G.I. Joe #308 // Review
Dr. Mindbender makes note of Serpent’s generally sunny disposition. The guy wears a snake head everywhere...not exactly Mr. Sunshine. Pretty surly in fact...but there’s something about this particular day that’s making Serpentor happy. Maybe it’s the fact that he’s about to mobilize on Springfield and no one seems to be in position to stop him in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #308. Writer Larry Hama continues one of the longest writer/title relationships in comic book history as he charts his way through another issue with artist Paul Pelletier and inker Tony Kordos. Color comes to the page courtesy of Francesco Segala.
He’s mobilizing with mutant forces. These aren’t the normal Cobra stormtroopers. They’re cyborgs with fifth generation targeting suites for advanced optics. These guys are bulletproof. Meanwhile, Helix, Wetsuit and Muskrat have been captured. The troops are ready to take them down to Mindbender’s lab for interrogation, but they’re ready for it. They had little problem getting their hands free from the restraints. Now they just have to work their way out of a very secure enemy facility with little more than their wits. There’s a major battle coming to Springfield. Things are about to get ugly.
Hama has been juggling big ensembles and thick plots for decades now. The 308th issue in the series continues to allow elements of conflict to slowly evolve in the midst of some pretty heavy conflict. The dialogue feels more than a bit stiff in places, but characterization maintains consistently throughout. Everyone in the issue is quite clearly defined in the shadow of a major coming battle which feels more or less certain to completely explode next issue. Hama’s pacing continues to be respectably tense from beginning to end. All of the standard action tropes are fully armed and operational. It’s another successful engagement for Hama.
The art team scratches out the action with the right amount of force but the wrong amount of detail. Things that should be a bit more heavily-rendered feel weird and sketch. Action sometimes feels like a rough approximation of what’s going on. Overall, it lacks the kind of crisp, clever delivery that would make for s one of the better work in the long and winding history of the series. The horror of augmented Cobra troops should really have more of an impact on the page as well. It all comes across without as much impact as it should have.
Hama knows how to frame an action sequence. He knows how to execute a well-balanced chapter in a long-running ensemble series. It all feels pretty solidly executed, but it’s not enough to make it feel as tense and intense as it needs to in order to be a memorable chapter in a series that has been running for as long as it has. Hama has a lot of experience with the franchise, though. There’s no question he’ll be able to turn things around in the next couple of issues.
