Gary Collinson reviews G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #3…
“SNAKES AND TIGERS! FLINT’s plan to trap the team’s new, elusive enemy may be crazy enough to work: offering up a target too irresistible to pass up, he thinks they can draw their opponents out. But when things start going south-fast-it’s up to CHAMELEON to salvage the mission. Will she put the team in danger in order finish the job?“
One of two titles out this week from IDW’s soft reboot of its G.I. Joe continuity, G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #3 is by no means an exceptional issue, but it’s head and shoulders above issue #5 of Fred Van Lente’s main series and firmly establishes writer Mike Costa and artist Antonio Fuso’s mature take on the Joe universe as the stand-out title from this recent relaunch.
Despite being light on action, The Cobra Files #3 ramps up the stakes for the conclusion to this first story arc, as well as continuing to excel with its characterisation. The bulk of the issue centres on Flint’s audacious plan to entrap a Cobra-affiliated ‘Tiger Team’ known as the Night Creepers, which naturally goes belly up, putting the very security of G.I. Joe at risk. There’s some great interaction between Flint and Duke (fresh from his Black Hawk Down adventure in the main series), while the conniving Tomax continues to lurk in the background, further toying with the fragile Clockspring and edging the love-sick analyst ever-closer to the brink of despair.
If I was to have one complaint about this series so far, it would be that there’s not really much of a Cobra presence, especially for a book called The Cobra Files (if you’ve picked this up because of the old-school Real American Hero-based retailer incentive cover, you’re probably going to find yourself a little confused and / or disappointed). However, Costa is doing a great job with his take on the Joe characters (Flint in particular), while the Tomax / Clockspring sub-plot is being built up superbly and I really can’t wait to see how this plays out over coming issues. In the other two titles, there’s little doubt that whatever the stakes, G.I. Joe are going to be victorious at the end of the day. With The Cobra Files there’s absolutely no such guarantee, and with things fast heating up now is the time to get yourself on board.
Gary Collinson is a writer and lecturer from the North East of England. He is the editor-in-chief of FlickeringMyth.com and the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.
Originally published June 18, 2013. Updated April 12, 2018.
