Longbox Junk - One Shots (part 2)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, the place to find all the comic reviews you never asked for!

Join me as I continue to go through a hefty handful of random one shot comics from my collection. In the first part, I was pleasantly surprised to find not a bad one in the bunch. Sure, there were little gripes here and there, but overall I couldn't find much wrong with any of them.

Will my lucky run of winners continue? Let's find out!

ONE SHOTS

(Part 2)

OUR ARMY AT WAR 

DC (2010)

TIME STANDS STILL FOR NO MAN
SCRIPT: Mike Marts
PENCILS: Victor Ibanez
COVER: Joe Kubert

Sergeant Rock is one of my favorite characters. As a Marine Corps veteran, I can appreciate how Rock is actually one of the greatest ANTI war characters ever created. This modern take on Rock is one of the strongest comics I've read in a LONG time.

It is written to perfection with the story flashing back and forth between WWII and present-day Afghanistan, with the characters finishing each other's dialogue across time, showing the old soldier's adage "The more things change, the more they stay the same." to be true.

The ending of the story, when we find out why the modern character joined the military, is an emotional punch to the gut, and comes out of nowhere. I won't spoil it, but it's the kind of ending that puts everything before it in a whole new perspective. . .

The art is superb in every way, from the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to the 9/11 attack on the Twin Towers, the whole issue is rendered in incredible detail. And then there's that fantastic cover by the legendary Joe Kubert!

From the cover to the last page, this one shot delivers on every single panel!
Highly recommended for any fan of military comics.

We're off to a great start. . .let's see what's next!

GIANT-SIZE WOLVERINE

MARVEL (Vol. 3, 2006)

COVER: DAVID AJA

This is a nice, hefty book. I like the heavy feel of it in the hand.
Unfortunately, 75% of it is reprint material (X-Men vol 2 #6-7). Let's look at the parts separately. . .

HOUSE OF BLOOD AND SORROW
SCRIPT: David Lapham
PENCILS: David Aja

I'm not the biggest Wolverine fan, but I REALLY liked this story! Wolverine stumbles upon strange goings-on when he crash lands on an isolated farm outside of a small, superstitious town.

The dark and twisted art by Aja perfectly suits the "Backwoods Cthulhu" horror of this story, and the colors in sickly shades of brown and green really bring it home.

This is now officially one of my favorite Wolverine stories!
It's gruesome Lovecraftian horror with Wolverine in "Logan" mode. A real hidden gem!

X-MEN (vol 2, 1992) #6-7
FURTHER STILL / INSIDE? OUT!
SCRIPT: Jim Lee & Scott Lobdell
PENCILS: Jim Lee

Where the first part of this one shot was dark, moody, and horrific, the back 3/4 of the book is brightly-colored 90's superhero cliche to the hilt, with a giant cast of characters shouting exposition to each other.

I found it a bit hard to get through, and didn't really understand most of what was going on as it just sort of drops you into the middle of the continuity-dense X-Men saga. I don't understand the thinking behind including these reprinted issues. It's a complete disconnect from the first story in both tone and appearance.

The Jim Lee art is fine, in his signature 90's-Tastic way, so the reprint isn't entirely bad. It's just totally out of place. It feels like padding to justify doubling up on the price. I'm sure they could have found an older solo Wolverine story that would have fit better to reprint here. This just feels lazy.

All in all, this one shot was half and half. A dark Wolverine story that is superb in every way, and a gaudy, wordy, 90's X-Men reprint. If it was JUST the first story, this would be a total winner. But as it stands, I'll just recommend this one for the first story.

NEXT!

STAR WARS

ANNUAL #1

MARVEL (Vol. 4, 2015)

SCRIPT: Kieron Gillen
PENCILS: Angel Unzueta
COVER: John Cassaday

I really liked this story, which sits apart from the regular Star Wars continuity as a stand-alone tale.

It tells the story of a Rebel Spy who has been undercover in the Imperial bureaucracy on Coruscant for many years until he becomes involved in a desperate operation to save Imperial Senators sympathetic to the Rebel cause from the Emperor's wrath. . .not knowing he's been lured into a deadly trap.

While the art is generally good, and even has a few really great moments (the awesome opening page shot above of Imperial Coruscant comes to mind), what elevates this story is that it completely flips the script and defies expectation in that not only is the hero unsuccessful in his mission, but he is played like such a chump by The Emperor, that his mistakes are devastating to the Rebellion.

I know, I know. . .the heroes are supposed to win against the odds. But there's a reason that Empire Strikes Back is regarded as the best Star Wars movie. The writer of this One Shot remembered why that is. . .Sometimes the bad guys win too. Very nicely done. Highly suggested for any Star Wars fan!

MOVING ALONG!

WONDER WOMAN

ANNUAL #6 

DC (vol. 2, 1997)

COVER: David Beekman

There for a while, DC was doing "themed" annuals. . .Year One, Elseworlds, etc.

This one was from one of the more forgettable years. "Pulp Heroes". To tell the truth, I see very little "Pulp" in this annual (compared to some of the others) and more "Two pretty standard stand-alone Wonder Woman stories" Let's look at them separately. . .

NECROPOLIS
SCRIPT: John Byrne
PENCILS: John Byrne & Tom Palmer

The first story is a tale of Wonder Woman as a young teenager on Themyscira discovering death and madness in Paradise as she accidentally causes the death of a friend, then descends to the "City of The Dead" to try and rescue her.

The story was a bit light, but interesting, and is backed up by some great Bronze Age throwback artwork. I did like that they decided to set the story in Wonder Woman's past, and that the villain was unexpectedly sympathetic. All in all, a pretty good story.

FROM HELL SHE CAME
SCRIPT: Joan Weis
PENCILS: Ed Benes

The second story features Artemis (AKA Angry 90's Substitute Wonder Woman) going to Hades to lead a failed rebellion, then tricking Hades in order to escape again.

This one was full on 90's style "Bad Girl" violent cheesecake. The story was light and tacked on as an excuse for the fighting. The twist at the end was predictable. Ed Benes delivers a full-on 90's-Tastic artgasm that any fan of Jim Lee would be proud of. But at the end of the day. . .taken as a relic of the 90's, it's not too bad. It's one of those "So bad, it's sorta good" things. 

Both stories taken together, this was a decent one shot. Nothing great, but not particularly bad. It's just a little odd that neither story fit the "Pulp Heroes' theme at all, especially when compared to other Annuals in the theme that year. So as pulp it fails. As a couple of decent Wonder Woman stories, it does okay.

AND FINALLY. . .

GRIMM FAIRY TALES

THE LITTLE MERMAID 

ZENESCOPE (2009)

SCRIPT: Raven Gregory, Linda Ly, Ralph Tedesco & Joe Tyler
PENCILS: Claudio Sepulveda
COVER: David Nakayama
I knew my luck couldn't last. This one was pretty bad.

First, the good. . .the cover is awesome!

And that's about it.

The hefty one shot is a collected reprint story from the main "Grimm Fairy Tales" series (#25-26), and is a "Be careful what you wish for" tale set in two different intertwining times and places. . .a medieval fantasy kingdom and modern times.

The story itself is. . .okay. It's predictable and extremely light, but it's okay. Too bad that "okay" is where they got it to when there are FOUR(!) credited writers. I'm not sure there's an excuse for that.

The worst problem here is the extremely weak and juvenile art. It looks like something a high school student would draw to impress his friends. Everything looks sketchy and unfinished. Faces and hands are crude afterthoughts. The artist has a real problem with vehicles and backgrounds. The only thing he draws well are close up shots of female bodies. Anything past middle distance is pretty vague.

All in all, this is a borderline average story backed up with some pretty awful art. The whole thing reeks of cash grab. Like I said at the start, the only good thing about this one is the cover.

CONCLUSION

It's a bit more of a mixed bag for this handful of one shots, compared to the first. There were two outstanding examples of creative teams stepping up to the plate and hitting a one shot home run in Our Army at War and Star Wars Annual #1. . .both highly recommended if you should spot them in a back issue bin. 

 Wolverine had an excellent opening story backed up by a strange choice of reprints. Wonder Woman was pretty good. Not bad, but not great. Little Mermaid definitely stands out as the foul ball of this bunch with a weak story that took four people to write and art that's barely professional.

Up Next. . .

Let's step away from the one shots and take a look at a Batman/ Superman mini-series without Batman or Superman! Well. . .unless you count the giant Kryptonite-powered Batman/Superman robot that Gotham's substitute superheroes punch into submission at the end of things. . .BUT I'M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF!

It's DC's 2009 "World's Finest" mini.

Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk - One Shots (part 1)

Welcome to Longbox Junk, the comic blog stuffed absolutely full of reviews you never asked for!

One shots! I DO love the one shots!

I have a LOT of one shots in my collection. They're actually my favorite kind of comic book. Not that I mind following a favorite character month to month, but there's definitely something to be said for having a complete story in one issue. No cliffhangers. No waiting. One issue. . .that's it.

In my extremely humble opinion, the one-shot is a true test for comic book creative teams. They have very limited space to craft a complete narrative. Because of that limitation, one shots can be a bit of a mixed bag. Some teams simply aren't up to the challenge. Others manage to create often-overlooked nuggets of pure comics gold.

Let's take a look at this handful of one-shots and see what we get!  I'm still trying to keep things a little shorter, so I guess we'll see how that works out as well.  Ready? Let's do it!

ONE SHOTS (Part 1)

HELLBOY: 2017 WINTER SPECIAL

DARK HORSE (2017)

COVER: Sebastian Fiumara

First off. What an absolutely fantastic cover! Definitely worthy of a turn on the rotating office wall comic cover display. It captures the spirit of Hellboy perfectly.

There are three short unconnected stories in this special, let's take a look at them individually. . .

THE GREAT BLIZZARD
SCRIPT: Mike Mignola & Chris Roberson
PENCILS: Christopher Mitten

This story doesn't feature Hellboy or any of the B.P.R.D. characters, but some characters I'm unfamiliar with who seem to be paranormal investigators in the 1800's (David Grey and Sarah Jewell). The art is very nicely done on this one, and the dialogue between the characters is snappy. The story is very short, but well written, and I wouldn't mind finding out more about these characters.

GOD REST YE MERRY
SCRIPT: Mike Mignola & Chris Roberson
PENCILS: Paul Grist

A tale set at Christmas in the 1950's starring Hellboy and Professor Bruttenholm versus a possessed Santa Claus. It's played for laughs and the art isn't great. . .very cartoony. I got a chuckle out of Hellboy getting an ugly sweater for Christmas, though. Probably the worst of the three. Still, not terrible.

THE LAST WITCH OF FAIRFIELD
SCRIPT: Mike Mignola & Scott Allie
PENCILS: Sebastian Fiumara

Now HERE'S some good Hellboy. The classic team of Hellboy, Abe Sapien, and Liz Sherman tracking down some lost children and coming in conflict with a witch. The ending is a chilling reminder that when it comes to the supernatural, sometimes when you win, you still lose. The best of the bunch with a great story and great art by the same artist who did that fantastic cover.

All in all, I really enjoyed this one shot. The middle story was pretty light, but that didn't drag the whole thing down. I can heartily recommend this one, even if you aren't a big Hellboy fan.

NEXT!

RED SONJA: ONE MORE DAY

DYNAMITE (2005)

COVER: Liam Sharp

ONE MORE DAY
SCRIPT: Justin Gray & Jimmy Palmiotti
PENCILS: Liam Sharp

I REALLY liked the physical quality of this one shot. It's a heavy, thick book with a minimum of ads on good quality paper. Dynamite always knows how to put together a nice comic. The cover is a fantastic Frazetta homage that's almost worth the price of the comic alone!

The story is a simple, straightforward tale of Sonja repaying an old friend (now a king) a favor by helping defeat a rampaging army led by a brutal general. She demonstrates that it isn't always the strongest army that wins the day by leading them into a deadly trap instead of meeting them on the battlefield. I liked the simplicity of the story and how it took Sonja from her usual lone wolf adventures and put her in the position of being the leader of an army.

With the simplicity of the story, the art is the star of the show. From the beautiful cover all the way through to the last page. The artist DID seem to have some trouble getting a handle on what Sonja's face was supposed to look like (a bit inconsistent through the comic). But a small complaint like that won't keep me from highly recommending this fantastic one shot to any fan of fantasy comics.

Two for two good ones so far. Let's see what we've got next!

PREDATOR: CAPTIVE

DARK HORSE (1998)

COVER: Dean Williams

CAPTIVE
SCRIPT: Gordon Rennie
PENCILS: Dean Ormston

This one was REALLY good!

For starters, the photo-realistic painted cover is superb. The interior art is dark and heavily-inked. It reminds me a lot of Keith Giffen's earlier work. It perfectly fits the story and every panel on every page is fantastic.

The story is one of the best Predator tales I've read. I could easily see this one as a movie. Basically it's about the only Predator that they managed to capture alive. . .but are they studying it, or is it studying them?

All in all, from front to back, I found this to be a fantastic one shot. If you're a Predator fan and haven't read this yet, find it! It's a great little story.

Three for Three! So far, so good.

NEXT!

PUNISHER: FORCE OF NATURE

Marvel/MAX (2008)

COVER: Mike Deodato

FORCE OF NATURE
SCRIPT: Duane Swierczynski
PENCILS: Michael Lacombe
Don't let the nicely-done, but somewhat ridiculous cover fool you. The story inside is actually a tense, almost Hitchcock-like "Lifeboat" story about 3 friends turning on each other after the Punisher carefully maneuvers them into position.

I liked that the story shows Punisher as a devious manipulator and that NO fish is too small for him. It did break down into violent Punisher business as usual at the end of things, but before that, it was a nice change of pace from the standard Punisher story.

The art throughout was generally pretty good, and reflected the tense psychological drama of a story that focuses less on violence than the usual Punisher story (at least until toward the end).

All in all, despite a somewhat predictable ending, this was a good read with an unusual story for The Punisher. It definitely earns its "Mature Readers" label for violence and language, but if you're a Punisher fan, that probably won't bother you. Ignore the cover that has nothing to do with the story and pick this one up if you spot it in the bargain bin.

AND FINALLY. . .

X: ONE SHOT TO THE HEAD

DARK HORSE/ COMICS GREATEST WORLD (1994)

COVER: Frank Miller

ONE SHOT TO THE HEAD
SCRIPT: Jerry Prosser
PENCILS: Chris Warner

I had never heard of this character, not even sure where or when I picked up this one shot, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's actually pretty damn good (in a grim-n-gritty 90's way).

This comic doesn't do any favors as far as introductions go. It's not new-reader friendly at all. I had to hit the internet for info on "X", who seems to be a Punisher/Batman combo. The story is very simple, but nicely done, with the title character stalking and trapping a crooked politician.

The art is a bit schizo. . .the cover by Frank Miller (before he went insane) is absolutely fantastic! Then the front 2/3 of the book is "Meh" art with lousy colors. Then the last 1/3 switches to a different art team (same pencils, but different inker and colorist) and it's superbly done! The great Tim Bradstreet on inks for the back half definitely elevates things several notches.

All in all, I enjoyed this book. The art was hit and miss, but generally good. It was a lousy introduction, but enough of one that I want to dig up more "X" comics. Bad taken with good, I give this one an average score.

CONCLUSION

Overall, this was a great bunch of one shots. There's a few little complaints here and there, but really there's not a bad one in the bunch. There not being one truly BAD comic out of five is actually a very pleasant surprise, because it seems there's always ONE bad apple. Not this time!

Even better, not only isn't there any really bad ones to be found, there are a couple of truly excellent one shots to be found here! I can heartily recommend Red Sonja and Predator as fantastic examples of creative teams stepping up to the plate an hitting a home run!

Hellboy is ALMOST there, and still highly recommended. Punisher is good IF you're a Punisher fan. If you're not, then it's not going to change your mind. Lowest on the rung was X. . .and even that wasn't really BAD, it just had some art problems.

Up next. . .

I like one shots. How about some MORE one shots?

Sgt Rock, Wolverine, Star Wars, Wonder Woman, and Grimm Fairy Tales. . .

Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk - Mass Effect: Homeworlds

Welcome to Longbox Junk, where I write comic reviews nobody ever asked me for!

I've been told that some of my reviews are getting a bit long-winded, so I'm going to TRY and keep things a little more on the short and sweet side (we'll see how long that lasts). Let's get right into it!

I DO love me some Mass Effect! It's one of my favorite video game series, and I play a LOT of video games.  I've always considered it to be the Star Trek game nobody has ever really managed to deliver.

This "mini-series" came out right before Mass Effect 3 as part of the massive hype behind the game's release as the final part of the first Mass Effect Trilogy. It's actually not so much a mini as it is 4 separate one shots loosely tied together by the Mass Effect theme, as the issues take place during various points over the timeline of all three games.

Did the comic books manage to capture the spirit of the hugely-popular video games? Let's find out!

MASS EFFECT: HOMEWORLDS

DARK HORSE (2012)

ISSUE ONE

HELL ON EARTH

SCRIPT: Mac Walters

PENCILS: Eduardo Francisco

COVER: Anthony Palumbo

This first issue of Homeworlds takes place years before Mass Effect 1 and tells a story of James Vega (a no-nonsense Marine introduced as a new character in Mass Effect 3) before he joined the crew of the Normandy. This is a younger, more conflicted Vega trying to choose between his family and going into the service. 

The story is pretty well written, but there's a lot of focus on action. . .the issue is basically one long chase scene after a drug deal gone bad. . .it does give a some insight into why Vega becomes the duty-driven Marine we see in Mass Effect 3, but it's almost an afterthought to the action. The light story and art that is decent but nothing special make this a pretty average comic.

NEXT!

ISSUE TWO

THE GALAXY BETRAYED!

SCRIPT: Mac Walters, Jeremy Weekes & Jeremy Barlow

PENCILS: Chris Staggs

COVER: Mike Hawthorne

The second issue of Homeworlds tells us the story of Tali'Zorah nar Rayya and her companion, Keenah, in the events immediately leading up to the first Mass Effect game.

Like the first issue, this one is also pretty much one long chase scene as Tali and Keenah try to get some vital information that they've discovered to anyone willing to act on it, while being chased by a deadly assassin hired to stop them.

There were some decent story moments in here, particularly about the racial prejudice against Tali's people, but (like the first issue) what little story there was took a back seat to the action. A shame, because Tali was one of the more interesting characters in Mass Effect.

The art on this one is extremely stylized, with elongated, stretchy forms. I don't think it fits the material well. It looks like something from an indie book instead of a tie-in to a major game release. The strange art choice and extremely light story make this an average issue. It's a bit better than the first, but not by much.

MOVING ALONG!

ISSUE THREE

A BULLET FOR YOUR SINS

SCRIPT: Mac Walters, John Dombrow & Jeremy Barlow

PENCILS: Garry Brown

COVER: Mike Hawthorne

I really liked this third issue of Homeworlds, as it features one of my favorite characters, Garrus Vakarian. . .former cop, expert sniper, and all around alien badass. I had Garrus at my side through all 3 Mass Effect games. But really. . .who didn't?

Besides the general "Hell yeah" of an issue focusing on Garrus, the story here was a big win for me because it told the tale of just HOW Garrus (then known as the vigilante Archangel) ended up where Shepard found him on Omega station at one end of a bridge single-handedly sniping all comers from the other end. It was something that was never explained in the game (Mass Effect 2).

Turns out he didn't start out solo, but was part of a team of vigilantes. They were betrayed and ambushed. Garrus the last survivor. The story flashes back to his younger days and his demanding father, as well as during his time as a cop and discovering how little effect his by-the-book efforts had on crime.

All in all, this was a great story that lived up to this series' promise of expanding the background of the Mass Effect characters. The dark, scratchy art isn't the greatest thing I've ever seen, but it fit the nature of this story nicely. All things considered, this was a great issue.

AND FINALLY. . .

ISSUE FOUR

LAST HOPE FOR THE GALAXY!

SCRIPT: Mac Walters, Sylvia Feketekuty & Jeremy Barlow

PENCILS: Omar Francia

COVER: Mike Hawthorne

This closing issue of Homeworlds tells a story featuring Liara T'Soni immediately before the events of Mass Effect 3, explaining how and why she ended up on Mars during the first mission of the game.

The story is a bit muddled and unclear, and most of it is a sequence of chases and escapes from rogue agents of Cerberus trying to stop her from gaining the information she's looking for.

 Like the first two issues of this series, it's a bit light on story, which is a shame because Liara isn't so much an action character as the others. She's a scientist, investigator, and information broker. It seems a waste to just throw her into a series of chase/fight/escape scenes and call it an expansion on her background.

The art is pretty good, even if it makes Liara look meaner than she should be. All in all, the disappointing story makes this issue. . .like 3/4 of this series. . .average.

CONCLUSION

All in all, I have to say I was pretty disappointed with Mass Effect: Homeworlds. With the exception of the third issue, these stories were all pretty much chase scenes with a sprinkling of story on top.

None of the issues were BAD, they just could really have been much better. I'd still suggest it to fans of Mass Effect for those bits of story, and I highly suggest the third issue, but if you aren't already a fan of Mass Effect, don't even bother. You won't get the story connections and it will feel like a disjointed jumble.

As a huge Mass Effect fan, I WANTED this to be good.  Unfortunately, it's average at best, and if you're not already a Mass Effect fan, it's not even that.  A damn shame.

Up next. . .

ONE SHOTS! I DO love me some one shots!

Bite-sized chunks of Hellboy, Red Sonja, Predator, and Punisher!

Be there or be square.

Longbox Junk - Transformers/ G.I. Joe

Welcome back to Longbox Junk, the home of comic reviews that nobody ever asked for!

A couple of weeks ago, I was involved in a short discussion on one of the Marvel Transformers/ G.I. Joe crossover comics that had been spotlighted in one of my favorite comic blogs. . .

SHAMELESS PROMOTION TIME!

Cool Comics In My Collection, found at https://edgosney.com/ .  If you're looking for a blog that keeps comics fun and informative about titles old AND new, then Cool Comics In My Collection is the place to go!  And while you're at it, join their great Facebook page of the same name!  It's a nice little collection of blogs (including this one), commentary, art, and other things comic (and pop culture comic-adjacent) related, but without the sour attitude of a lot of other comic-focused Facebook groups!  Check it out, you'll be glad you did!

END OF SHAMELESS PROMOTION TIME!

ANYWAY. . .

The short discussion about the Marvel Transformers/ G.I. Joe comics reminded me that there was ANOTHER G.I. Joe/ Transformers project I had really enjoyed. . .one put out by Dreamwave.  My mention of it didn't really ring anyone's memory bells, but people seemed interested, and so here we are!

Before we begin. . .I have to confess that I'm not really a fan of either G.I. Joe OR Transformers.  As an inhabitant of planet Earth, I can't help but have knowledge of both hugely-popular properties, but I've never gone out of my way to dive into the consuming fandom that both of these names have built for themselves.

THAT SAID. . .

I'm going to spoil this review early on in case someone like me who isn't a fan of either Transformers or G.I. Joe is reading this and decides to skip this review because of that.  Please don't.

Don't let your preconceptions of these two properties or memories of the cartoons they are based on fool you. Dreamwave did something truly out of the box with this series by placing these well-known (and frankly overused) characters in an "Elseworlds" alternate history World War II, and painting the usually bright characters in grim and dark hues for a gritty, violent tale that is like nothing else from these properties that I know of.

Interested?  Read on!

TRANSFORMERS / G.I. JOE

DREAMWAVE (2003)

TYRANTS RISE, HEROES ARE BORN

SCRIPTS: John Ney Reiber

ART: Jae Lee

COVERS: Jae Lee 

ISSUE ONE

THE LINE

This extremely SWEET wraparound variant for #1 by Pat Lee

It's not often that you can find something unique in comics.

Just about everything that CAN be done HAS been done at some point.

Dreamwave's Transformers/G.I. Joe is unique.

When I think of Transformers, I think of bright colors, sharp lines, and an overall picture of entry-level giant robot anime for young teens. Likewise, when I think of G.I. Joe, I think of brightly-colored heroes who shoot and get shot at, but nobody ever gets hurt. Once again, entry-level military action for young teens.

I expected as much from this mini, but had those expectations completely blown out of the water! Instead of brightly-colored sci-fi shootouts, what I got was a dark, gritty, violent tale set in an alternate timeline World War II. Completely unexpected.

This first issue sets up the conflict very well, with WWII raging, Cobra discovers and activates ancient war machines (Decepticons) that lay waste to Europe. America, seeing the writing on the wall, forms a special unit (G.I. Joe) to attack Cobra headquarters in an effort to find out if these devastating game changers can be stopped.

All in all, it's a pretty simple story with a simple setup. What sets this apart is the alternate timeline setting and the extremely dark and gritty artwork. The writer and artist nail the atmosphere of desperation perfectly. This is not the Gung-Ho nobody dies feel of your average G.I. Joe story. This is not the bright, shiny average Transformers story. This is a tale of suicide missions and hopelessness in the face of a superior enemy.

Jae Lee is a unique artist in that nobody else draws like him at all. He's one that you can tell just by looking who the artist is. Like a Truman, a Sale, a Kubert, a Mignola, and so on. His take on the Transformers is dark and dirty. The Joes are rumpled and ready for action. His art, above all else, makes this crossover stand out from the MANY other Transformer and G.I. Joe stories out there. 

All in all, a fantastic first issue with a unique take on some very overused characters. If I have one complaint, it's that Lee's art is sometimes TOO dark and a bit hard to follow. But other than that, this was one of the most surprising things (in a good way) I've read in a long time.

ISSUE TWO

TRANSFORMED

Another great, dark, gritty issue!

The story this time splits 3 ways between one team of Joes discovering and activating the Autobots (who reveal that they have been on earth for about 3 million years), a power struggle between Starscream, Megatron, and Cobra Commander, and a running battle between Snake Eyes and Stormshadow. All very well done, except the Snake Eyes/Stormshadow battle seemed to run a bit longer than it should. But that's just one small complaint for an otherwise fantastic issue!

ISSUE THREE

TRIAL BY FIRE

This series just keeps getting better as the story continues to follow 3 threads. . .the Joes and Autobots desperately trying to establish a beach head for a naval invasion of Cobra headquarters, the power struggle between Cobra Commander and Megatron, and the continuing duel between Stormshadow and Snake Eyes. Once again, I felt that a bit too much attention was paid to the Stormshadow/Snake Eyes conflict, but other than that. Very well done.

One thing that stood out to me on this issue as the action heats up is that the book is rendered in very grim tones of black, brown, green, and grey, with only an occasional splash of color. This REALLY makes explosions, when they happen, stand out front and center with a burst of orange and red. A superb and subtle effect.

Overall, where most mini-series start to slump about now, Transformers/ G.I. Joe is getting better!  The perfect combination of great writing and gritty art carries this series forward with the kind of momentum that makes me want to pick up the next issue as soon as I close the cover on the one I just finished.

ISSUE FOUR

WOLVES

The already huge cast of characters expands and the story splits into another couple of threads, making this issue seem a bit crowded and cluttered compared to previous ones. I get that they wanted to try and throw EVERY popular G.I. Joe and Transformer character into the mix in their alternate WWII form, but it's starting to get a bit cumbersome. Not that it's bad. . .the writing is still great and the artwork is still grim, gritty and dark (if anything, maybe a little TOO dark at times).

Cobra takes one of the Joe team commanders (Flint) captive, and the operation turns into a rescue mission. It's also revealed that Destro and Starscream are working together against Megatron and Cobra Commander, building a giant Transformer/Earth Tech robot called Bruticus. Also, the battle between Stormshadow and Snake Eyes is STILL going on!

There were a few weak moments to be found here. . .how can Destro and Starscream keep a GIGANTIC robot that absolutely dwarfs the already huge decepticons hidden? And then there's the giant great white shark that becomes the deadly end of Snake Eyes and Stormshadow's drawn out battle. It seems to be a bit of a cop-out to finish an epic battle that's been going on for FOUR issues by the sudden appearance of an outside force. . .

So the mid-point slump that usually hits six issue minis waited an extra issue this time out.  Even so, despite the weak points starting to show in the story, this is still a great read that makes me want to immediately get into the next issue. . .

ISSUE FIVE

TRENCHES

As things build up to the final issue, it gets more crowded. Fortunately, the writer keeps his hand firmly on the wheel and things stay on track as the Joes move in to rescue Flint before the invasion force arrives to pound Cobra's base to dust with naval bombardment prior to a landing of ground forces.

Cobra Commander (who establishes his superiority over Megatron with the Matrix) fills the beaches with slaves as human shields to put off a mass landing of troops.  All in all, it's still a pretty simple story. . .it's just getting overcrowded with characters.

A standout moment in this issue is when Shockwave fires the first shot in the impending final battle, nailing Superion with a MASSIVE explosion. Superbly illustrated by Lee!

Overall, even though the story at this point is absolutely stuffed with "Elseworlds" WWII versions of almost every Joe and Transformer a fan of either property could want, the slightly-slumping story from last issue is replaced by an explosive run toward the finish line that promises a great ending!

AND FINALLY. . .

ISSUE 6

THE IRON FIST

And it's the big finish!

Holy crap. There are a LOT of characters in this issue! But the difference between this story and most G.I. Joe or Transformer stories is that about half of those characters die during this final battle.

There's a lot of balls in the air in this final issue, but the writer juggles them well and brings this unique series to a very nice close. I won't spoil the ending, but once again, Optimus Prime realizes that sometimes to protect the weak, the strong must make sacrifices. My only problem with an otherwise fantastic, action-packed and emotional issue is that the ending is very abrupt.

Overall, despite the somewhat abrupt ending, the creative team brought this one home in a big way, with a finish that combined some very emotional moments with all out action scenes that (due to the "Elseworlds" nature of the story) felt like they had some actual life or death stakes as heroes and villains both fall during the battle.  Very nicely done!

CONCLUSION

I really enjoyed this whole series. It was a unique look at characters I'm not really a fan of and that I didn't think had any mileage left in them. Done with a completely unexpected dark and gritty presentation of what is normally bright and pretty juvenile.  This series is very well done from first page to last!

Overall, I found this to be a unique and unexpected take on these two well-known properties, with good writing and fantastic art throughout. There were a few clunky moments in the story, it got a bit crowded with characters toward the end, and sometimes the art was TOO dark, but I have yet to find a perfect comic book, so those small flaws in no way take away from highly suggesting this series to anyone who enjoys military comics, whether or not they are fans of Transformers or G.I. Joe. 

This is simply a great series and truly a hidden gem among Longbox Junk!

Up next. . .

It's a video game tie in mini-series that's really 4 one-shots. Mass Effect: Homeworlds.

Be there or be square!