and Paul Gulacy
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe: Special Missions #3 contains a boat-load of action. Pun intended. We’ve got a small team of Joes trying to take down The Baroness, while Serpentor’s up to no good again.

Chuck Dixon’s latest chapter in this opening arc of the book is all action! And that’s the way it should be. After a couple of awesome issues of set up, we start full tilt in the story where the action is non stop, and it continues at that pace for the rest of the issue with about 2 pages of time for you to breathe. There’s a LOT going on here, but it’s all told well, it never gets confusing. The Serpentor story line moves closer to an intersect with the main story, and it’s going to be interesting to see just how and when they cross over. My only complaint is that the Joes rely on a couple of random people to help them, when Dixon easily could’ve had those roles filled by a couple of active Joe members that we’d like to see.

The Legend Of Drizzt
Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter Tales
Written by R.A. Salvatore and Geno Salvatore
Art by Agustin Padilla
Colors by Leonard O’Grady
Letters by Chris Mowry and John Barber
Cover by Gonzalo Flores
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 1, 2013
Cover Price: $19.99

I love graphic novels. Don’t get me wrong, I was brought up on monthly comics. It’s just that as I’ve gotten older I have a deeper appreciation for contained stories. Dungeons & Dragons: Neverwinter Tales: The Legend Of Drizzt is a prime example. Having missed the first issue, I was originally a wee bit behind. Thanks to this wonderful book, that is no longer the case!

Written by R.A. Salvatore and son Geno Salvatore, this story takes place during the Neverwinter Saga of books. But the tale itself is all inclusive and doesn’t tie directly in with those novels, so you can enjoy one without having read the other. The really interesting thing about this particular one is that it centers around a lesser-known character from the books, Thibbledorf Pwent. As leader of the Gutbuster Brigade of Battleragers, Pwent was always at the forefront of any battle, charging ahead with no regard to his own mortality. This time around, though, things are quite different. No spoilers from me, but everyone thought he had died defending his king. Lost for so long, Pwent’s plight is a dark and lonely one that is fully explained here.

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.