IDW comic reviews – GI Joe A Real American Hero #290

March 16, 2022March 17, 2022 Jeffrey Lyles 0 Comments G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Larry Hama, Oktober Guard

Before he fully committed to killing off characters, writer Larry Hama killed all but two of the popular Oktober Guard.

Hama added two new members of the Guard, but they didn’t connect with fans as well.
In true comic book fashion, Hama decided to revive Col. Brekhov, Stormavik, Schrage, and Horrorshow. While in most cases that would be cheap, the Guard were too strong a group to be iced permanently.

For this spotlight, Hama decided to explain how the Guard returned from the grave.
In the context of the ongoing series, the reveal is surprisingly simple. Granted, it continues to make Revanche an even larger part of the Joe mythos, they’re a necessary trade off for the Guard to be intact again.

Hama always had a strong voice for the Guard and their interaction is just as solid as it’s ever been.

Artist Andrew Lee Griffith has occasional hiccups in making his characters look too flat in some panels. That’s not the norm and he lays out the action sequences in a clean, easy to follow manner.

Griffith fills in more of the backgrounds of this issue, which maximizes the scenes with minimal details. J. Brown utilizes the colors to strong effect, which is especially helpful in an issue with so many robot drones in the fray.

This is the last issue before the start of the extended storyline easing to issue 300, presumably the farewell of Hama’s IDW run. Focusing on some major fan favorites that likely won’t return for the final arc made for a fitting spotlight.