When speaking about the current arc of G.I. Joe, series writer Joshua Williamson described it as a horror story. He wasn’t kidding: both G.I. Joe and Cobra have found themselves trapped in a literal haunted house by the man known only as Crystal Ball, whose Energon-infused D.I.R.E. tech is bringing the dead to life…or images that feel like the dead. No one is suffering more than Risk, who is coming face to face with the literal ghosts of his past. Has the Joes’ most cocky member met a threat he can’t outfight or out-snark?
With G.I. Joe #23, Williamson and Andrea Milana continue to dig deep into the events that shaped Risk. What’s even better, they use the D.I.R.E. tech as a way for him to face his past, whether it’s the soldiers who died under his watch or his parents, who considered him to be a blight on their legacy. It packs both an emotional punch, as we see just how Risk earned his name, and a literal punch as the opening pages feature Risk using his electrified brass knuckles to punch the ghosts in the face. Let me repeat that: this is a comic that opens with one of the G.I. Joes using electric brass knuckles to punch ghosts in the face. If that doesn’t make you want to pick up this series, I don’t know what will.
Image/Skybound
Risk isn’t the only character who gets the chance to shine. A subplot features Baroness stumbling upon Destro, and the two forming a temporary alliance to rescue their teammates. This is a nice nod to their classic history, when the two were romantically involved, and Williamson’s script does showcase sparks flying between them despite Destro being romantically linked to Chameleon. It also pushes forward the ongoing story, as Baroness starts to catch on to the fact that General Hawk might not be all that he seems. I’m definitely intrigued to see how this plays out in future issues.
I also need to give Miliana props for the sheer horror fuel he packs into each and every page. Where are Chameleon and Stalker? Hooked up to what I can only describe as a Frankenstein-styled electric device that is draining the life from them. What happened to Mercer, the musclebound Cobra agent who’s usually at Destro’s side? He’s locked into a never ending fight, and when Risk comes to save him, he feels that the only way out is to kill the G.I. Joe. This doesn’t happen, but it does lead to yet another unorthodox pairing that I wouldn’t mind seeing more of.
What really sells the book’s horror elements is, once again, Lee Loughridge’s colors. Not only do the D.I.R.E. tech ghosts glow a ghastly green, but shadows abound on nearly every page of the book, usually giving way to something horrific. I also like that Loughridge has given the G.I. Joes and Cobra a distinct color scheme: while the Joes are in gunmetal gray and blue, the Cobra soldiers have combinations of red, black, and blue.
G.I. Joe #23 not only ratchets up the nightmare fuel but also delivers some great character dynamics in the process. It makes me wonder what other G.I. Joe and Cobra members will find themselves teaming up with in the future.
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