Gary Collinson reviews G.I. Joe: Special Missions #2….
“CRUSH DEPTH continues! Scarlett and her Special Missions team rush to the heart of a perfect storm to retrieve a prize of forty billion (with a B!) of COBRA funds lying in the ocean deep. The only trouble is that the Baroness is already on the scene with a cutthroat crew of her own to reclaim the booty for COBRA!“
IDW got the second of its relaunched G.I. Joe titles underway last month with the release of G.I. Joe: Special Missions #1, and if you read my review you’ll know I thought it done a solid job of setting up this first story arc from Chuck Dixon (which is really just a continuation of his work on the previous volume, particularly ‘Target: Snake Eyes’). While it wasn’t the best of jumping on points for new readers, the plot was simple and straight-forward, and promised an explosive underwater showdown between Scarlett’s ‘special missions’ team and the Baroness and mercenaries as both sides attempt to recover $40 billion from the wreck of the sunken Neptune Bonanza.
G.I. Joe: Special Missions #2 picks up with Scarlett, her current beau Mainframe, Deep Six and Torpedo en route to the Neptune Bonanza in their civilian submarine. Identifying another vessel anchored above the site of the wreck, Scarlett and Mainframe switch to diving gear and swim out to recon the sunken ship 600 feet beneath sea level, but they’re forced to seek refuge in an air pocket in a shipping container when the Baroness and her heavily-armed forces arrive for their own salvage operation. However, Cobra Eels aren’t the only things lurking in the depths as a hungry school of sharks are out hunting for their next meal and the two Joes are looking mighty appetizing.
Now, I’ve always been a fan of underwater adventures (I have fond memories of playing with Deep Six and company in the bath as a kid – and no, not in the Eddie Murphy Delirious way, either), so I was eagerly anticipating this second instalment of ‘Crush Depth’. Unfortunately, I found myself pretty disappointed with the result, it has to be said. Despite progressing both the main story and a subplot surrounding Serpentor and his efforts to track the Baroness, there’s very little in the way of excitement in G.I. Joe: Special Missions #2, and by the end of the issue we’re still waiting for our first bit of Joe on Cobra action. I’m all for a slow-build, assuming the pay-off is worth it – which in fairness, it still could be – but the execution here is rather sloppy, both in the writing and the artwork.
From a story point of view, I found it hard to believe that Scarlett and Mainframe would be the ones to embark on the treacherous underwater dive when Deep Six and Torpedo are on the team, but of course this conveniently allows the two love-birds to spend some quality time alone, even if it is in a container at the bottom of the ocean. And it also sets up one of the most ridiculous cliff hangers in recent memory, as Mainframe decides to make a move on Scarlett the Harlot (hey, she’s already been through Duke and Snake-Eyes), despite the fact they’re being crushed by the pressure of toxic water 100 fathoms deep, are running out of air, and have a ravenous Great White circling at their feet. Talk about jumping the shark…
If the writing in Special Missions #2 is fairly average, then so too is the artwork, with both Gulacy’s pencils and the coloring from Aburtov ranging in quality from passable to below par. The first issue was a bit of a mixed bag in terms of art, and although things start off decent enough here it quickly goes down hill; there are a few panels scattered throughout the issue which look impressive, but the pages dealing with Serpentor and some of the latter underwater stuff are particularly patchy, and there’s a shark in there towards the end that must have taken all of ten seconds to draw. You’d expect better considering the talent involved, not to mention the price tag of the comic.
On a positive note though, I must say I’m really enjoying Jim Rugg’s ‘Untold Tales of G.I. Joe’ variant covers, and the gangster-themed one here is probably the highlight of what is otherwise an unexceptional issue that just seems to tread water, if you’ll pardon the pun. Hopefully we’ll see an improvement with issue #3 as the Joes finally get into some action, and Mainframe loses a leg (or worse, depending on how far he’s planning to go with Scarlett).
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.
