| At issue #25, I join
the story midway where, thanks to the catch up page
in the start of the book, Cobra has discovered
and obtained the identities of the entire line
up of G.I. Joe family members and their friends,
and has all of their locations, and now are
attempting to knock them off one by one. And
now, with the three high agents of Cobra in
hiding, all of the Joes have been alerted.
We join the show
with Cobra Mortal being interrupted by Gung-Ho,
and Cover Girl on the roof about to assassinate
a Chechen leader. First of all, "America's
Elite" is a series that just takes the source
material of G.I. Joe and adds a very stern
dramatic tone to it from the get go. There's
just no camp, no goofy characters, and all the
gimmicks from the former mythos is now played
with a sly wit that doesn't bring down the
source material.
The comics follow a
strict guideline of adhering to military
incidents, all the while positing Cobra as a
lethal force that's bigger than anything we can
imagine, and I simply love it. What ultimately
helps the experience is the fantastic art from
Mike Bear, that manages to add a whole gritty
flavor to it that's as realistic as it can be.
None of the villains or heroes are ever
exaggerated, and often times, even people with
outrageous outfits like Cobra Commander look
utterly imposing, and even menacing.
"America's Elite"
also has a wonderful story to it that mingles
very different sub-plots into one whole issue,
and possesses a very unique taste of Mamet meets
Tom Clancy in one sweet little package. Mark
Powers' writing is often times immaculate with a
sheer knack for pace and rhythm, while injecting
this sense of harrowing danger that continues on
with every character in different corners of the
world. And
the issue ends on a whopper of a cliffhanger
that signals not only the end of times, but of a
few potential casualties, and someone from
either side may be burdened with a few secrets
that we will find out in future issues.
And Hollywood
assumes that this all can't be made into a stern
dramatic action movie? To that I guffaw,
chortle, and giggle.
Coming to stores July 5th from
Devil's Due Publishing!
-
Felix Vasquez Jr.
6/28/07
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