G.I. JOE America's Elite: Disavowed Volume 2

G.I. Joe: America's Elite #new 2; #7-12

by Joe Casey, Stefano Caselli (Illustrations), Nelson Blake II (Illustrations)

The JOE team is sent on a rescue mission for Scarlett and all return except for Snake Eyes. Is he dead or alive? The hunt is on to find out! Meanwhile, Duke is captured in the Amazon forest and "interrogated" by a Crimson Guardsman, all leading to a massive Ninja showdown!

Genres: Comics

148 pages, Paperback

First published December 31, 2013

About the author

Librarian note: there is more than one author with this name

Joe Casey is an American comic book writer. He has worked on titles such as Wildcats 3.0, Uncanny X-Men, The Intimates, Adventures of Superman, and G.I. Joe: America's Elite among others. As part of the comics creator group Man of Action Studios, Casey is one of the creators of the animated series Ben 10.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Casey

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

More moist and chewy G.I. Joe fun, if you're into that sort of thing. Or that sort of thing is into you. In which case you may need to consult a qualified medical professional.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the original run of Gi Joe growing up and never read this follow up. I enjoy these characters and this series seems to focus on the better developed character. Some may be fan favorites, but a big part of the original run was to introduce the toy line. In this case the series is story driven and so far, I am enjoying it.

[David Dalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loving this series. Got hooked on GI Joe thanks to Comixology Unlimited. But this series was not available to borrow. So I went ahead and picked up the first 3 volumes from Amazon and I am reading them in paperback collections. Reads like a long novel so far. So much action and turmoil on a global scale. I will start on Volume 3 in another week or so. Meanwhile I need to order volume 4.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story was excellent from start to finish. It's a shame this story line was Disavowed by IDW because it really is great. It reads like a high adrenaline international spy movie. And the surprise ending, wow!! Just read it, OK? Can't wait to start the next collection.

[Jeff Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as the first volume. Too much ninja magic for me. Especially since this is supposedly a more “grounded” take on GI Joe. Also too much time with Duke on his solo adventure.

[Scotty Cameron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every patriot's favorite team of elite soldiers are on the hunt for their fallen teammate in an exciting new adventure. G.I. Joe America's Elite Disavowed 2 is about the Joes' ability to cope with the loss of their greatest teammate, Sanke-Eyes, and what they do when his body goes missing. The G.I. Joe America's Elite Disavowed run is IDW's collections of the Devil's Due G.I. Joe America's Elite run. G.I. Joe America's Elite Disavowed 2 is an exciting adventure with a great story, cast of characters, and amazing artwork.

Story
G.I. Joe America's Elite Disavowed 2 pick up where G.I. Joe America's Elite Disavowed left of Scarlett has been captured by Destro and the Joes have to save her. Snake-Eyes sacrifices himself to save Scarlett and the Joes. While the team mourns the loss of their fallen ally Snake-Eyes' body is stolen. The Joes then start searching for Snake-Eyes to figure out what happened to him. The Joes go from stopping Major Bludd from killing Vice-President Dick Cheney to being captured by the Arashikage clan in their journey to find Snake-Eyes. Meanwhile. Duke is a prisoner of Colenal Calvin, a Crimson Guardsman, and he must stop Calvin from starting a nuclear war. The Arashikage clan has Snake-Eyes and the brainwash him into being their assassin. All the while the Cobra Commander is advising President George W. Bush and plans World War III. What I really liked about this is that it has a death of Superman feel to it, you have the Joes mourning Snake-Eyes in the same way the Justice League mourned Superman. Each member had their own ways of coping with their loss, and Snake-Eyes' death his some members harder than others. I will say the impact of death is ruined by Snake-Eyes not actually being dead, then again that's a happens too much in comics.

Characters
G.I. Joe America's Elite Disavowed 2 has a good character cast and in this situation the characters are truly fleshed out. The toll that Snake-Eyes takes on the team is placed on full display. Scarlett is the most affected by Snake's death because they were romantically involved. We see her go through various forms of grieving from depression to anger and denial. Storm Shadow has survivors guilt over what happened because he was ex-COBRA and believes he was more deserving of death. Throwdown is in a straight stage of denial because Snake-Eyes was his mentor. Flint tries to keep everyone together and comfort the team. Roadblock, Shipwreck, and Stalker are shown as being saddened by the death of Snake. While we see the team in a dark time, we still see them being badasses. Scarlett frees herself from Destro's captivity is reunited with Roadblock and Flint. Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow are showcased as being master assassins and work well as a team when they are a team. We also see how well Storm Shadow knows Snake-Eyes. When the team learns that Sanke's alive, Storm Shadow threatens Scarlett in order to undo the brainwashing Snake-Eyes underwent. Duke is the Captain America archetype, he's the patriotic hero who always tries to see the good in everyone. This is shown while Duke's in captivity as captivity and he empathizes with Calvin and tries to talk him out of waging a nuclear war. Duke like Scarlett frees himself in a badass fashion. Joseph Colton in the Nick Fury type, whose main concern is stopping the bad guys. The villains are also great. Destro is shown as being a megalomaniac with a soft spot for his son, Laird Destro. Major Bludd is a skilled assassin who loves his job, so long as it is not foiled by the likes of Storm Shadow. Calvin is actually an interesting character for a goon, he was once a businessman who felt betrayed by his country and that's why he joined COBRA. Cobra Commander is typical behind the scenes mastermind that he's always been, but this time he scheming inside the White House as Chief-of-Staff Garrett Freelance (I guess in the G.I. Joe universe Bush fired Karl Rove). Point being Joe Casey did a great job with the characters.

Artwork
The artwork throughout the book the artwork is great. Stefano Caselli does most of the artwork in this collection, and his character designs are great. Roadblock looks just like the Rock (this was written before G.I. Joe Retaliation). Duke looks like he could pass off as Captain America and Scarlett looks like she could pass off as Black Widow. I loved Caselli's design for an Arashikage. That being said when the artist changes it's very noticeable. For one, Snake-Eyes' visor changes when the artist changes. Also, the understudy artwork isn't as good as Caselli's. It's okay artwork and the characters still look good, I just prefer Caselli's. All artists make it clear that Bush and Cheney were the president and vice-president. All in all the artwork was fine.

So with that being said G.i. Joe America's Elite Disavowed 2 is a fun time. Fans of G.I. Joe, comics, and even Captian America will enjoy this read. The story, character, and artwork make this worth the read. Definitely check this one out patriots.

[Damon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this, reminiscent of childhood.