IDW's really gone into relaunch mode, much like Marvel/DC
IDW Publishing is relaunching its flagship G.I. Joe comic in September. Their newest G.I. Joe comic will introduce a dark new status quo where Cobra is apparently in charge of the government and heroes like Duke and Scarlett are fugitives from the law. [...]Hmm, I wonder if this is a stealth attack on the Trump administration? I certainly don't find the citation of "dark" appealing, if only because it's long been one of the worst cliches in comicdom. Why, the whole premise isn't even one I'd think a good idea when the series is just starting out. Writer Paul Allor said:
While both Allor and Evenhuis worked on IDW's 2013 G.I. Joe series, this book will serve as a fresh start for both readers and the characters. Allor confirmed via Twitter that the new series is a complete reboot not connected to any previous G.I. Joe comic. In that sense, the series appears to be similar to IDW's current Transformers comic, which rebooted that franchise in the aftermath of last year's Transformers: Unicron crossover.
“This story is inspired both by modern warfare – where non-state actors fight vastly overpowered militaries to a perpetual standstill – and World War II, where Great Britain’s SOE recruited civilians behind enemy lines.”But if Cobra is supposed to be in charge of the US government, then the analogy is ludicrous and offensive. Does this mean Larry Hama's being taken off of the canon he's written for many years? I have no idea, but it sure doesn't look like this new venture will prove a worthy successor.
All this is coming at a time when IDW's finances continue to plummet, and their Wynona Earp TV show's future looks additionally uncertain. IMO, it's another sign they're frantic, and believe using an approach similar to Marvel and DC's relaunches will actually do the trick for them. Not anymore, I don't think.
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It's not all that different from the 2010 G.I. Joe Renegades TV series, which was more or less the same premise (Duke and Scarlett and a few others on the run from Cobra, except the Renegade Cobra version was a Mega Corp pretense to their not-so-hidden terrorism). Renegades took a lot of cues from the 80's A-Team series, so we'll see how this comic version will go about things. At this point after the disaster that is Scarlett's Strike Force, I can hope it'll be somewhat readable (I did like Allor's IDW Ninja Turtles writing, especially his Utrom Empire mini-series). Probably not, but hope for the best.
Posted by Killer Moth | 2:59 PM