What do you think?
Rate this book
IDW G.I. Joe Collections #8
G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds
From Max Brooks, New York Times bestselling author of World War Z and masterful artists Howard Chaykin and Antonio Fuso comes the next generation of G.I. JOE and COBRA. "I'm a natural tracker, and it's got NOTHING to do with my heritage. For me tracking's not a gift, it's a curse." - SPIRIT "Some fight for God, some fight for country. I fight for cash, and don't you DARE judge me until you know why." - MAJOR BLUDD
132 pages, Hardcover
First published November 23, 2010
About the author
Max Brooks
104 books7,863 followersMax Brooks is The New York Times bestselling author of The Zombie Survival Guide and World War Z. He has been called ”the Studs Terkel of zombie journalism.“
Brooks is the son of director Mel Brooks and the late actress Anne Bancroft. He is a 1994 graduate of Pitzer College. His wife, Michelle, is a screenwriter, and the couple have a son, Henry.
Brooks is the son of director Mel Brooks and the late actress Anne Bancroft. He is a 1994 graduate of Pitzer College. His wife, Michelle, is a screenwriter, and the couple have a son, Henry.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews
September 1, 2013
I never really watched or played with G.I. Joe as a kid - that was more my brother's thing. (Though 4 year old me did have a Saturday morning routine to watch He-Man with my dad. I called it "Me-Man", he called it "He-Man and the Bastards of the Universe" which I would promptly correct and scold him for getting wrong. Side story.)
Anyway... I never got into the whole G.I. Joe thing, but when I saw this at my local store, and saw that it was by Max Brooks, I had to get it. I mean, I just really like Max's style, and I think that he's one of a short list of authors who make me want to read everything they've written.
I really like how he brings a realism to his writing that I wish was a little more present in writers today. World War Z may be about a fictional zombie war, and may be categorized as horror, but at its heart, it's a story of people, humanity, society, and life. The zombies are just the window that we open to see it.
So coming back to this little graphic novel, I expected the same type of thing, only with the window dressed up in fatigues instead of as the hungry undead, and that's just what I got (though I was a little surprised that it wasn't a story, but rather a series of character snapshots). This graphic novel is 126 pages and covers 13 different members of the G.I. Joe or Cobra factions. Each little vignette offers an insight into the character, and does a fantastic job of it. With each one, you can see a little glimpse into their life, and extrapolate from there as to the rest of it, if one so desires.
Having not known these characters since I was a kid, I don't know if they are true to their original character traits or not. But, I think I enjoyed it all the more for not knowing, because they rang true to me, and their humanity (and sometimes lack of it) felt real.
I liked this quite a lot, and I'm glad that I gave this a chance, despite not being a G.I. Joe fan.
I also really enjoyed the artwork in this, and will definitely need to check out more of these artists' work.
Anyway... I never got into the whole G.I. Joe thing, but when I saw this at my local store, and saw that it was by Max Brooks, I had to get it. I mean, I just really like Max's style, and I think that he's one of a short list of authors who make me want to read everything they've written.
I really like how he brings a realism to his writing that I wish was a little more present in writers today. World War Z may be about a fictional zombie war, and may be categorized as horror, but at its heart, it's a story of people, humanity, society, and life. The zombies are just the window that we open to see it.
So coming back to this little graphic novel, I expected the same type of thing, only with the window dressed up in fatigues instead of as the hungry undead, and that's just what I got (though I was a little surprised that it wasn't a story, but rather a series of character snapshots). This graphic novel is 126 pages and covers 13 different members of the G.I. Joe or Cobra factions. Each little vignette offers an insight into the character, and does a fantastic job of it. With each one, you can see a little glimpse into their life, and extrapolate from there as to the rest of it, if one so desires.
Having not known these characters since I was a kid, I don't know if they are true to their original character traits or not. But, I think I enjoyed it all the more for not knowing, because they rang true to me, and their humanity (and sometimes lack of it) felt real.
I liked this quite a lot, and I'm glad that I gave this a chance, despite not being a G.I. Joe fan.
I also really enjoyed the artwork in this, and will definitely need to check out more of these artists' work.
May 16, 2019
This could have been a five star comic.
For the most part, Max Brooks did a brilliant job of reimagining G.I. Joe’s lesser-explored characters and giving them realistic motivations that strayed from clichés. He took Dr. Mindbender, a character I’ve always found a little corny, and made him terrifying. Reading his story, I couldn’t help but think of Dr. Mengele and the many unknown scientists who value power and knowledge over ethics and human decency. The religious overtones made it even more chilling and subverted the scientist-as-super-atheist cliché. Spirit’s story was another favorite. In many incarnations, the writers fell back on the cliché that Native Americans are innately in-tune with nature. Here, Brooks both debunks the stereotype and provides a sound reason for why Spirit is so unusually aware of his surroundings. Tripwire’s story was poignantly rendered, Doc’s beautifully made use of the Hippocratic Oath, and Blowtorch’s surprised me with a philosophy that sounded more like a stereotypical Cobra’s than a G.I. Joe’s. Absolutely brilliant…
If only I could say the same about the female characters. Here, Brooks falls flat on his face. I can’t say whether this is a usual fault in his stories since this is his only book I’ve read, but regardless, I’m sorely disappointed. G.I. Joe is a franchise that has long been known for its strong female characters, and here there’s not a single one in sight. They’re either victims (the woman in Dr. Mindbender’s office, the women Major Bludd kills), objects (the “Scanty Girls” on a character’s computer screen) support roles (wives, girlfriends, a recruiter), or all the above. Brooks gives only one female character a viewpoint for a whopping two pages. And who is she? A thieving, hardscrabble prostitute who must fight every day to survive. Like we haven’t seen that cliché in dozens of action movies. While this is a sad reality for many women, in light of Brooks’ brilliant characterization with most of his male characters, it comes across as lazy. While writing this series, he seems to have forgotten (or maybe never learned) that women are humans, too. Just like men, we have our own goals and motivations. Radical thought, I know, but if you’re a long-time fan of G.I. Joe’s campaign against Cobra, it shouldn’t be. As mentioned before, there are several examples of strong female characters to choose from, with Scarlett and the Baroness being the most famous. True, they are both also well-known for dating a major male character and, like nearly all comic-book women, have served the obligatory role of eye-candy, but that’s not all there is to them. Scarlett is a great intelligence operative and an accomplished martial artist in her own right, and the Baroness is not only a cunning opponent but also the co-founder of Cobra. A lot of girls were drawn to the franchise because of such characters, and I, for one, drew a lot of inspiration from them growing up. It saddens me to see that this particular comic failed to shed new light on the female characters and has instead taken ten steps backwards. I know Brooks wanted to focus on lesser-known characters instead of the big names, but he still could have found an interesting angle. Okay, fine, make the female Viper an ex-prostitute if you must, but put an interesting spin on her. Or he could have picked an established female character such as Cover Girl, who left modeling to become a soldier. (Now that would have made an interesting story.)
In short, Hearts and Minds had a lot of potential, and Brooks handled his male characters brilliantly. For his female characters, however, that potential was wasted.
For the most part, Max Brooks did a brilliant job of reimagining G.I. Joe’s lesser-explored characters and giving them realistic motivations that strayed from clichés. He took Dr. Mindbender, a character I’ve always found a little corny, and made him terrifying. Reading his story, I couldn’t help but think of Dr. Mengele and the many unknown scientists who value power and knowledge over ethics and human decency. The religious overtones made it even more chilling and subverted the scientist-as-super-atheist cliché. Spirit’s story was another favorite. In many incarnations, the writers fell back on the cliché that Native Americans are innately in-tune with nature. Here, Brooks both debunks the stereotype and provides a sound reason for why Spirit is so unusually aware of his surroundings. Tripwire’s story was poignantly rendered, Doc’s beautifully made use of the Hippocratic Oath, and Blowtorch’s surprised me with a philosophy that sounded more like a stereotypical Cobra’s than a G.I. Joe’s. Absolutely brilliant…
If only I could say the same about the female characters. Here, Brooks falls flat on his face. I can’t say whether this is a usual fault in his stories since this is his only book I’ve read, but regardless, I’m sorely disappointed. G.I. Joe is a franchise that has long been known for its strong female characters, and here there’s not a single one in sight. They’re either victims (the woman in Dr. Mindbender’s office, the women Major Bludd kills), objects (the “Scanty Girls” on a character’s computer screen) support roles (wives, girlfriends, a recruiter), or all the above. Brooks gives only one female character a viewpoint for a whopping two pages. And who is she? A thieving, hardscrabble prostitute who must fight every day to survive. Like we haven’t seen that cliché in dozens of action movies. While this is a sad reality for many women, in light of Brooks’ brilliant characterization with most of his male characters, it comes across as lazy. While writing this series, he seems to have forgotten (or maybe never learned) that women are humans, too. Just like men, we have our own goals and motivations. Radical thought, I know, but if you’re a long-time fan of G.I. Joe’s campaign against Cobra, it shouldn’t be. As mentioned before, there are several examples of strong female characters to choose from, with Scarlett and the Baroness being the most famous. True, they are both also well-known for dating a major male character and, like nearly all comic-book women, have served the obligatory role of eye-candy, but that’s not all there is to them. Scarlett is a great intelligence operative and an accomplished martial artist in her own right, and the Baroness is not only a cunning opponent but also the co-founder of Cobra. A lot of girls were drawn to the franchise because of such characters, and I, for one, drew a lot of inspiration from them growing up. It saddens me to see that this particular comic failed to shed new light on the female characters and has instead taken ten steps backwards. I know Brooks wanted to focus on lesser-known characters instead of the big names, but he still could have found an interesting angle. Okay, fine, make the female Viper an ex-prostitute if you must, but put an interesting spin on her. Or he could have picked an established female character such as Cover Girl, who left modeling to become a soldier. (Now that would have made an interesting story.)
In short, Hearts and Minds had a lot of potential, and Brooks handled his male characters brilliantly. For his female characters, however, that potential was wasted.
December 18, 2010
Growing up,I missed the GI Joe craze so I wasn't able to indulge in the salt sweet reminiscences of my slightly older friends. My only exposure was minimal viewings of the TV show, and half-hearted manipulations of the action figures. Essentially, I had no background information on the GI Joe franchise nor did I bother to look it up.
This book is a great introduction to the franchise. Max Brooks' brilliant treatment of each character, good or evil, reveals an unique side to each that even the uninitiated such as myself could appreciate. He treads the fine line between good and evil, and explains everyone has reasons for doing what they do, and these reasons might be things your mother would approve, though the actions undertaken would send her packing.
The art is easy on the eyes; this masterful collaboration isn't something to be missed!
This book is a great introduction to the franchise. Max Brooks' brilliant treatment of each character, good or evil, reveals an unique side to each that even the uninitiated such as myself could appreciate. He treads the fine line between good and evil, and explains everyone has reasons for doing what they do, and these reasons might be things your mother would approve, though the actions undertaken would send her packing.
The art is easy on the eyes; this masterful collaboration isn't something to be missed!
January 5, 2018
Hey, you know those little comics they used to sell with action figures? What if they were an issue long? And pretty good? And well drawn?
There ya go, it's like you read it.
I enjoy the writer's take on Cobra, though I think he could play up the "Fight Club" aspect of it a bit more.
Also, Mindbender's a bit goofy. Either he's ageless or he's the immortal spirit of Bad Science, but either one is a bad fit for G. I. Joe. Serpentor notwithstanding.
There ya go, it's like you read it.
I enjoy the writer's take on Cobra, though I think he could play up the "Fight Club" aspect of it a bit more.
Also, Mindbender's a bit goofy. Either he's ageless or he's the immortal spirit of Bad Science, but either one is a bad fit for G. I. Joe. Serpentor notwithstanding.
January 9, 2011
good concept, could have been done better. Art was inconsistent.
May 2, 2018
An enjoyable collection of back stories for some of the oldest G I Joe characters. Revealed a new way of thinking about the characters I hadn't thought of yet.
December 2, 2021
Words and Pictures. A comic book for adults.
Max Brooks has given us many great stories over the years and has worked in a variety of mediums. In these comics, since this is a compilation, he shows both sides of the seemingly endless struggle between G.I. Joe and Cobra. Both sides tell their stories, he leaves it for the reader to decide.
Admittedly, I got this for the Chaykin art. But, how ever you come here, you will be entertained.
Max Brooks has given us many great stories over the years and has worked in a variety of mediums. In these comics, since this is a compilation, he shows both sides of the seemingly endless struggle between G.I. Joe and Cobra. Both sides tell their stories, he leaves it for the reader to decide.
Admittedly, I got this for the Chaykin art. But, how ever you come here, you will be entertained.
February 24, 2025
3.5 stars rounding up. Brooks takes an interesting swing at G.I. Joe character profiles and is mostly successful. The bad guys seem deeply creepy and the Joes more nuanced than overly heroic. One of the odd features of G.I. Joe is that generic foot soldiers only exist in Cobra and those characters are explained and fleshed out here in an interesting story that was the strongest of the collection.
November 8, 2020
A collection of five issues, each features one Cobra and one Joe. Their story tells what motivates them or where their special skills came from or just something unique about their personality. Lots of variety and very intriguing.
December 1, 2020
Decent look at the back stories of some forgotten characters but I felt it lacked something. Worth a read I'd say, as it's a quick one but I wouldn't call it a keeper. I got it for $2 on eBay so was worth that, haha
January 22, 2021
I am a huge fan of G.I. Joe and the people on both sides of the fight, be they Joe or Cobra (or MARS or Dreadnoks), and what Max Brooks has done here is give you a view into the life of some of those people and what it means to them to do the job they put the uniform on for. It's a short read, so I won't spoil it for you and I hope that Brooks decides to do a few more or even a short web type series for these.
August 4, 2019
Great introduction to many characters. I just find that they are all extremely specialized and so would have trouble against someone with an opposite skill set.
February 8, 2021
Its very good comic
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 4, 2021
I bought this for the Howard Chaykin art and it proved an enjoyable read. Looking at the back story of individual characters from both sides of the divide.
February 5, 2017
Not too shabby.
September 19, 2012
I was able to pick up the hardcover trade of G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds when Borders was in their final throws for about $3 after tax. Yes true believers, for the price of a single issue, I got the hardcover trade. As of writing Amazon has an edition for $10.
This book was penned by Max Brooks. Yes, that Max Brooks. It covers different members of Cobra and Joe singularly. I think each issue of the comic was split in two and covered two characters. It goes into the character's motivations or back stories that leads to them being either Joe or Cobra.
I thought it was a pretty good book. It is very light on dialogue and really narrative in general. Brooks put a lot of faith in his artist to convey what he wanted and I think it worked. It looks into why a person would become a terrorist, what drives them. You aren't going to see Duke or Cobra Commander. This book takes a look at some of the characters that you wouldn't get to know otherwise. One of the stories is even dedicated to random faceless Cobra troopers.
If you like G.I. Joe, you should enjoy this book, but I don't think it is a prerequisite. You could go into this book just knowing that Cobra is a terrorist organization and Joe is an elite group of the military and fare pretty well. It is appropriate for anyone that can actually read it. Give it a shot.
This book was penned by Max Brooks. Yes, that Max Brooks. It covers different members of Cobra and Joe singularly. I think each issue of the comic was split in two and covered two characters. It goes into the character's motivations or back stories that leads to them being either Joe or Cobra.
I thought it was a pretty good book. It is very light on dialogue and really narrative in general. Brooks put a lot of faith in his artist to convey what he wanted and I think it worked. It looks into why a person would become a terrorist, what drives them. You aren't going to see Duke or Cobra Commander. This book takes a look at some of the characters that you wouldn't get to know otherwise. One of the stories is even dedicated to random faceless Cobra troopers.
If you like G.I. Joe, you should enjoy this book, but I don't think it is a prerequisite. You could go into this book just knowing that Cobra is a terrorist organization and Joe is an elite group of the military and fare pretty well. It is appropriate for anyone that can actually read it. Give it a shot.
March 10, 2011
A book of ultra-realistic character profiles of G.I. Joe and Cobra operatives. The premise is fantastic and the writing is not bad. As a book its the not the greatest bit of narrative, as its mostly a series of background stories, that don't lend well to fully flesh out narratives. That having been said, if you loved G.I.Joe growing up and then got older and wished there was a G.I.Joe for big boys and girls, well rejoice cause its here! These stories about the hearts and minds of good guys and bad guys alike, are gritty and often times dark and messed up; especially some of the Joe's stories. The art is varied, I really enjoyed some of it and some I could take of leave. I really hope they do more G.I.Joe books in this vein cause I'm down that rabbit hole big time!
October 15, 2011
Having never read World War Z or anything else by Max Brooks before, my interest was very high in his take on G.I. Joe comics. As somebody who grew up on the cheesy animated G.I. Joe, the less kid-friendly themes in the comics were a welcome change for more adult readers. As a comic for adult fan-boys who grew up loving G.I. Joe, "Hearts and Minds" gives a nuanced look into the origins, mentalities and motivations of beloved heroes and villains. Updated to reflect on modern events, "Hearts and Minds" is a solid piece of comic writing that will stick with you long after you've finished it.
February 10, 2011
I picked this one up because as a kid I was a big fan of Larry Hama's G.I. Joe series for Marvel, and was kind of surprised to see Max Brooks name on the cover. The concept is also an interesting one: a series of vignettes that probe the deeper motivations of the various characters in the G.I. Joe universe. As other reviewers have pointed out, some work, some don't. Also, the art was a inconsistent. All said, not a bad way to kill a lunch hour at the local book store.
August 25, 2011
Max Brooks is consistent in his ability to put himself into the mind (and I suppose also the heart) of each character covered in the volume. I'm not the biggest fan of modern Chaykin but the other artist, Antonio Fuso, was great! Definitely worth a read, but I may have lacked enough familiarity with the characters to get as much out of it as a die hard could.
November 20, 2012
Excellent! When the original GI Joe dropped, I was just a kid full of American pride. Being a solider and reading Brooks perspective of GI Joe was very invigorating! He highlights not just the life of the soldier (JOE) but the mercenary (Cobra). Ironically the lives of the players can be applicable to either side.
May 16, 2016
Hearts and Minds is a series of short looks into different characters from the GI Joe universe. Like any anthology, there are some nice hits but then also some misses. Brooks mostly does good work though, and the realistic, modern take on the Joe characters is interesting to read. The art itself is upper caliber.
May 15, 2013
The art in this graphic novel is superb. The storyline is a little boring, but that might be due to Max Brooks being more of a zombie guy than a G.I. Joe guy, even though he loved G.I. Joe his entire life. I liked Tripwire's storyline the best.
November 6, 2014
I only read this because I love Max Brooks and his book World War Z. I also played with G.I. Joe non-stop as a kid and read all of the comic books back in the 80's. This was a mixed bag, some good some not so good. Maybe I am too old for G.I. Joe anymore.
April 27, 2011
I thought this was going to be an actual story rather than a string of vignettes.
July 25, 2011
wouldve expected more from Max Brooks, but some good moments...
March 23, 2012
This book is wrought with nestalgia and happiness. The individual stories are inteligent and thoughtfull. It doesn't hurt Max Brooks personally inscribed it to me. Best Comicon Ever.
May 7, 2012
Max Brooks gives us a deeper insight of the members of GI Joe and Cobra. The man has a way with words the way his father has a way with comedy. Must read for any fan.
December 23, 2012
Was expecting more of a story, but turned out to be backstory. Kind of a teaser for whatever will be coming, I expect.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 38 reviews