GI Joe Origins Volume 1

First review of 2026! From a Little Free Library in Ware MA USA.

Title: G.I. Joe Origins
Issue: Volume 1
Date: September 2009
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Larry Hama
Art: Mike Hawthorne, Tom Feister
Colorist: Erik Swanson
Letterer: Robbie Robbins, Chris Mowry, Neil Uyetake
Editor: Andy Schmidt, Justin Eisinger

Trade paperback collection covering the first mission of the G.I. Joe team. Duke and Scarlet get airdropped into the Nevada desert on a secret mission that is partly training, partly a test, and partly a real mission, in a way that really doesn't make any sense.

Meanwhile a villain named Chimera (who I guess might go on to eventually become one of the better-known villains like Cobra Commander? Maybe?) singlehandedly fights off a SWAT team, and generally make all of law enforcement look incompetent as he pulls of an escalating series of crimes, leading to the launching of a deadly plan from a secret base. The kind of plan with an unnecessary countdown and some monologuing to explain it. Clearly Chimera did not read The Watchmen.

I did like seeing the early formation of the bond between Scarlet and Snake Eyes.

I did not like Scarlet getting damseled. I was also not thrilled that the story introduced a character who was more interesting than anyone on the Joe team and proceeded to kill her about a fourth of the way through the book.

Rating: 3/10

Locke & Key: Alpha #1 (Newbury Comics Retailer Variant)

Third book in today's review marathon. Nine to go to finish the stack. Four more to get me back on track for one per day to finish the stack before we leave on Friday.

Title: Locke & Key: Alpha
Issue: #1
Date: August, 2013
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colorist: Jay Fotos
Letterer: Robbie Robbins
Editor: Chris Ryall

Newbury Comics retailer variant cover!

This is a big climactic battle, and, having not read much of what led up to this, I was a bit lost in terms of who everyone was. No fault of the comic's. It even provided a quick recap on the inside front cover. I would just point out that if you are new to Locke & Key, as I was, this is probably not the best jumping-in point, in spite of the "issue #1" on the front cover (which I am guessing is why I bought this in the first place).

All of that being said, this was an awesomely epic good vs. evil confrontation, featuring a really horrifying villain, a seemingly hopeless situation for the good guys, and a heroic final stand. It was fun, with plenty of gore and horror elements, all used very well.

I wasn't even too bothered by the villain's excessive talking about his plans for world domination when he should probably just have been getting on with making good on his threats to the captive heroes. The villain here is so obnoxious that it's worth it hearing some of his over-the-top soliloquizing, even if he's playing into a classic trope.

I need to go back and read some of what lead up to this.

Rating: 8/10

Magic: The Gathering: Theros #1

Before I get to the review, here are a couple pics of the box I decorated for my son today to hold his fledgeling comic book collection:

When I bought the latest two comics for my son, I also picked up two comics for me. This is the first of those.


Title: Magic: The Gathering: Theros
Issue: 1
Date: October 2013
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Jason Ciaramella
Artist: Martin Coccolo
Colorist: Joana Lafuente
Letterer: Robbie Robbins
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Cover: Eric Deschamps

Once again, only bought this for the promo card, (which was an absolutely awesome version of High Tide, using the regular cover art from the comic).

So, Dirk Fayden (thief and planeswalker extraordinaire) has returned to Ravnica for a comic book based on the Magic: the Gathering set Return To Ravnica Theros. Okay, actually, Dirk does get to Theros eventually, but we start with him returning to Ravnica after having just prevented a new Guild War from breaking out.

His new mission: To steal a gem that could cause a new Guild War to break out.

Really? Does anything ever happen on Ravnica besides Guild War near-misses?

Anyway, Dirk's brilliant plan is to sneak past the angels guarding Sunhome, the Boros Legion headquarters. When that doesn't work, he tries brawling with the angels. With predictable results.

He does manage to grab a bit of a consolation prize while beating a hasty retreat, and it turns out to be a magical artifact in its own right. This is what leads him to Theros, where he gets into a street brawl, meets a hero-worshiping kid (or perhaps just a sneaky one), and attempts to hire a ship.

For all that goes on here, it really didn't feel like all that much happened. Theros is presented beautifully in terms of the visuals, but we get almost no sense of its culture. It's a fantasy world where an adventurer walking down the street gets into a brawl. Pretty generic.

In generally, this issue was visually impressive, but didn't deliver much in terms of story.

That promotional version High Tide was quite lovely, though.

Rating: 4.5/10

Transformers: Movie Prequel Free Comic Book Day Edition

Back to the Free Comic Book Day stack. This is another Free Comic Book Day promo from a previous year that I picked up this year as a bonus giveaway.

Title: Transformers: Movie Prequel Free Comic Book Day Edition
Date: 2007
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Chris Ryall, Simon Furman
Artist: Don Figueroa
Colorist: Josh Burcham
Letterer: Robbie Robbins
Editor: Chris Ryall

"*All dialogue (inner and outer) translated from the Cybertronian - Optimal Ed." Ha! Nice nod to Marvel on the first page.

And now, a disclaimer. I'm not a Transformers guy. I was just a bit too old to be into the toys when they came out (although I owned a few of the early transforming Shogun Warriors toys that were the predecessors of the Transformers). I was still watching a few cartoon shows at that point, but my TV routine didn't include Transformers. Maybe it was just on at a bad time. I watched G.I. Joe, although I tended to mock it. I took Robotech a lot more seriously. But I don't think I ever even sat through a full episode of Transformers.

So I'm probably not the target audience here.

The book takes place on Cybertron, some unspecified length of time before Megan Fox started running away from explosions in slow motion. This story sets up the background and the motivation for the events of the Transformers film.

See there's this thingee called the Allspark. It's sorta like a combination of God, the Force, and the One Ring. Megatron and the Decepticons are fighting a war against the Autobots in an attempt to seize the Allspark. Optimus Prime has hidden the Allspark in an obscure location while he tries to decoy the bad guys.

Most of the tension in this comes from the fact that only the leader of the badly outnumbered band of good robots who are the focus of the action actually realizes that they are, in fact, guarding the real location of the McGuffinspark.

The story take itself very seriously. Megatron has a Lucifer vibe as the former "Lord Protector" who co-ruled with Optimus prime before he turned heel.

The story isn't anything all that original, but it's effective.

What is not effective is the artwork. See the disclaimer. Maybe I'm just not used to dealing with these more-than-meets-the-eye types, but I had a really hard time telling who the heck anyone was or what was going on during most of the fight scenes.

Now I understand that if I pick up an issue of say, X-men, in the middle of some monster crossover event (say, Fall of the Mutants) that the random issue is not going to make it easy for me as a new reader to figure out a complex storyline with a huge cast at whatever point I decide to jump in.

But folks, this is a Free Comic Book Day giveaway. It is supposed to be written for the purpose of bringing new fans on board. I don't need my hand held, but could we at least make it so I can tell which robot is a good robot and which robot is a bad robot?

Rating: 5.5/10

Locke & Key: Free Comic Book Day Edition

Title: Locke & Key: Free Comic Book Day Edition
Date: 2011
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Joe Hill
Artist: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colorist: Jay Fotos
Letterer: Robbie Robbins
Editor: Chris Ryall

Three kids have become the guardians of the Keyhouse, whose keys can unlock all manner of powers and secrets. Opposing them is an evil wizard-type named Dodge, who animates the shadows of the house and sends them to attack the kids.

This issue is essentially a single fight scene, but it's a really good one that flows logically and keeps up the intensity. The characters are introduced mostly through their actions and some dialogue and we get a fairly good sense of them. It was enough to interest me in seeing more.

The art by Gabriel Rodriguez is spectacular, especially on the shadow creatures, which come off as very menacing. This was a good sample of the story and a really fun series of scenes that definitely will have me on the lookout for more Locke & Key stories.

Excellent example of what a Free Comic Book Day promo should be.

Rating: 8/10

Beowulf Comicon Promo

Title: Beowulf Comicon Promo
Date: July, 2007
Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer: Chris Ryall
Art: Gabriel Rodriguez
Colorist: Jay Folos
Letterer: Robbie Robbins
Based On The Screenplay By: Neil Gaiman, Roger Avary

"Monster Grendel's tastes are plainish/For breakfast, just a couple Danish." - Maurice Sagoff.

IDW's preview of their comic based on the movie based on the ancient Anglo-Saxon epic. We get started with Grendel attacking Hrothgar's hall and tearing apart some of the Geatish warriors. Interestingly, Grendel refuses to fight Hrothgar himself, the first of several hints of a connection between the two that the Gaiman/Avary script adds in an attempt to "improve" a story that has endured for well over 1000 years. The fight scene is pretty standard comic fare, but the introduction of Grendel's mother gets is a bit more interesting, and the arrival of Beowulf in the land of the Geats is handled quite nicely. Visually, the combination of Gabriel Rodriguez's artwork and Jay Folos' coloring is stunning. While there is some wandering from the source material, there is also some obvious effort made to stay faithful to the original wherever possible.

Rating: 6/10