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G.I. Joe IDW v.3 (collected editions) #1
G.I. JOE Volume 1: Homefront
The truth is out: the world knows the G.I. JOE team is real. Now Duke leads his squad directly into the public eye, confronting COBRA on American soil! Fred Van Lente and Steve Kurth lead the charge taking G.I. JOE in a new direction.
- GenresComicsGraphic Novels
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 28, 2013
24 people want to read
About the author
Fred Van Lente
1,355 books319 followersFred Van Lente is the New York Times-bestselling author of comics as varied as Archer & Armstrong (Harvey Award nominee, Best Series), Taskmaster, MODOK's 11, Amazing Spider-Man, Conan the Avenger, Weird Detective, and Cowboys & Aliens (upon which the 2011 movie was based), as well as the novels Ten Dead Comedians and The Con Artist.
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.
Van Lente also specializes in entertaining readers with offbeat histories with the help of his incredibly talented artists. He has written the multiple-award winning Action Philosophers!, The Comic Book History of Comics, Action Presidents! (all drawn by Ryan Dunlavey), and The Comic Book Story of Basketball with Joe Cooper (Ten Speed September 2020).
He lives in Brooklyn with his wife Crystal Skillman, and some mostly ungrateful cats.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 15, 2025
"My name is 'Duke.' Field commander, Joint Services special counterterrorist group. My serial number is U-P-Y-O-U-R-S . . . " -- 1SG Conrad 'Duke' Hauser, captured but not divulging info
"I'm trying to make you a YouTube star, and you're not helping. Aren't YOU as sick of 'Gangnam Style' as I am? -- COBRA intelligence and psychological warfare operative 'The Baroness'
Harkening back to the early to mid-80's prime of the beloved illustrated series via Marvel Comics, IDW's decidedly 21st century take - see that quip above from The Baroness - on the established gritty characters from America's covert military special missions team (code name: G.I. JOE) has me wanting to read the two subsequent volumes. Much like the Mission: Impossible / The Magnificent Seven / The Dirty Dozen-influenced past storylines that generated some of the best plots, this timely (and sort of conceivable) narrative has a small hand-picked squad sent into a depressed former industrial town in Ohio that has been quietly overtaken by a growing number of newly-christened domestic terrorists sponsored/underwritten by COBRA. While the inclusion of a new character strains credulity - readers will have to accept some explanatory dialogue and move on - there was otherwise lots of action, lots of suspense, and lot of quips while I had lots of nostalgic fun reading it.
"I'm trying to make you a YouTube star, and you're not helping. Aren't YOU as sick of 'Gangnam Style' as I am? -- COBRA intelligence and psychological warfare operative 'The Baroness'
Harkening back to the early to mid-80's prime of the beloved illustrated series via Marvel Comics, IDW's decidedly 21st century take - see that quip above from The Baroness - on the established gritty characters from America's covert military special missions team (code name: G.I. JOE) has me wanting to read the two subsequent volumes. Much like the Mission: Impossible / The Magnificent Seven / The Dirty Dozen-influenced past storylines that generated some of the best plots, this timely (and sort of conceivable) narrative has a small hand-picked squad sent into a depressed former industrial town in Ohio that has been quietly overtaken by a growing number of newly-christened domestic terrorists sponsored/underwritten by COBRA. While the inclusion of a new character strains credulity - readers will have to accept some explanatory dialogue and move on - there was otherwise lots of action, lots of suspense, and lot of quips while I had lots of nostalgic fun reading it.
March 22, 2020
Surprisingly good and fun. The villains needed more introduction and explanation but overall, a really great re-introduction to the GI Joe Mythos. I especially LOVED that the original GI Joe toys showed up as mentors, including Bulletman! This introduces a millennial social media influencer soldier, Hashtag. But it's not laser that are not doing any damage like the cartoon. They are shooting and killing people. I would recommend it to fans of the GI comics and cartoons but not for kids.
January 9, 2019
Part of a bunch of books I got in a HumbleBundle. It reboots the GI Joe continuity from the previous IDW books. I'm only one volume in on this one but it seems more cartoony than the previous IDW volumes.
January 13, 2021
This was excellent. Think Springfield, but with more gravitas and hard hitting topics relevant to today's world. Great character development, excellent action sequences, and the story all fit together seamlessly. There was even some great humor sprinkled in there, which was pure delight.
September 1, 2024
It's ok.
An interesting take and reinvention. It's no Larry Hama, but I'm entertained. I'll buy and read the next one for sure.
An interesting take and reinvention. It's no Larry Hama, but I'm entertained. I'll buy and read the next one for sure.
August 23, 2013
I admit that I haven't kept with all of the comics since I first started reading them back in the eighties, but even now I clearly remember the main themes introduced by the first issues released way back then. G.I. JOE at its core is supposed to be an elite squad of U.S. military specialists activated to end the threat posed by Cobra Commander and his henchmen. As always, GI Joe has kept close ties with current events that happen in the real world. In the eighties the Soviets were a constant presence in the stories so it shouldn't be a huge surprise that this theme would continue.
In this volume of issues entitled Homefront we read as the Joe program is made public in the hopes that the American population will embrace them in their continued battle against the terrorist Cobra. This new unclassified Joe program opens new doors as the world of social media creates new characters. As the story progresses the JOEs spend the vast majority of the volume in a fierce battle against Cobra. In the end the truth is exposed and the JOEs pull a hard fought victory out at the last moment.
For me this issue felt little like the JOEs I know from the eighties, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I know that IDW embraces a darker more adult tone to their JOE stories, however, in this volume I found the JOEs to be overly dark in some scenes. I don't want to give away too much of the story here but I will point out a piece of the story that explains. Towards the end of the story Cobra is successful in destroying a major target. In order to keep the targets destruction from spreading further the JOEs need to destroy parts of the community in order to prevent even more destruction. Most people would see this as a necessary evil and go ahead with destroying parts of a community with a heavy heart. Here, however, the JOEs are depicted as reveling in destroying a town, as if simple destruction is what they live for. To me, this is not what GI JOE is and never has been. The JOEs I know would never celebrate the destruction of an American town no matter what the endgame is.
I also hated the social media aspects of this story. I rarely use words like "hate", but in this respect the SM aspects of the story are so trendy and such an obvious grab for a new audience that it really makes the JOE franchise seem silly. If the characters had been set up better instead of making them so teenie-bopper like it may have been better, but the introduction to this theme is too in your face to avoid.
I also never took to the Duke versus Baroness part of the book as the thrilling parts of that tale seemed too rushed. I enjoyed the way Baroness choose to torture Duke, and liked seeing some back story concerning his past, but in the end Duke easily avoids death and Baroness's part of the story is quickly diminished.
The other aspects of Volume 1 were pretty good. I found the art was close to being top tier. I thought the dialogue was well done and the interactions between characters were well thought out. I didn't like the Rocketeer villains in the beginning of the book, and thought the real name of Hashtag was too close to a character in the Star Wars franchise. But all-in-all it was an okay read. I won't be getting volume two, but enjoyed this one for what it was.
*I received this volume in ARC in exchange for an honest review.
In this volume of issues entitled Homefront we read as the Joe program is made public in the hopes that the American population will embrace them in their continued battle against the terrorist Cobra. This new unclassified Joe program opens new doors as the world of social media creates new characters. As the story progresses the JOEs spend the vast majority of the volume in a fierce battle against Cobra. In the end the truth is exposed and the JOEs pull a hard fought victory out at the last moment.
For me this issue felt little like the JOEs I know from the eighties, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. I know that IDW embraces a darker more adult tone to their JOE stories, however, in this volume I found the JOEs to be overly dark in some scenes. I don't want to give away too much of the story here but I will point out a piece of the story that explains. Towards the end of the story Cobra is successful in destroying a major target. In order to keep the targets destruction from spreading further the JOEs need to destroy parts of the community in order to prevent even more destruction. Most people would see this as a necessary evil and go ahead with destroying parts of a community with a heavy heart. Here, however, the JOEs are depicted as reveling in destroying a town, as if simple destruction is what they live for. To me, this is not what GI JOE is and never has been. The JOEs I know would never celebrate the destruction of an American town no matter what the endgame is.
I also hated the social media aspects of this story. I rarely use words like "hate", but in this respect the SM aspects of the story are so trendy and such an obvious grab for a new audience that it really makes the JOE franchise seem silly. If the characters had been set up better instead of making them so teenie-bopper like it may have been better, but the introduction to this theme is too in your face to avoid.
I also never took to the Duke versus Baroness part of the book as the thrilling parts of that tale seemed too rushed. I enjoyed the way Baroness choose to torture Duke, and liked seeing some back story concerning his past, but in the end Duke easily avoids death and Baroness's part of the story is quickly diminished.
The other aspects of Volume 1 were pretty good. I found the art was close to being top tier. I thought the dialogue was well done and the interactions between characters were well thought out. I didn't like the Rocketeer villains in the beginning of the book, and thought the real name of Hashtag was too close to a character in the Star Wars franchise. But all-in-all it was an okay read. I won't be getting volume two, but enjoyed this one for what it was.
*I received this volume in ARC in exchange for an honest review.
August 21, 2013
A few caveats. It has been more than a decade (maybe even two!) since I last picked up an issue of GI Joe. What I recall is the old Marvel book, with its huge cast, often terrible art, and only a few characters developed to any degree of depth (apologies if I’m misremembering, but like I said, it’s been DECADES). Still, perhaps out of nostalgia as much as anything else I picked up this book. And what a great surprise!
Fred Van Lente may be writing a book that has its origin in a Hasbro toy line, but he writes with mature themes off the front page in mind. Beginning with the notion that the GI Joe Team is now “out of the closet” (sorry, couldn’t resist), we have a Joe team led by generals worried about branding and social media. Needless to say, this is also the opportunity for some very funny jokes at several Joe’s expense. Through this lens Van Lente explores fascinating ground about reality versus perception when it comes to our government and how much time is spent worried about doing good as opposed to being SEEN as doing good. The question is complex and this author handles it with considerable subtlety. Nor does Van Lente stop there. He further manages to consider the pain of the economic downturn and the de-industrialization of large swaths of the rust belt (I won’t give any spoilers, but suffice to say that when GI Joe goes to confront Cobra in America’s Heart Land, all isn’t what it seems).
On top of that these are great characters, thoughtfully developed – both on the Joe side and on Cobras. Gone it seems are the days when any GI Joe comic without Snake eyes (and Stalker and Scarlett who I also recall enjoying) was a disappointment. No we have a cast here that is thoughtfully written even while the action is non-stop. Particular stand outs here include Cover Girl and sailor hat sporting Ship Wreck.
In terms of the action on the page, Steve Kurth also deserves a shout out. His art is crisp and classical with sharp lines and bold colors, perfectly suited this sort of action book. No longer do we need bubble gum balloon (or a sailor hat, or a black guy with a beret) to tell one character from another. Instead we have action beautifully captured on the page.
With GI Joe, IDW Media continues to prove its substantial capabilities to rejuvenate older titles and delight readers. I never thought I’d plan on again adding GI Joe to my pick up list, but I have. Yo Joe!
Fred Van Lente may be writing a book that has its origin in a Hasbro toy line, but he writes with mature themes off the front page in mind. Beginning with the notion that the GI Joe Team is now “out of the closet” (sorry, couldn’t resist), we have a Joe team led by generals worried about branding and social media. Needless to say, this is also the opportunity for some very funny jokes at several Joe’s expense. Through this lens Van Lente explores fascinating ground about reality versus perception when it comes to our government and how much time is spent worried about doing good as opposed to being SEEN as doing good. The question is complex and this author handles it with considerable subtlety. Nor does Van Lente stop there. He further manages to consider the pain of the economic downturn and the de-industrialization of large swaths of the rust belt (I won’t give any spoilers, but suffice to say that when GI Joe goes to confront Cobra in America’s Heart Land, all isn’t what it seems).
On top of that these are great characters, thoughtfully developed – both on the Joe side and on Cobras. Gone it seems are the days when any GI Joe comic without Snake eyes (and Stalker and Scarlett who I also recall enjoying) was a disappointment. No we have a cast here that is thoughtfully written even while the action is non-stop. Particular stand outs here include Cover Girl and sailor hat sporting Ship Wreck.
In terms of the action on the page, Steve Kurth also deserves a shout out. His art is crisp and classical with sharp lines and bold colors, perfectly suited this sort of action book. No longer do we need bubble gum balloon (or a sailor hat, or a black guy with a beret) to tell one character from another. Instead we have action beautifully captured on the page.
With GI Joe, IDW Media continues to prove its substantial capabilities to rejuvenate older titles and delight readers. I never thought I’d plan on again adding GI Joe to my pick up list, but I have. Yo Joe!
August 17, 2013
I have read so many GI Joe books lately, and really it is probably not that many but it seems like a lot and they are all of varying qualities. This particular graphic novel or collection of 5 comics is a better one. Now, lets just say I grew up being one of the few girls I knew that loved and watched GI Joe, I had GI Joe action figures that married my barbies and I ran around yelling "Yo Joe" but I'm still not an avid comic reader, though I do seem to read a heck of a lot now a days. That was just a tiny background info on my GI Joe history.
GI Joe has moved on from being a covert organization into being in the 'main stream' the world has discovered the existence of the Joe's so of course the government is going to market, market, market, because we all know they care about the bottom line. Also going in the line we have newer technology, social media and Wiki Leaks to contend with in this new world of Joe's. Along with this there is a super long blurb from the editor or producer, I forget, about the direction that the GI Joe franchise is going and a brief background along with the intention of several different series that will tie the Joe world together, while keeping to the roots of the story. This particular series is set in the USA on the Joe's homefront (see totally brought the title back around . . . forgive me I lack sleep) which is something a little different, we see the conflict of Joe's attacking American's even if necessary. There is just a new dimension to the characters. I loved Cover Girl in this one because she totally kicked butt and didn't back down, and I love a kick ass female character. I actually really liked Duke's background story as well it was interesting to see that side of him. What I didn't like was all the technology cliché's and GI Joe has always been about cliché's so I shouldn't complain. It just gets odd when we bring in bloggers, tweeting and wiki leaks, it kind of feels out-of-place. I get that it's more modern, but it was kind of weird.
I'm glad I got the chance to read this because of all the Joe graphic novels I read this one is my favorite.
Also, I should mention I did get this free for review.
GI Joe has moved on from being a covert organization into being in the 'main stream' the world has discovered the existence of the Joe's so of course the government is going to market, market, market, because we all know they care about the bottom line. Also going in the line we have newer technology, social media and Wiki Leaks to contend with in this new world of Joe's. Along with this there is a super long blurb from the editor or producer, I forget, about the direction that the GI Joe franchise is going and a brief background along with the intention of several different series that will tie the Joe world together, while keeping to the roots of the story. This particular series is set in the USA on the Joe's homefront (see totally brought the title back around . . . forgive me I lack sleep) which is something a little different, we see the conflict of Joe's attacking American's even if necessary. There is just a new dimension to the characters. I loved Cover Girl in this one because she totally kicked butt and didn't back down, and I love a kick ass female character. I actually really liked Duke's background story as well it was interesting to see that side of him. What I didn't like was all the technology cliché's and GI Joe has always been about cliché's so I shouldn't complain. It just gets odd when we bring in bloggers, tweeting and wiki leaks, it kind of feels out-of-place. I get that it's more modern, but it was kind of weird.
I'm glad I got the chance to read this because of all the Joe graphic novels I read this one is my favorite.
Also, I should mention I did get this free for review.
September 22, 2013
Probably my least favorite of the IDW Joe volumes. Some thoughts:
- I was under the impression that this new "season" of Joe was not to be a hard reboot, that it would continue on from the earlier issues. While the other recent volumes worked with the previous "season," this absolutely did not. And some changes seemed to be the very definition of arbitrary. Duke and Cover Girl together while having Shipwreck on the same team?
- The overall story has been told many, many times in past Joe comics (by Hama, back in the Springfield days and the early issues of this IDW run to name a couple) and they have all been written much better than this arc. Cobra takes over an American town? Again? Even the Duke/Mindbender sequence has been done nearly verbatim in Joe comics before. For anyone who has been a long time reader of Joe comics, there was quite literally nothing in this volume that was a new idea. It heavily copied earlier Joe comics. The entire story felt like a bad case of deja vu.
- Other than Duke, there is no real characterization. These are caricatures, not characters.
- There is no urgency and yet the resolution is forced and wrapped up much too quickly.
Overall, this was the first IDW volume that made me consider giving up on this continuity altogether. I definitely do not recommend this one whatsoever. There were a couple of clever, fun moments but they were tiny moments in a sea of mediocrity. It's a bummer, too, because the idea of being the media darlings and the public face of anti-terror could really lead to some interesting stories.
- I was under the impression that this new "season" of Joe was not to be a hard reboot, that it would continue on from the earlier issues. While the other recent volumes worked with the previous "season," this absolutely did not. And some changes seemed to be the very definition of arbitrary. Duke and Cover Girl together while having Shipwreck on the same team?
- The overall story has been told many, many times in past Joe comics (by Hama, back in the Springfield days and the early issues of this IDW run to name a couple) and they have all been written much better than this arc. Cobra takes over an American town? Again? Even the Duke/Mindbender sequence has been done nearly verbatim in Joe comics before. For anyone who has been a long time reader of Joe comics, there was quite literally nothing in this volume that was a new idea. It heavily copied earlier Joe comics. The entire story felt like a bad case of deja vu.
- Other than Duke, there is no real characterization. These are caricatures, not characters.
- There is no urgency and yet the resolution is forced and wrapped up much too quickly.
Overall, this was the first IDW volume that made me consider giving up on this continuity altogether. I definitely do not recommend this one whatsoever. There were a couple of clever, fun moments but they were tiny moments in a sea of mediocrity. It's a bummer, too, because the idea of being the media darlings and the public face of anti-terror could really lead to some interesting stories.
October 5, 2013
Now that G.I. Joe is out in the open, they are sent on a small mission that's supposed to end with press coverage. Eight Joes head to a small town, but they are ambushed by COBRA and a militarized population of townspeople who believe the Joes are part of a government conspiracy.
With the team split in 2 and no way to communicate with the outside world, the team must reunite the medic with the severely injured team member. There is also a new team member who is unskilled in combat. In addition, the town has been wired with explosives. So the objectives are to leave no man behind, don't kill innocents and save the town. Easy, right?
This was pretty good. There are all the usual G.I. Joe references and one of the issues gives a good back story on Duke. The art by Steve Kurth was really enjoyable and while this is Volume 1, the story wraps in this volume.
With the team split in 2 and no way to communicate with the outside world, the team must reunite the medic with the severely injured team member. There is also a new team member who is unskilled in combat. In addition, the town has been wired with explosives. So the objectives are to leave no man behind, don't kill innocents and save the town. Easy, right?
This was pretty good. There are all the usual G.I. Joe references and one of the issues gives a good back story on Duke. The art by Steve Kurth was really enjoyable and while this is Volume 1, the story wraps in this volume.
February 8, 2016
GI Joe was a staple of my childhood
Forgotten for a number of years
it was brought back with a bang
by IDW a few years ago
Homefront is a hard hitting story
that manages to be thoughtful as well
Showing not only some of the ugly side of warfare but
also what might drive ordinary people into extremism
that's a lot to ask from a comic that came out of an 80's toy line
Forgotten for a number of years
it was brought back with a bang
by IDW a few years ago
Homefront is a hard hitting story
that manages to be thoughtful as well
Showing not only some of the ugly side of warfare but
also what might drive ordinary people into extremism
that's a lot to ask from a comic that came out of an 80's toy line
August 28, 2013
I posted my full review of this on my blog, The Itinerant Librarian. Click on the link to read it. By the way, I gave it 3.5 out of 5, but we all know GoodReads by now.
Link to review: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...
Link to review: http://itinerantlibrarian.blogspot.co...
July 11, 2013
Fun read. Lots of action and it was fun remembering a lot of the JOES call signs. Definitely looking forward to the next volume.
August 6, 2014
good story but cartoonish artwork
August 5, 2013
No está mal después de todo...
Read
August 31, 2017Picked up as part of a Humble Bundle. Not much to say here, other than the first and obvious: as a child of the 80's GI Joe hits some deep nerves in my limbic system.
(Also, along those lines, this trade paperback ends with a history of GI Joe, from toy to comic book to show to toy. That, all by itself, was a lot of fun to read.)
So when I say that the book kept my interest, you should clearly know that I'm limbically biased here. Which means that it's a little shocking to see people getting shot (whereas the old cartoon classic was simply "shooting out the ground from under the enemy, having them fall into water, capturing them," etc. -- but never death.). I also think this book falls into the typical problem of sexualizing women. Though, at least on the Joe side, this book ably passes the Bechdel test, with women soldiers discussing the enemy and what would turn regular folk against the US government.
And that's probably the most interesting update here. In the cartoon show, I remember a lot of brainwashing and maybe occasionally tricking of regular people into fighting the Joes; but here, in 2013, Van Lente discusses what would make people willing to turn against the government and burn the world down to save themselves. In 2013, that maybe felt melodramatic. Today, I'd say it almost seems poignant.
(Also, along those lines, this trade paperback ends with a history of GI Joe, from toy to comic book to show to toy. That, all by itself, was a lot of fun to read.)
So when I say that the book kept my interest, you should clearly know that I'm limbically biased here. Which means that it's a little shocking to see people getting shot (whereas the old cartoon classic was simply "shooting out the ground from under the enemy, having them fall into water, capturing them," etc. -- but never death.). I also think this book falls into the typical problem of sexualizing women. Though, at least on the Joe side, this book ably passes the Bechdel test, with women soldiers discussing the enemy and what would turn regular folk against the US government.
And that's probably the most interesting update here. In the cartoon show, I remember a lot of brainwashing and maybe occasionally tricking of regular people into fighting the Joes; but here, in 2013, Van Lente discusses what would make people willing to turn against the government and burn the world down to save themselves. In 2013, that maybe felt melodramatic. Today, I'd say it almost seems poignant.
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