Grabbed some back issues, variant covers and filled in some holes. I also grabbed the Retaliation movie prequel comics to get me excited about the upcoming movie!
Tag Archives: comics
New Stuff From IDW Limited
Hey guys,
A couple days ago I mentioned in a post that I bought some stuff from IDW Limited. Well, here it is! First up is a one of a kind sketch cover of GI Joe Infestation with Cobra Commander by Germanico. I have to say it looks badass and makes me want to buy a couple more sketch covers from IDW. Second, I picked up the Cobra Civil War Lithograph Gallery. It is prints of 9 covers from the Civil War, all the variants with CC’s head/helmet and another character.
I also may have some big news about some really cool IDW Joe stuff in the next day or two. I’m efforting that in my free time. Hint: original art.
IDW GI Joe #20 Preview
Run over to your LCBS and buy this issue tomorrow, I do not think it will disappoint.
IDW GI Joe Comic Books Sales Figures For October
Since I have been getting more into the IDW Joe comics lately, I decided to check out their sales and how they are doing compared to others. I was surprised at how far down the list GI Joe is. The best selling comic is Larry Hama’s ARAH at # 217 for the month with 8,174 comics sold, next is GI Joe V2 (Dixon) at #221 with 7,916 sold, followed by Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow at #238 with 7,151 sold, and finally Cobra at #250 with 6,873 sold.
Come on guys, these are great books! We should pick that number up. I subscribed to all 4 books at my LCBS. The comics are really the only way to get new Joe stories because there isn’t any cartoon at the moment and Retaliation is still not out. And even when Retaliation is out, I’d put my money on the comics being the better story.
Update on IDW Limited GI Joe Blue Label
I spoke with one of their community managers and asked him a couple questions about the difference between Blue, Black and Red Labels:
The difference is typically in the art. We commission the artists to do more elaborate, more time intensive work.
Blue Label is also stamped with the Blue foil imprint, bound in blue and has a blue satin bookmark ribbon. So there’s some really nice small touches.
The GI Joe art should be in the office soon and we will definitely be passing along previews of it. Can’t wait to see it!
IDW Limited GI Joe Blue Label
So I got Twitter, I always thought I would avoid that one…. But anyways, my first tweet ever got a response from IDW Limited. GI Joe Limited will be available in January! I’ll be buying the Blue Label edition! My wallet is already hurting in anticipation, but it will be a nice Bday present to myself.
IDWLimited
@TheRealDoomsun The Transformers Blue Label sold out in about 6 hours. GI Joe is coming in January.
https://www.twitter.com/IDWLimited/status/276786961333751808
Update on Big Reveals
So 2 of the 3 big items that I just bought have been shipped and now I’m just waiting and tracking the package until they arrive!
I also snagged some cool stuff from IDW Limited and when that arrives I’ll post pics.
Comic Book Resources Interview with Chuck Dixon
Comic Book Resoures has a great interview with Chuck Dixon about the IDW comics. Specifically, he talks about an homage to Hama’s #21 silent issue with Dixon and Atkins creating their own silent issue for Snake Eyes #21. He also talks about the upcoming reboot. Take a look by clicking the link or read the relevant GI Joe text below:
CBR News: Chuck, catch people up on what’s been going on lately in “Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow.”
Chuck Dixon: It’s been crazy. Snake Eyes was believed dead by the G.I. Joes but in actuality he’s returned to the Arashikage — the ninja clan that raised him. Due to his actions with his old clan, the G.I. Joes discover Snake Eyes is alive and working for the bad guys, although all of his operations with his ninja pals has harmed COBRA only. Still, he’s seen as a security threat to the USA and the G.I. Joes. That brings us to the arc “Target: Snake Eyes” in which the Joes (led by Scarlett) go to take out their friend. “Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow” #21 is an aftermath to the events in that arc.
Why homage the classic silent issue from “G.I. Joe” #21 in “Snake Eyes & Storm Shadow” #21?
IDW asked me if I was up to it. I wasn’t sure but took the challenge and it worked out well — I have [artist] Robert Atkins to thank for that. To make a wordless comic story work, an artist with strong storytelling chops is essential. I didn’t work like Larry Hama did on the original “G.I. Joe” #21 — I wrote a full script. Larry actually drew the layouts for his classic issue.
In the original story, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow were at each other’s throats. Is this the case once more?
To tell you anything about the issue would give too much away. I will say Storm Shadow and the Hard Master meet for the first time in a long time.
Did you read “G.I. Joe” #21 when it first came out? There was nothing else like it at the time coming from a mainstream publisher.
Absolutely, I read it when it came out. It’s a real landmark. I was blown away when Jim Sterankoopened “Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.” with three wordless pages, and here was Larry doing an entire issue only in pictures. I think it should have had more impact on mainstream comics; a return to pure visual storytelling, but Larry was seen as an outlier in comics. Pioneers always are, right?
Does this new story tie-in to the continuity of the original at all, or is this a completely new universe next to the old Marvel title?
I think of it as a soft re-boot or re-imagining. I’m really not changing a whole lot. I suppose the biggest change is roping in some stuff from the cartoons and making them comic book canon for this continuity, but the G.I. Joes are the ones you know and COBRA is just as badass. I took an “if it ain’t broke…” approach to this issue.
How does writing a silent issue change your creative approach to storytelling?
More panels. Grid only. It has to look like a sequence of static images telling a story, not simply a comic book story with the word balloons left out. There’s a big difference. I have to have a lot happening in order to give the reader the feeling they haven’t been cheated by the lack of words. Also, lots of visual tricks and plenty of rewards and surprises for the reader. These kinds of issues rely on a lot of action, but the action must carry a through story with a payoff or it’s just an extended action sequence.
Have you done silent issues in any of your other comic book work?
I did a wordless issue once before when I was working on “Way of the Rat” at CrossGen, so I knew what I was in for. I also did a couple of wordless stories when I was working on “Batman,” but they were short stories.
What else is coming up in your “G.I. Joe” comics?
We’re shaking things up a bit on the “G.I. Joe” titles. I’ll be starting (or re-starting) “G.I. Joe: Special Missions” — it was always my favorite “G.I. Joe” title and it’s cool to get a shot at it. My first arc is Scarlett and her Spec Missions team against the Baroness in an underwater heist story. Paul Gulacy is on the art, so I’m thrilled.
New Relaunch of IDW Comics in February – New Character Sneak Peek
“And like any good public organization nowadays, G.I. Joe even has a social-media expert, the new character Hashtag. The first Indian-American Joe, she’s an embedded journalist and blogger “who has a family military background and they think they can control her,” Van Lente says. “Maybe they’re right, maybe they’re wrong.””
3 Interesting eBay Auctions
Recently there were 3 very cool and rare items up on eBay that I wanted to share with everyone. Unfortunately for me I lost out on them. First there is a piece of original comic art from Marvel GI Joe # 88 with Darklon, Cobra Commander, Destro. Next up are two package art preproduction pieces done by Earl Norem. There is the Budo character package art as well as the package art for the Cobra Battle Gear Accessory Pack 6.
Leaky Suit Brigade 