What do you think?
Rate this book
G.I. Joe IDW v.1 (collected editions) #1
G.I. Joe, Volume 1
It starts here! G.I. Joe explodes out of the gate in their very first adventure!
Destro, the twisted-yet-honorable arms dealer from Scotland is planning something big -- a new weapon called the Mass Device that can -- and will -- change the face of warfare forever! Meanwhile, G.I. Joe is under attack in their own secret base of operations! But who could have found -- much less attack -- them! Where has Snake Eyes gone and what is his mysterious connection to G.I. Joe member Scarlett? And under the shadows, whispers of a terrible and powerful organization grow louder. Whispers that say one word over and over... "COBRA."
Destro, the twisted-yet-honorable arms dealer from Scotland is planning something big -- a new weapon called the Mass Device that can -- and will -- change the face of warfare forever! Meanwhile, G.I. Joe is under attack in their own secret base of operations! But who could have found -- much less attack -- them! Where has Snake Eyes gone and what is his mysterious connection to G.I. Joe member Scarlett? And under the shadows, whispers of a terrible and powerful organization grow louder. Whispers that say one word over and over... "COBRA."
- GenresGraphic NovelsComics
160 pages, Paperback
First published July 15, 2009
1 person is currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Chuck Dixon
3,350 books1,022 followersCharles "Chuck" Dixon is an American comic book writer, perhaps best-known for long runs on Batman titles in the 1990s.
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
His earliest comics work was writing Evangeline first for Comico Comics in 1984 (then later for First Comics, who published the on-going series), on which he worked with his then-wife, the artist Judith Hunt. His big break came one year later, when editor Larry Hama hired him to write back-up stories for Marvel Comics' The Savage Sword of Conan.
In 1986, he began working for Eclipse Comics, writing Airboy with artist Tim Truman. Continuing to write for both Marvel and (mainly) Eclipse on these titles, as well as launching Strike! with artist Tom Lyle in August 1987 and Valkyrie with artist Paul Gulacy in October 1987, he began work on Carl Potts' Alien Legion series for Marvel's Epic Comics imprint, under editor Archie Goodwin. He also produced a three-issue adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Hobbit for Eclipse with artist David Wenzel between 1989 and 1990, and began writing Marc Spector: Moon Knight in June 1989.
His Punisher OGN Kingdom Gone (August, 1990) led to him working on the monthly The Punisher War Journal (and later, more monthly and occasional Punisher titles), and also brought him to the attention of DC Comics editor Denny O'Neil, who asked him to produce a Robin mini-series. The mini proved popular enough to spawn two sequels - The Joker's Wild (1991) and Cry of the Huntress (1992) - which led to both an ongoing monthly series (which Dixon wrote for 100 issues before leaving to work with CrossGen Comics), and to Dixon working on Detective Comics from #644-738 through the major Batman stories KnightFall & KnightsEnd (for which he helped create the key character of Bane), DC One Million , Contagion , Legacy , Cataclysm and No Man's Land . Much of his run was illustrated by Graham Nolan.
He was DC's most prolific Batman-writer in the mid-1990s (rivalled perhaps in history by Bill Finger and Dennis O'Neil) - in addition to writing Detective Comics he pioneered the individual series for Robin , Nightwing (which he wrote for 70 issues, and returned to briefly with 2005's #101) and Batgirl , as well as creating the team and book Birds of Prey .
While writing multiple Punisher and Batman comics (and October 1994's Punisher/Batman crossover), he also found time to launch Team 7 for Jim Lee's WildStorm/Image and Prophet for Rob Liefeld's Extreme Studios. He also wrote many issues of Catwoman and Green Arrow , regularly having about seven titles out each and every month between the years 1993 and 1998.
In March, 2002, Dixon turned his attention to CrossGen's output, salthough he co-wrote with Scott Beatty the origin of Barbara Gordon's Batgirl in 2003's Batgirl: Year One. For CrossGen he took over some of the comics of the out-going Mark Waid, taking over Sigil from #21, and Crux with #13. He launched Way of the Rat in June 2002, Brath (March '03), The Silken Ghost (June '03) and the pirate comic El Cazador (Oct '03), as well as editing Robert Rodi's non-Sigilverse The Crossovers. He also wrote the Ruse spin-off Archard's Agents one-shots in January and November '03 and April '04, the last released shortly before CrossGen's complete collapse forced the cancellation of all of its comics, before which Dixon wrote a single issue of Sojourn (May '04). Dixon's Way of the Rat #24, Brath #14 and El Cazador #6 were among the last comics released from the then-bankrupt publisher.
On June 10, 2008, Dixon announced on his forum that he was no longer "employed by DC Comics in any capacity."
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 15, 2009
really loved this graphic novel. excellent artwork. cool story.
November 25, 2019
I have finally made it to the main series after trawling through the origins stories.
The characters seem to be more rounded and the writers have much more of an idea of where they want the story to go now. It also helps that finally some members of the G.I.Joe team have finally heard of the name Cobra and two of them are even trying to find out more!
We also have a an Origin story for Destro in this book and some random G.I.Joe casualities. It is a good start and a foundation for the story to build on. An enjoyable read.
The characters seem to be more rounded and the writers have much more of an idea of where they want the story to go now. It also helps that finally some members of the G.I.Joe team have finally heard of the name Cobra and two of them are even trying to find out more!
We also have a an Origin story for Destro in this book and some random G.I.Joe casualities. It is a good start and a foundation for the story to build on. An enjoyable read.
October 17, 2020
I expected so much more from a first volume. A G.I. Joe book should have so much action. That was definitely lacking here. Also, if this is a "from the beginning" type of book there should be much more exposition. We're told nothing. We're shown much less. Dixon's plot with Destro is okay but I did like his meeting with Baroness. The amount of Joes is always a problem because they never get the chance to get fleshed out and you can see its going to be the case here as well. The art was okay but far from great. Overall, a very by the numbers Joe book.
October 23, 2020
GI Joe Vol 1, Issues #0-6 (IDW) This was a fantastic story. The action and intrigue was top notch. I really enjoyed the courtship between Destro and the Baroness. It made sense for two high end killers to behave that way. Same with Cobra. Rather than announcing it in issue #1 like the original series, they tried to keep their secret cabal hidden. Just felt right.
December 25, 2022
Enjoying the new take on Joe/Cobra origins, some of the changes to "classic canon" take some getting used to.
June 1, 2023
I'm not really big into GI Joe but this was entertaining and easy to follow.
April 15, 2013
You can find the full review over at The Founding Fields:
http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/04/...
It is not easy by any means to reboot a franchise like G.I.Joe, especially after the epic 155-issue run from Marvel, and all the other spinoffs and retellings that have followed since. There are hundreds of characters involved by now, with lots of alternate backstories and character arcs and monumentally defining events thrown in for good measure. But, Chuck Dixon somehow makes it all look really easy. Reading the book, I may as well have been back in the G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero-era, reading about all my favourite characters like Duke and Scarlett and Snake Eyes and others. I’ve read Chuck Dixon/Mike Costa’s three Cobra Command volumes, and I’ve been really impressed with those, which is why I decided to start reading the books from the beginning so that I have a better context for the stuff I’ve already read, and can see how the writers have developed everything in this brave new world.
A reboot means that we go all the way back to the beginning of things: when the G.I.Joe are an elite special ops team but have never heard of COBRA before. The #0 issue, an anthology of 3 short stories from various writers, represents G.I.Joe’s first encounter with the organisation, shows how Duke joined the team, and then gives a short intro to one of my favourite characters ever: Chuckles, the Joe’s master of undercover work. It was a really strong issue that gave a flavour of what to expect from IDW’s reboot. The first six issues of the series show off a lot of the dynamics of the “new” team. I particularly loved the spin on Scarlett and Snake Eyes’ relationship, as well as all the hints that there may be some history between Scarlett and Duke. The way that chuck Dixon has handled that particular element of the comic is miles better than what Paramount did with their live-action movie G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra (for the record, that film is terrible). These first few issues also show how Destro is brought into COBRA by the Baroness, making for some thrilling scenes, more so since in Larry Hama’s original run, the two were a power couple within COBRA. Destro is also more of a scientist in Dixon’s reimagining, rather than just a big-time arms supplier at a global level.
There is a lot here that Chuck Dixon has pulled off really well: all the new relationships, writing COBRA as it is actually a very competent and dangerous entity rather than the (often) silly but fun portrayals in the original comics. There is a vibe throughout the issues that COBRA is not an organisation that anybody should take lightly, and this applies equally to its allies and its enemies, such as the G.I.Joe team. What Dixon has going for him is also the fact that he has covered the G.I.Joe team in detail as far as its roster goes. We get to see Scarlett, Shipwreck, Deep Six, Hawk, Duke, Rock’n'Roll, Dial Tone, Brainstorm, Snake Eyes, and a whole bunch of others.
With some fantastic art by Robert C. Atkins and Clayton Brown, who manage to nail all the characters down perfectly with their classic A Real American Hero looks, G.I.Joe Vol.1 is definitely a great G.I.Joe comic book. One, that I’d recommend to anyone and everyone. I could not have asked for a better reboot, because frankly, this is pretty much unbeatable.
The only thing I didn’t like in the comic was the Scottish accented dialogue for Destro and two of his assistants. It made following their dialogue a bit of a chore. Fairly minor in the overall scheme of things, but still significant.
http://thefoundingfields.com/2013/04/...
It is not easy by any means to reboot a franchise like G.I.Joe, especially after the epic 155-issue run from Marvel, and all the other spinoffs and retellings that have followed since. There are hundreds of characters involved by now, with lots of alternate backstories and character arcs and monumentally defining events thrown in for good measure. But, Chuck Dixon somehow makes it all look really easy. Reading the book, I may as well have been back in the G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero-era, reading about all my favourite characters like Duke and Scarlett and Snake Eyes and others. I’ve read Chuck Dixon/Mike Costa’s three Cobra Command volumes, and I’ve been really impressed with those, which is why I decided to start reading the books from the beginning so that I have a better context for the stuff I’ve already read, and can see how the writers have developed everything in this brave new world.
A reboot means that we go all the way back to the beginning of things: when the G.I.Joe are an elite special ops team but have never heard of COBRA before. The #0 issue, an anthology of 3 short stories from various writers, represents G.I.Joe’s first encounter with the organisation, shows how Duke joined the team, and then gives a short intro to one of my favourite characters ever: Chuckles, the Joe’s master of undercover work. It was a really strong issue that gave a flavour of what to expect from IDW’s reboot. The first six issues of the series show off a lot of the dynamics of the “new” team. I particularly loved the spin on Scarlett and Snake Eyes’ relationship, as well as all the hints that there may be some history between Scarlett and Duke. The way that chuck Dixon has handled that particular element of the comic is miles better than what Paramount did with their live-action movie G.I.Joe: The Rise of Cobra (for the record, that film is terrible). These first few issues also show how Destro is brought into COBRA by the Baroness, making for some thrilling scenes, more so since in Larry Hama’s original run, the two were a power couple within COBRA. Destro is also more of a scientist in Dixon’s reimagining, rather than just a big-time arms supplier at a global level.
There is a lot here that Chuck Dixon has pulled off really well: all the new relationships, writing COBRA as it is actually a very competent and dangerous entity rather than the (often) silly but fun portrayals in the original comics. There is a vibe throughout the issues that COBRA is not an organisation that anybody should take lightly, and this applies equally to its allies and its enemies, such as the G.I.Joe team. What Dixon has going for him is also the fact that he has covered the G.I.Joe team in detail as far as its roster goes. We get to see Scarlett, Shipwreck, Deep Six, Hawk, Duke, Rock’n'Roll, Dial Tone, Brainstorm, Snake Eyes, and a whole bunch of others.
With some fantastic art by Robert C. Atkins and Clayton Brown, who manage to nail all the characters down perfectly with their classic A Real American Hero looks, G.I.Joe Vol.1 is definitely a great G.I.Joe comic book. One, that I’d recommend to anyone and everyone. I could not have asked for a better reboot, because frankly, this is pretty much unbeatable.
The only thing I didn’t like in the comic was the Scottish accented dialogue for Destro and two of his assistants. It made following their dialogue a bit of a chore. Fairly minor in the overall scheme of things, but still significant.
July 25, 2011
I'm torn between 2 and 3 stars on this one - read this 2 as a 2.5, I guess.
Not a terrible relaunch for the series - I actually think the writing is well done, good dialogue, good action scenes... It was an enjoyable baby-asleep-on-my-lap sort of read.
My main issue is that it feels (to me) that they were being pulled in two different directions with what they wanted to do with the series and never really decided which direction to go with. On the one hand, you have a Joe team that seems to be a bit more realistic than recent versions, using real world weapons and tactics, camo uniforms, clear chain-of-command, etc. On the other hand, you have a story that is heavily invested in the more sci-fi side of things more evident in the original cartoon and the recent movie. While Hama did a good job in the 80's (most of the time) mixing these two elements, this series takes both the realism and the sci-fi much further - creating a much larger gulf between the two and a much larger necessary suspension of disbelief.
Also keeping my review score low is the fact that Dixon brings elements of the Sunbow cartoon series into the comic world. Sorry, but I wasn't a fan even as a kid and it has no place in a comic series that is trying to take itself seriously.
Not a terrible relaunch for the series - I actually think the writing is well done, good dialogue, good action scenes... It was an enjoyable baby-asleep-on-my-lap sort of read.
My main issue is that it feels (to me) that they were being pulled in two different directions with what they wanted to do with the series and never really decided which direction to go with. On the one hand, you have a Joe team that seems to be a bit more realistic than recent versions, using real world weapons and tactics, camo uniforms, clear chain-of-command, etc. On the other hand, you have a story that is heavily invested in the more sci-fi side of things more evident in the original cartoon and the recent movie. While Hama did a good job in the 80's (most of the time) mixing these two elements, this series takes both the realism and the sci-fi much further - creating a much larger gulf between the two and a much larger necessary suspension of disbelief.
Also keeping my review score low is the fact that Dixon brings elements of the Sunbow cartoon series into the comic world. Sorry, but I wasn't a fan even as a kid and it has no place in a comic series that is trying to take itself seriously.
July 17, 2009
Really strong relaunch of the G.I. Joe property. I held off on the regular issues of this series because of the $3.99 price point -- the trade paperback was just more economical -- but it'll be hard to resist getting the monthlies now. Chuck Dixon has reestablished the G.I. Joe team very well, creating some new character dynamics that respect the classics. Interesting thing about this first volume is that, although Cobra's thumbprint is all over the series, we don't actually encounter them yet. Dixon also gets geek points for using some of the sci-fi elements from the TV show such as the MASS Device and the Broadcast Energy Transmitter.
A lot of fun for old-school fans without lapsing into the cheesy. Great.
A lot of fun for old-school fans without lapsing into the cheesy. Great.
February 16, 2013
Enésimo relanzamiento de la franquicia, con varios guiños a los tiempos en que era publicada por Marvel.
April 16, 2013
It has good action as it starts to tell the story of G.I. Joe. What I do not like is that the book continues. (OPL) B-
August 13, 2015
Gonna call this 3.5 stars. Good start to an all-new continuity.
January 31, 2016
Tries to relaunch GI Joe in a slightly more grounded version, but a lot of what made GI Joe so much fun was the craziness of it. Still, a solid read for fans of the characters.
February 5, 2016
An excellent blend of the comic superhero style storytelling and a military war comics. Huge cast of characters and a great evil villain and organization balances the series well. Very recommended.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews