Greetings
Though I know the prospects of drastic changes of the DDP comic are merely rumors at this point, I thought I would share with you my optimistic take on a new continuity. I was a huge fan of the Marvel Series, and I have enjoyed the Devil Due series as well. However, I can think of five great reasons why I would like to see the main series get a new continuity.

#1- Give the fans a climatic conclusion to the war between Joe & Cobra
Though I love the way Hama wrapped things up in issue #155, the Marvel Series ended too abruptly. I would love to see a final battle that ended Cobra once and for all.

#2- Eliminate the ridiculous plot developments of the later years in Marvel series
We would all be able to forget about the Transformers, Mindbender’s clone, brainwashing limbo, etc.

#3- Revive the Snake Eyes/ Storm Shadow Story
I am as big a fan of this saga as the next guy, but I think it would benefit from a re-imagining with a more logical reason for them being on opposite sides of the war. I am not advocating a drastic departure from the Hama story, but many fans would like a return to a time when Snake Eyes’s face and Storm Shadow’s motives were still a mystery.

#4- Addresses the “age issue.”

#5 –Allows for consolidation of character roles & personalities
Character roles and personalities have always been confused due to the different portrayals in the comics, cartoon, and toyline. The Hawk of the comics (82-84) is really the Duke of cartoons (84-86), Flint of the comics (85-87) is in many ways the Lt. Falcon of the movie (87), and Clutch of the comics (82-86) is in many ways the Shipwreck of the cartoon (85-87). In the later issues of the Marvel Series & in the DDP Series, the writers have tried to merge these personalities together. I think a new continuity for the main series would benefit from having a clear sense of each character’s personality and traits.

Unlike the Reloaded Series, I would like to see a new continuity begin will an established team of 25 Joes fighting a semi-established Cobra threat.

GI Joe would ultimately be commanded by General Hawk (former squad captain of a black ops team consisting of Stalker, Snake-Eyes, Tommy Arashikage, Wade Collins, etc.), field commanded by Duke (hybrid of comic Hawk/ Cartoon Duke), and divided into an Alpha Team (led by Stalker), Bravo Team (led by Flint), and Support Team.

Six members would make up Alpha & Bravo teams, each consisting of the five necessary specialists of special operations teams. (weapons/ communications/ demolitions or engineer/ medic/ intelligence). The Support Team would consist of mechanized infantry, armor, fixed wing, rotary wing, naval forces & terrain specialits.

My picks would be:

Alpha Team (Stalker, Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Rock-N-Roll, Spirit, Gung-Ho)
Bravo Team (Flint, Beachhead, Lady Jaye, Roadblock, Dial-Tone, Tunnel Rat)
(Only minor adjustment to certain character’s military specialties would be necessary to make this work.)

Support Team (Wild Bill, Ace or Slipstream, Clutch, Cover Girl (Always thought it was an original idea to have a former fashion model in charge of a tank), Shipwreck, Torpedo, Snow Job, Dusty, Survivalist Character, Computer Character)

The new continuity could play up tension between the cockiness of Flint and the no-nonsense approach of Beachhead, actually spend pages developing the relationships between both Flint & Lady Jaye and Snake Eyes & Scarlett, and update Stalker/SE/SS’s Vietnam experience into a modern war on terror experience.

Just my 2 cents.

I'm a comics fan and I read a lot of books with charactors that have looooong history, much longer than GI Joe (Flash, X Men) I generally don't like the idea of total reboots in comics just because it can make long time fans think that everything they read before doesn't matter any more. Like having the creators say, "never mind" on past history and great story lines.

I agree with the original poster of this thread, there were some parts of GI Joe best left forgoten (IMO) like the transformers stuff, but there are ugly parts in vertually EVERY long running comic series (look at Spider Man and the "Spidey Clone") THere's ways around that though. By getting creators who care about the characters and who can cut through the excess bagage and tell stories about the Joes without totally letting go of previous events and stories that made the characters who they are now. It's never too late to start foccusing on the essence of who a character is , like CC or Destro or Hawk, and what made them that way. And you certainly don't need a new #1 issue to do it.
As for the "age issue", to me it's a non issue. Look at the Simpsons. We don't care that Bart and Lisa arent in their 20's today because we're still laughing at them. I don't care if Stalker never gets a grey hair or if Lady J never get a wrinkle,just tell good GI Joe stories!

So I guess my two cents would be for no total re boot of the book, even though there are some things that could be better, IMO.
The only GOOD I could see coming from a reeboot?......I guess I DO miss Doc and Quick Kick......

I personally think that giving the main series a new continuity would be a poor cop out on the writer's parts.

1. This is a comic book. Suspend disbelief about the age thing. Spiderman married MJ in 1987, 21 years after he first met her. Following that continuity she must be in her 50s and let me tell you, that is one fine 50 year old. Lois Lane has been around since 1938, so she's just...old. GI Joe is now, the Vietnam vets still are, but the war didn't happen as long ago. Everyone is of functioning military age (20-35 or so). I think that's how it should work.

2. There is a huge cast of characters that were never fleshed out much in the old series. In some ways I think that Devil's Due is doing a great job using characters like Claymore and Overkill who never saw action in the Marvel series. There are many more that they could use as well.

3. I don't think that the comic should have anything to do with the cartoon. This was not the case in the 80s and shouldn't be the case now. I do not like some of the cartoon nods that Devil's Due uses. That's just my opinion, though.

4. Rather an revamp or reboot, the current comic needs to pick which characters they are going to focus on (rather than jumping from story to story like a jackrabbit with ADD), give some good, thought out story archs with character and plot development, and after one arch is done start a new one and incorporate someone else. So far much of what I have seen from the Image/Devil's Due series seems like pretty blatant rip offs of Hama stories. Cobra Island civil war with CC and Serpentor, Storm Shadow is bad, then good, then bad, Destro's intrigue, CC hires the Night Creepers to kill Destro, etc... the Wraith arc has been well done IMO and I like the way the Jugglers have been used. They are original ideas or original continuations of existing ideas, not just rehashes.

With good, creative writing there is no need to reboot the continuity. All they have to do is give some overexposed characters a rest and flesh out some new ones with original stories.

5 Reasons for No New Continuity:

1. The new series will flop.

2. The new series will be cancelled.

3. The new series will infuriate the core of the G.I. Joe fan base who are the main purhcasers of the comic right now.

4. The new series will never be regarded with anything more than outright hostility by the majority of fans.

5. The new series will inevitably suck fat fish *bleep*!

wow devils due is once again starting over and changing everything.......well guys this time you'll be doing it without me reading. Man I am sick of this. I know they wont much care about one guy right now, but it only takes a few people like to me to cancel a book. Bring back Larry Hama pay him whatever he wants and let him fix the mess Devils due made and seems they can only remake by starting over.....again.

I agree with some points and disagree with others


i won;t read a new continium either
thats a just plain bad idea
i like jerwas writing hes got some great ideas and uses the characters i like very well
for example firefly in M&A hes just a cold blooded killer and assassin
what he always was supposed to be and hes portrayed very well in that sense
I even liked blaylocks writing it kept me interested the whole time.
ppl are now saying well hama was so good hama was this hama was that.
Hama got the same treatment in his day that these guys do now
not to mention the ninja force bs that he had going where SE was untouchable. No writer is perfect i have this feeling that if there wasn't so much bashing of the writers going on this kind of stuff would notbe happening
the series is fine leave it alone
u guys keep doing yer thing
a new continuity is a bad idea very very bad

Gawd this will be the end of my patronage of Devils Due I have a feeling.

Today's rumor if true (small team led by rey, no unique uni's, more 'realism', death of Baroness...)

IS the last freaking straw. Blaylock keeps talking about how he loves these characters too, but he just doesnt' get it.
Having 100's of characters is a good thing not a bad thing. having unique uniforms are good things. Yes it's not realistic. But i don't think Gi Joe ever was really that realistic it's not supposed to be it's escapism. If i want to go read Tom Clancy i will. But Real army rangers don't fight COBRA and call them selves "Falcon"

screw this realism tilt. I want it set as hama did it, a semi-believable world. with actual characters. Devils due has a whole pallet of charachters, vehicles and settings I'm just amazed they can screw it up...

Gi Joe is about good vs. evil on a very basic level, Hama did a great job showing the different shades of grey, Stormy, destro even...

IF today's rumor du jour is true i'm so done with them.

shippy.

Why are they trying so hare to revamp and modernise it? The comics from 1-75 were some of the greatest and most popular comics ever, yet they're doing their best to make it completely differant than that. That's what killed the original seris to begin with. Stupid stories, and crappy charecters. Blaylock says that he uses Yojoe.com as a referance, well hey: read these forums! Maybe yoiu'll get it. Heck, make me the writer, I guarentee sales will go up 200%. Geez man, stop messing with it and bring it back to how it was.

I'm a comics fan and I read a lot of books with charactors that have looooong history, much longer than GI Joe (Flash, X Men) I generally don't like the idea of total reboots in comics just because it can make long time fans think that everything they read before doesn't matter any more. Like having the creators say, "never mind" on past history and great story lines.

I agree with the original poster of this thread, there were some parts of GI Joe best left forgoten (IMO) like the transformers stuff, but there are ugly parts in vertually EVERY long running comic series (look at Spider Man and the "Spidey Clone") THere's ways around that though. By getting creators who care about the characters and who can cut through the excess bagage and tell stories about the Joes without totally letting go of previous events and stories that made the characters who they are now. It's never too late to start foccusing on the essence of who a character is , like CC or Destro or Hawk, and what made them that way. And you certainly don't need a new #1 issue to do it.
As for the "age issue", to me it's a non issue. Look at the Simpsons. We don't care that Bart and Lisa arent in their 20's today because we're still laughing at them. I don't care if Stalker never gets a grey hair or if Lady J never get a wrinkle,just tell good GI Joe stories!

So I guess my two cents would be for no total re boot of the book, even though there are some things that could be better, IMO.
The only GOOD I could see coming from a reeboot?......I guess I DO miss Doc and Quick Kick......


What he said! :D My God this was a great post. Bravo! I was going to write the same thing, until I saw you had written it already.

Gawd this will be the end of my patronage of Devils Due I have a feeling.

Today's rumor if true (small team led by rey, no unique uni's, more 'realism', death of Baroness...)

IS the last freaking straw. Blaylock keeps talking about how he loves these characters too, but he just doesnt' get it.
Having 100's of characters is a good thing not a bad thing. having unique uniforms are good things. Yes it's not realistic. But i don't think Gi Joe ever was really that realistic it's not supposed to be it's escapism. If i want to go read Tom Clancy i will. But Real army rangers don't fight COBRA and call them selves "Falcon"

screw this realism tilt. I want it set as hama did it, a semi-believable world. with actual characters. Devils due has a whole pallet of charachters, vehicles and settings I'm just amazed they can screw it up...

Gi Joe is about good vs. evil on a very basic level, Hama did a great job showing the different shades of grey, Stormy, destro even...

IF today's rumor du jour is true i'm so done with them.

shippy.

What he said too!

I like hearing these opinions because I agree with them for the most part. I could personally handle new reboot titles that would cover stuff from the early 80's or character origins (or even more realistic titles--as long as the oringinal Joe continuum is left alone) and I have to admit that I liked that Cobra issue of Reloaded alot. But there is a difference between expounding on themes already presented and drastically changing a comic that has been working for twenty years plus. Good comments above. It's going to be interesting to see what actually happens.