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Werecat · Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 12:58 pm Post subject: G.I. Joe #7 Discussion

I thought this issue was great. First off, I loved Galant's art. He and Atkins and are probably my two favorites artists on G.I. Joe, because they both make great use of space, and they aren't afraid to detail backgrounds. I also really liked Andrew Crossley's colors and shadows. The entire presentation was somewhat dark and veiled, almost reminiscent of a physical pall hanging over the Pit accenting the recent death and scandal.

As for the story, it was well written and engaging. There was enough going on that it carried my attention, and there was enough mystery regarding the Cobra conspiracy presented that it kept my interest going. This is also the first issue in which I could really embrace the slow-burn revealing of Cobra, because I found the suspense so much more appealing than being bombarded with everything right off the bat.

Seeing some new, but familiar faces was also welcome. Cover Girl's full reveal in the port was a bit cheesecake, but I liked it. And c'mon, with a name of "Cover Girl", I'm glad we got a suitably appropriate visual payoff! I also got a laugh out of the clever codename comparison between her and Shipwreck.

My only real gripe was the continued use of abbreviated codenames. For example, why not give Deep Six's full name first, then shorten it later on once he becomes established? This continues to be a gripe of mine because I find it so unnecessary. It can confuse new readers who have no prior reference to Deep Six (or anyone else), and there are many other ways one can demonstrate familiarity and comradery. But whatever. It's a tiny complaint to an otherwise very satisfying issue. Smile

Aric · Posted: Wed Jul 22, 2009 8:28 pm Post subject:

Another great issue. Galant's art is a nice transition from Atkin's style

Not sure about the whole court-martial but I do like the Snake-Eyes-and-Mainframe-looking-for-Cobra subplot. Not sure I like Ace being a rotory aircraft pilot either. Why not Wild Bill or Lift Ticket or any of the other dozen odd helicoptor pilots?

The Covergirl mini-story was fun. I like that she was introduced as "armor" referencing her speciality. The parallels between her intro and The Baroness' is interesting. The 'evil' version then the 'good' version. Very Happy

The little play on Covergirl, Shipwreck, and Dial Tone's codenames was also cool.
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Ro-Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:14 am Post subject:

This was the most compelling issue of the series so far. The interrogation of Scarlett and the mystery of Cobra were the most interesting elements of this issue. There was some great character development in the scenes involving Duke and his emotional attachment to Scarlett. A lot of readers complaining about the book being too sci-fi heavy should be happy with this issue.

To be honest, even though SL Gallant's art was a little murky at times, I much prefer his art to Robert Atkins. I could never really get into Atkins art and at times it seemed his character's faces were either a little "off" or too generic. On the writing side, this is the issue where Chuck Dixon has hit his stride and has started to find this book's voice.
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beantownprime · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:46 am Post subject:

From reading the posts it looks like this is a really good issue. Would you guys say this is the best issue out of the series so far?

Ro-Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 3:50 am Post subject:

I'd have to say so. It seemed to be the most "wordy" and dense of the series. I wasn't a quick read like previous issues were.
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Machete Phil · Transforumer Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 750

i really enjoyed this issue. agreed with everything that werecat said above (including the part about the continued use of abbreviated codenames... "hey gung!"; "'sup, scar?", "not much, blow... er, i mean torch!").

i'll say that the artwork was very different for gi joe, but i really liked it, anyways. i really appreciate that idw has been incorporating a lot of non-traditional artwork into the various joe titles. it serves to shake things up a bit. for example, a lot of folks didn't care for the artwork on gi joe: cobra, but it just seemed to fit the tone of storyline perfectly. also, the artwork on origins took a while to get used to at first, but i really came to enjoy it by the end of the first arc.

ro-dan is right in his post, too. take out the teleportation stuff, and all of the "realists" like me are gonna be happy campers. keep the sci-fi at around a healthy "3 or 4 out of 10".

the character development in this issue was superb, and the introduction of cover girl was great, too. the part with the swimsuit was a bit much, but then ag... oh, who am i kidding??? i really liked the swimsuit part Smile

the parts where the joes were ripping on each other's codenames was great, too.

and finally, loved the last page! never throw a can of soda at snake-eyes!

ps. does anyone out there ever pick up the covers by howard chaykin? apparently, the guy has a pretty big fan base, but i just can't get into his stuff. my comic shop had pulled the chaykin scarlett cover for me, and i walked right over to the rack to get the CG cover, instead. scarlett looked like she'd just been stung by a nest full of angry bees or something...

Werecat · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:06 am Post subject:

cashel · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:44 am Post subject:

best issue so far ....easily!!! dense and full of all out story progression. felt good reading it.
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Ro-Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 12:46 pm Post subject:

ny4eva · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 1:07 pm Post subject:

^Looks familiar

Ro-Dan · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 2:47 pm Post subject:

^Yes it does! It did indeed remind me of that Wonder Woman cover when I first saw it too.
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ER · Posted: Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:43 pm Post subject:

I agree - good issue! Cool to see Snake's eyes reflected on page 16. The art team did an awesome job. Chuck Dixon did very well with how the Joes interact with each other - fun to read - "you're as out of touch as your code name, Dial Tone" Ha!

BUT...

I agree that the Joe nicknames are annoying.

I thought it was weird that Scarlett's court martial was being broadcast to the entire Pit. Isn't Scarlett second only to Hawk in rank in this continuity? It just seems weird that someone that high up getting busted would be televised for everyone to see.

For me it was unclear about whether the tension rod with the die mark was destroyed in the explosion or not. The first panel on page 19 shows Brainstorm holding it. But then we don't see it after that. So Brainstorm either put it somewhere on his person or put it down on or near the robot. We don't know which is the case, so we don't know if it was blown with the rest of the robot or not. Little things like that kind of bug me because I like to be up to date on what's happening in the story. Do they have the number to trace or not?

And one more complaint, but this has nothing to do with the creative team - in issue #6 they said they were starting a letter page, and we didn't get one.

Over all good issue! I thought it was on par with #1-4 and nice step up from #5-6. If I had to choose a favorite I'd go with #4. I'd rather see Scarlett chasing down robot bugs with Tunnel Rat than sitting in court martial Smile

"B"

Duo Maxwell · Transforumer Joined: 08 Mar 2007 Posts: 1349

My only complaint was with the boring (well, generic, really) layout for the panels. Previous issues didn't deviate too much, but even then it wasn't just rectangle-border-rectangle, as some panels overlapped a larger splash-style panel.
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Ro-Dan · Posted: Fri Jul 24, 2009 3:27 pm Post subject:

I really don't see a problem abbreviating the Joes' nicknames. I know I would be doing the same if I were on the team.
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Trey · Slayer Joined: 22 Mar 2009 Posts: 50 Location: California

Now I want more Snake & Mainframe action. but a nice way to end the issue. I'm really glad this issue was as great as it is