G.I. Joe: Saturday Morning Adventures #1
Illustrated by: Dan Schoening
Written by: Erik Burnham
IDW Publishing
2022
G.I. Joe is the codename for America’s daring, highly trained, special mission force. Its purpose: To defend human freedom against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world… well, you know the story! But now, Cobra might have found their most versatile weapon yet! Can even G.I. Joe stop the Aladdin Initiative?
Find out in this special Saturday morning send up, based on the classic 1980s cartoon, and brought to you by the superstar creative team of Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, and Luis Antonio Delgado (Ghostbusters, Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors)!
I’m happy to have read it and relived all thG.I. Joe: Saturday Morning Adventures is a really fun shot of nostalgia for someone around my age, who grew up rushing home from school to catch the original episodes on afternoon television. The comic looks just like the old cartoon, all of my favorite characters are there, and the story is just as silly and over-the-top as I’m used to. ose good times. But I’m not sure there’s much of a market for that, and I don’t think reading two issues would have make the feeling any better.
The art is this issue isn’t exactly up to our current standards. At best, I would say it looks like a great Free Comic Book Day title. The characters are all a little simplistic and a little flat. Of course, they do look almost exactly like the cartoon, which is the appeal of the style. But again, I’m just not sure how appealing that is going to be beyond a very niche audience. Would any one age-appropriate for this art even known who Mainframe or Ace were? Sure, I was thrilled to see them, but I’m just not sure who this book is marketed at.
The story suffers from the same problem. Cobra Commander finds a magical lamp and wishes for giant B.A.T.s? That’s some wackiness right out of the 80s, but is there room for that in today’s market? I mean, beyond the cheap shot of nostalgia someone like me is going to get from this, right before he goes back to reading the main series. It’s hard to take the series seriously, knowing how poorly it’s likely to perform in the long run.
Let me say this – I enjoyed reading this issue as much as I’ve enjoyed any comic this year. It was fun and familiar and it made me feel young and hopeful for 24 pages. I admire, and value, that. But I just don’t see how this idea is going to appeal to any one who didn’t grow up with a steady diet of the cartoon series. This may be my favorite comic that is doomed to fail from the start.
And Reminiscing is Half the Battle!
A super cool read, but also one with really limited appeal. As much fun as this walk down memory lane was, I feel like if you grew up with classic G.I. Joe and really want a comic book version, you're probably reading the main comic line, and if you're age-appropriate for these fun, silly stories, you're probably only familiar with the movie characters and won't even recognize these people at all.
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
