[G.I. JOE] FULL FORCE!

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Fri Aug 05, 2011 7:53 pm

Meant to upload this picture ages ago: -

Also got my SDCC Zarana - big points for her actually looking female, and for the insane level of detail. Bit of a shame she's got the Sunbow yellow streak, though.

Post by **Hound** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 5:18 am

So pretty!

*is jealous*

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 4:36 pm

Don't be too jealous, Grunt and Grandslam have since been killed in action, buried in mylar bags and had their remains sold on ebay.

I am quite proud of Scarlett clonking Clutch with a kettle, though - whichever way I have them all displayed, even in a big fight scene, they're always in those poses.

Post by **Hound** » Sat Aug 06, 2011 5:20 pm

Cliffjumper wrote:I am quite proud of Scarlett clonking Clutch with a kettle, though - whichever way I have them all displayed, even in a big fight scene, they're always in those poses.

Brilliant!

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:50 pm

Issues 111-113:

Wow, so the completely awesome SAW Viper dies off page? And completely fails to shoot the unarmed Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes despite them being right in front of his massive gun?

Still, good on SAW for actually pointing out killing members of GI Joe is sort of the whole point of Cobra. If only any of the others paid him proper attention.

And oh no! Cool Black Dude Man Who Hasn't Been In The Comic Before has died! Was he even a toy or just an especially created twat? And Battle Force 2000 died as well. Oh the humanity.

I can't believe this whole "Middle Eastern People Are ****s [but it's not racist if we colour them white, right?]" arc is going to be dragged out to at least one more issue.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 8:32 pm

I love those issues, they're so mind-bogglingly stupid. You've got the Joes acting like shell-shocked children because - OMFG!!!! - there are deaths in war... Quick-Kick literally cries; alright, so he was always a bit of a knob in the Yank stuff, but still... They invent Cool Breeze for the comic and then wipe out a load of toys that have barely featured before (anyone remember Crankcase? No, not the one Ironhide kicks into a building...). And then you've got Cobra Commander shitting his pants because Snake-Eyes is pissed at him (because Snake-Eyes never planned to stop Cobra before) and berating the Twins for wiping out some Joes.

Any vague pretensions the comic have as being realistic vapourise in that arc.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Wed Aug 17, 2011 1:14 pm

Thankfully once they get out of Sillyamdeuptowelheadland things do pick up again with some actual plot and the return of Destro!

Is Big Ben English? I'm not entirely sure, there may be one or two subtle clues I'm not quite picking up on.

And what the hell is Cobra Commander wearing now?

Dear God... The Ninja force is here. The one with a name that sounds like a Ricky Martin song... and the other two. How long before the comic gets it's totally awesome Staring Snake Eyes and the Muppet Babies sub title?

LKW · Post by **LKW** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 6:45 am

Ummm.. I'm guessing about ten issues from where you are?

And CC's wearing a funky thing... that'll last about eight months less than it does on shelves... Hey, at least it's not leopard print...

BTW, FWIW, I can lay som e non-spoilery general info on IDW's ARAH continuation - artists, general style/tone - here, or in that TF #81? thread, if anybody would like..

And also - Ninja Force is kewl! If for no other reason than inspiring my favorite "I'll get 'round to that next" fan fic idea....

Oh, and verra cool, Hound. And believe those are three-pack vintage.

And, nice use of the kettle, Cliffy

Marauders Inc. FTnice exta details W

LKW · Post by **LKW** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 7:00 am

inflatable dalek wrote:82-86:
The second silent was good fun, though not what I expected which was the one reprinted in Transformers with stuff set in a jungle around a plane crash and someone dressed up as the Baroness in a building (after this is it?). .

Keep forgetting about this... The second silent story was presented in the third Yearbook, and was actually kind of important, as it had Snake Eyes' escape from the capture in South America - with the hlpe of Storm Shadow and Scarlett-as-Baroness..., It's a bit disappointing if IDW doesn't have the Yearbook stories (yet?), as the last one has Serpentor discovering "Cobra Commander" Fred's real id, setting in motion the Civil War...

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sat Sep 10, 2011 10:30 am

Book 13 ended with issue 123 (looks like they've increased the content slightly to do it in 15 volumes, and maybe include the Yearbook stuff as well?), Destro was indeed the highlight. Flint being randomly made the leader of the Eco Force (or whatever they're called) and being forced to wear a silly costume the low point. Though considering how right wing the comic is I'm hoping they're job is to fight ecologists, "There's no proof global warming is real!". Loved the slightly forced way Cesspool is introduced as if he's been involved in ongoing plots for ages, "Remember that guy who you did that thing with that time?".

Oh, and it looks as if book 14 will open with a subtle anti-drugs message.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 5:57 pm

The Joe Yearbook collection is rather sweet, with all the features and articles in tact. The Joe On TV features are especially interesting as I don't think many of the upcoming plotlines promised by the script editor actually happened (though Cobra being a front for an even more powerful evil basically wound up in the film).

Odd how the '86 one makes great play of the fact the Rawhides will be turning up in the show (though I don't think they had chance to did they?) but not a single mention of the film.

Book 14, and lo, the G2 crossover in context! I give it props for not even trying to pretend for more than a page Scarlet is evil, but it really doesn't help Cobra Commander look any less stupid for buying it. Especially as he seems to be the only one who was fooled.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:20 pm

It's been a while since I slogged through the surrounding shite, but am I correct to think Harry sank considerable page time into the Milleville setup which then gets junked because the book can apparently handle a military unit of ~150 guys with four members who do anything, the ongoing magnetism of Snake-Eyes face, bikers who drink soda and Ninja Force, but not the odd gigantic transforming robot?

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:27 pm

Pretty much.

Oddly, there actually seems to be more set up for the crossover than I was expecting. Both the (re?)establishment of the transforming castle and thef fact Biggles-Jones is working on a rail gun for no real reason other than Megatron needs it seem to suggest Hama didn't just rewrite existing plots to include the Transformers.

Which makes the insanely bad structuring of the crossover itself which does seem exactly like that all the odder. Megatron not caring about the Joe half of the storyline is great though.

Isn't it a bit late in the day to get another "Origin of Snake Eyes" story? Without going back to check I'm going to bet it doesn't line up well with the previous flashbacks to his disfigurement as well.

Interesting that the "And Ninja Force" part of the new subtitle didn't return after the crossover, obviously those guys were popular.

I wonder how those fans who wrote in and complained about the Transformers ruining the realism of the gritty military book felt about the Star Brigade?

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 7:57 pm

Mmm, that was dreadful. Mind, the Defiant's first appearance is just as stupid - huge build-up to the Joes needing a shuttle (just in time for a rare Cobra foray into space) which they use once or twice and that's it. Quite how GI Joe landed the title of the sensible, subtle grown-up one over Transformers I don't know. At least Monster-Con from Mars had a character we're not sick to the back teeth with.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 8:25 pm

Oh, and how was Mindbender able to brainwash people to fall under Cobra Commanders control when they see his unmasked face when he wouldn't have known at the time (and indeed, I don't think he knows now does he?) what the Commander looks like?

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sun Mar 25, 2012 9:01 pm

inflatable dalek wrote:Oh, and how was Mindbender able to brainwash people to fall under Cobra Commanders control when they see his unmasked face when he wouldn't have known at the time (and indeed, I don't think he knows now does he?) what the Commander looks like?

BECAUSE HARRY KNOWS THE WORD 'ENFILLADE' AND THE PHRASE 'CLOSE ONLY COUNTS IN HORSESHOES AND HANDGRENADES' AND IS THEREFORE A MILITARY EXPERT, THAT'S HOW BITCH!

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Thu May 24, 2012 8:34 am

Hey, remember that GI Joe: Renegades film that we were all super excited about because it's got Bruce Willis and the Rock as Bruce Willis and the Rock in it? It's been pushed back 9 months to March, officially in order to convert it to 3D:

http://www.deadline.com/2012/05/g-i-joe ... ox-office/

Which to be honest, sounds like BS. It's highly unlikely that Paramount only just noticed the whole 3D thing with every other blockbuster (including the "Serious" Batman and Not-Alien ones) being in that format, if the thought was going to occur to them they'd have had this ready for the original release date.

And, whilst Movies have been moved about before (with Star Trek doing well out of it), can anyone think of another film being shoved so far back this close to the release? After the posters and trailer have already gone out? And, perhaps most pertinently, after the tie in toys have apparently already started to appear. Hasbro are going to take a big hit on their side of things, it's not as if the first film toys actually set the world alight when they had something in cinemas to promote them.

So what are we thinking as the real reason? Disasterous screen tests? Worries about releasing a Hasbro property sequel to a film that didn't do that well in the first place this close to Battleship?

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Thu May 24, 2012 4:23 pm

I heard GI Joe - Retaliation. But then maybe I'm crazy. Renegades is either Mercer, Taurus and Red Dog or a shitty Animated knock-off full of lame jokes and lazy racial stereotypes.

Could be anything, TBH. Don't buy international box office - Joe's never going to be a big hit outside America, let alone when anti-American sentiment still remains pretty high in Europe. So I doubt they were ever banking on that. By that token I doubt Hasbro were banking on more than a modest hit anyway.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Thu May 24, 2012 7:34 pm

Like Jonathan Ross, I'm having trouble with my R's.

With them having already spent a good chunk on advertising the original release date I wonder how much promotion they'll be able to afford come March? It may not have had much expected of it before but I'll be amazed if it's anything other than a disaster now.

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Wed Aug 15, 2012 7:51 pm

Volume 15!

The Hama written issues actually come back from the abyss they'd fallen into in previous issues somewhat, the brainwashing of Billy, Storm Shadow and the rest is actually pretty nasty and surprisingly effective.

But, to counter that, you've got more odd adventures in Madeupfunnyforeignerland that I've completely lost track of, and half of three issues in a row being given over to the asteroid plot that has the feeling of having the same "Shove this into your already written scripts quickly" origin as the G2 crossover.

So the whole thing levels out as mediocre. And why the hell have Snake Eyes running about with his mask off this late in the game?

The two filler issues are forgettable but harmless. It does feel like everytime someone else comes in to write one they have a Joe on holiday getting randomly attacked though.

The final issue is interesting in that Hama doesn't try to wrap up the many dangling plot threads in just one issue. No resolution on the brainwashing, GI Joe being recalled or even any set up for the shut down. Obviously the cancellation was very last second, and the decision to just say goodbye rather than do a forced neat tidy ending actually works pretty well. I'm just going to assume it's set some time later and all the other stuff has been finished off in the meantime.

You could argue it's a shame it's just all Snake Eyes, but lets face it, it's been his book for a long time. Nice to see Quick Kick come back from the dead for the send off though.

Only real downside is the grumpy old man writing from Hama about modern kids not caring about anything. Though the final message that army life isn't all that is somewhat surprising from him.

Are the DD or IDW continuations worth bothering with?