Image Comics reviews 12/20/23 – G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #302, Killadelphia #32
G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #302
It’s always fun when Larry Hama tries something new with his legendary run on G.I. Joe. Not every idea works, but the willingness to do more than the status quo is commendable.
Serpentor Khan, Dr. Mindbender and the Cobra and civilians on Cobra Island turning to zombies courtesy of the Mutant Virus Bomb is a drastic status quo shift. Serpentor and Mindbender talking as calm, flesh eating strategists with casino heads is a wild scenario. Will it pan out? That’s still up in the air.
Hama assures some violence is pending with Serpentor Khan’s next move of taking over Springfield. Good thing Cobra Commander is prepared and ready to repel the latest threat to his base of operations. This would be a great time for CC to call in some of his allies. What’s Destro, Baroness, Firefly, Zartan and the Dreadnoks doing?
On the Joe front, they attend the funeral of one of their longtime allies and get some much needed down time.
Artist Chris Mooneyham probably isn’t familiar enough with the Joes to make them stand out all that well outside of their battle togs so Roadblock and Stalker were the only obvious attendees. Mooneyham has an extreme, cross hatch style. This helps dramatically tell the story, but at times looks almost too intense for what’s playing out. At least his artwork has a sense of energy and movement.
Colorist Francesco Segala delivers a solid moody setting that fits well with the tone of the story.
This issue has somewhat of a major revelation stemming from Snake Eyes return from the dead. This opens up a new avenue of storytelling for Hama and it will be very intriguing to see how this plays out.
So far, the Skybound era of G.I. Joe: ARAH has gotten off to a solid start with a smooth transition to this new era with plenty of fresh new directions to take the series.
Rating: 9 out of 10
Check out G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #301 on Amazon
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.