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There are some memories of childhood that time will probably never fully divest from our minds.  One of my favorites actually involves getting ready for school in the mornings.  I would wake up earlier than necessary so I could get dressed and then sit down with my cereal and watch cartoons.  Transformers and G.I. Joe.  I was practically a cultist to these toys lines that even 25 years later continue to garner many worshipers. 

The G.I. Joe cartoon, while sappy and moralistic, weaved some grand storylines together fooling us into thinking that it was more than just a vehicle to sell toys.  The G.I. Joe comic, on the other hand, really did strike me, originally, as something more than a retail platform.  It was a much more mature comic.  Characters changed, grew and sometimes died.  It was the Punisher of the toy licensee comics of the times.  As the years wore on though, and the sale of the toys waned, even the comic fell towards the more retail roots and became short storylines, glorifying the current batch of newest toys on the shelves.  The comic eventually ended.

G.I. Joe has had a few rough restarts.  A few years ago though, Devil’s Due Publishing picked up the license and ran with it.  No longer “A Real American Hero”, G.I. Joe is now “America’s Elite!” DD’s premise was that the original ending of the Marvel run of G.I. Joe signaled the defeat of COBRA and the end of the Joes.  This meant that, of course, that the few brass who still believed in G.I. Joe now had the indomitable task of convincing the military that COBRA was on the move again and it was time to reactivate G.I. Joe.  The military’s compliance apparently came too late, as the current story line, aptly called “World War III”, has Cobra Commander firmly in control of most of the world’s nuclear capabilities and sitting in the head office of the NSA, with troops fighting the world over for control. 

Issue 33, World War III part 9, finds the Joes desperately engaged in a war they currently have no chance of winning.  Finding Destro, one of their oldest enemies, and convincing him to give up the secrets of the technology that Cobra Commander pilfered from him might be their only chance to turn the tide of war.  Storm Shadow hunts down Destro while the Joes fight to stay alive in New York City.  At the same time, Cobra Commander confronts the one man who might be able to talk some sense into him: his son. 

Mark Powers’ story forces G.I. Joe to be everything it can be.  The story has a frantic pace, full of action, exposition that does not treat the reader like a moron and relies on the concept that 90% of the people picking up the book know something about G.I. Joe.  Mark writes the Joes to be sensible, military people who know what it takes to win when you are the underdog.  Cobra Commander feels even more menacing as the calm, persuasive, planning leader than he ever did as the egomaniacal sociopath in the cartoon.

Three people shared the art on G.I. Joe #33 and they apparently work well as a team.  I could find very little difference between the pages that Mike Bear, Mike Shoyket and Pat Quinn shared on this book.  The smooth art never falters.  With so much diversity between the Joes and COBRA soldiers it would be easy to fudge a little and use generic soldiers, yet they never shy away and all of the detail you expect in the uniforms comes through nicely.  The cover really stands out as something wonderful on this issue as well.  Produced by Robert Q. Atkins & Jean-Francois Beaulieu with Mike O’Sullivan, you have an image of 129 COBRA agents with a ‘who’s-who’ guide on the back page.  I believe these are all the named COBRA soldiers from toys, cartoon and comics!

G.I. Joe America’s Elite #33 maybe in the on the down slope of a grand storyline, but I found no point where I was confused as to what was happening and really enjoyed the comic far more than I expected I would when I picked it up.  I think if you grew up a fan of the original comics, toys or cartoons you would especially enjoy this comic.  If you are new to G.I. Joe altogether (which means you are probably around 12 to 14) this may not be the best jumping on point, but at the least, an exciting one. 

G.I. Joe America’s Elite #33
“World War III part 9: Metamorphosis”
Script: Mark Powers
Pencilers: Mike Bear, Mike Shoyket, Pat Quinn
Color Art: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letters: Crank!

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