G.I. Joe #1
Written by Karen Traviss
Art by Steve Kurth
Colors by Kito Young
Letters by Tom B Long
Editor: John Barber
Special Thanks to Max Brooks
Covers by Jeffrey Veregee, Cliff Chiang, David Williams, Dave Dorman & Robert Atkins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: September 24, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe #1 ushers in a new era of awesomeness for the Joe team. It’s G.I. Joe against Cobra, the…..peacekeepers. Yes. You read that right. Peacekeepers. As in people who keep the peace. Let’s see how that works out for them.

For the first time in history, G.I. Joe has a woman at the helm. Literally. Writer Karen Traviss makes the jump from military fiction novels to comics, and the one burning question that I have is, why didn’t she do it sooner?

G.I. Joe #13
Written by Paul Allor
Art by Alex Cal, Robert Atkins & Juan Castro, and Chris Evenhuis
Colors by David Garcia Cruz, and Joana LaFuente
Letters by Gilberto Lazcano
Covers by Steve Kurth, Allen Martinez, Joana LaFuente & Freddie E. Williams III, and David Garcia Cruz
IDW Publishing
Release Date: February 5, 2014
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe #13 could be titled “Everything you always wanted to know about Cobra, but where afraid they’d kill you for asking.” Thankfully, it’s not. What it IS is a really awesome issue.

This month, new writer Paul Allor gives us not one, not two, but THREE stories all packed into one surprisingly not over-crammed issue. The stories are framed with The Baroness being told about the history of the Cobra organization. A tale that goes back — like REALLY way back. It turns out, the Cobra organization has been behind some pretty interesting things that you’d never even associate them with. You know that I’m anti-spoiler, so I’m not going to tell you what those things are, but I suggest you pick this issue up and find out what they are, because I guarantee you’ll be highly entertained. This is one of my favorite issues of Joe in a long time.

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.

Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword, Volume 1
Written by Paul Tobin, Scott Allie, Mark Finn, Marc Andreyko, Joe Casey, Robert E. Howard, Jeremy Barlow, David Lapham, Joshua Williamson, Dave Land, Peter Doree
Art/Illustrations/Pencils/Inks/Colors by Wellington Alves, Ben Dewey, Greg Scott, Pop Mhan, Tony Parker, Fabio Cobiaco, Patric Reynolds, M.S. Corley, Sean Phillips, Tim Bradstreet, Tim Seeley, Robert Atkins, Rebecca Buchman, Michael Atiyeh, Dave Stewart, Grant Goleash, Michelle Madsen, Jose Villarrubia, Brian Miller, Hi-Fi Colour Design, Dan Jackson
Letters by Richard Starkings and Comicraft
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: January 9, 2013
Cover Price: $17.99

Okay, first off, the individuals listed above were done so in the order in which their stories were placed in the anthology, subdivided by the type of work they contributed. No offense was implied towards any person who might have been placed incorrectly in this review. There, I’ve been about as politically correct as I can be. All characters are based upon the work of Robert E. Howard. This is, after all, Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword, Volume 1.

G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow #16
Written by Chuck Dixon
Artists: Robert Atkins & Atilio Rojo
Inks by Juan Castro & Atilio Rojo
Colors by Simon Gough & Joana LaFuente
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Editors: John Barber & Carlos Guzman
Covers by Alex Cal & Robert Atkins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: August 29, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

In Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow #16 a TON of mysteries are revealed. The unfortunate part… they’re not solved. Yet. But, it’s a really fun ride trying to figure them out with the clues given in this issue.

Of the two G.I. Joe books that Chuck Dixon writes, I feel that this is his best. By far. In G.I. Joe, he has to juggle a TON of characters, both heroes and villains; here, he only has to write a handful of characters, and I think that’s why he excels on this title. This issue continues the battle between the Araskicage and Cobra. Cobra has declared war on the Arashikage clan, and it’s everyone for himself. During the issue we get some FANTASTIC flashbacks telling the origin of the Snake Eyes/Storm Shadow rivalry. I was very surprised at just how MEAN that Snake Eyes was a child, you almost get the feeling that you should be sympathizing with Storm Shadow, as he’s portrayed as the victim in their childhood feud. Now, I have a feeling that will change in upcoming issues, but for now, it’s really quite surprising.