Wraith.

[Bigtattoo]

I'm an artist myself and, as a kid, read Marvel's GIjoe for years and watched the cartoon series. Now I'm in my mid-30s and it's getting harder for me to accept some things because I have this high expectation that the book would 'grow up' for our generation. It would've been nice if they did one comic version for the younger readers and an adult (R-rated) for our generation that grew up with it.

I don't mind reading some superhero titles as long they're written in an intelligent manner and have taken literature courses when I was in college which is when critical thinking was encouraged.

When I first saw Die Hard back in the late 1980s, I was impressed by John Mc Tiernan and realized this man could've done a live-action GIJoe movie quite realistically in a hardcore approach, but I enjoyed Saving Private Ryan which was beautifully produced.

As an artist, I'm trained to critique myself and see what works and does'nt. And I will be honest that the DDP team need to be a lot more careful with their writing without shooting themselves in the foot which they have done so several times and presently.

Someone mentioned the Special Missions were well done and I think it has to do with the self-contained plotting from beginning, middle and conclusion without any convoluted sub-plots creeping in. It was a mission that a select few of GIJoe specialists were qualified for in particular to deal with a problem and the missions put them around the international globe. This forces the writer to work harder and concentrate on one story.

I think youve made several good points here.
The first- that you have grown up reading Marvel's GIJoe series ties in with what I was saying earlier- that DD have to appeal to a wider demographic, and perhaps lose some quality because of creating such a generalised approach.
Id agree, Id like to see a more adult or grown-up version of teh comic, but I believe that would only appeal to a small group on people and would fail to sell enough issues to justify continuation.
As to your being an artist and have done creative writing.
This is purely my opinion, and in no way a criticism of you- but I think thats partially linked to your dissatisfaction.
Because you have a greater understanding/insight than the majority of readers, its likely that you are more critical than others would be.
Finally- the point about Special missions is a very good one.
Having a self- contained story with a defined beginning and ending allows for a more disciplined approach.
The ongoing series has to, by its nature, remain open-ended (although perhaps within several shorter story arcs, such as been happening recently).
I dont know how often the creative/editorial teams have changed, but that would have a major impact on any ongoing title- with constant changes in focus and direction.
I do agree though that the overall quality has been going slowly downhill.

[Sanctum1972]

I think youve made several good points here.
The first- that you have grown up reading Marvel's GIJoe series ties in with what I was saying earlier- that DD have to appeal to a wider demographic, and perhaps lose some quality because of creating such a generalised approach.
Id agree, Id like to see a more adult or grown-up version of teh comic, but I believe that would only appeal to a small group on people and would fail to sell enough issues to justify continuation.
As to your being an artist and have done creative writing.
This is purely my opinion, and in no way a criticism of you- but I think thats partially linked to your dissatisfaction.
Because you have a greater understanding/insight than the majority of readers, its likely that you are more critical than others would be.
Finally- the point about Special missions is a very good one.
Having a self- contained story with a defined beginning and ending allows for a more disciplined approach.
The ongoing series has to, by its nature, remain open-ended (although perhaps within several shorter story arcs, such as been happening recently).
I dont know how often the creative/editorial teams have changed, but that would have a major impact on any ongoing title- with constant changes in focus and direction.
I do agree though that the overall quality has been going slowly downhill.

Dissatisfaction is a big part on my criticism towards the book. One pattern I noticed is that the writers Joe Casey and Mark Powers had previous experience working in Marvel Comics while Blaylock and Jerwa were independent. So far, it had a share of 4 writers. 5, if you count the editor Mike O' Sullivan who scripted "Hunt for Cobra Commander" and I think he did the Phillip Rey/Duke storyline.

The problem I noticed with Joe Casey was he was telegraphing himself if you look carefully at his storyline with the Phoenix Guard as too similar to the Thunderbolts concept.

The quality did go downhill after Joe Casey missed several opportunities and the book lost direction past issue #4 (I think). It got real bad when he 'killed off' Snake Eyes and put CC in the White House. The job of the editor is to keep the storyline air-tight as possible and look over any glaring mistakes and issues.

What Mike O' Sullivan messed up on letting Joe Casey get away with CC having disguise himself as Chief of Staff, which I've explained before many times in other boards, that this job description does not allow him to have clearance to peek into military information. The CoS is responsible for the President's public relations, campaigning (sometimes), scheduling to events/interviews/speeches, review policies, etc. It was an adminstrative position, not military. The CoS cannot, by law, involve themselves with the affairs of the Armed Forces.
This is not meant to be a political flame here but rather my point of view of what I understand how the government works.

The editor should've noticed that major oversight and had it corrected. In essence, CC went to the White House all for nothing, realistically because the NSA and CIA monitor everything in D.C. and everywhere in the world, and probably more deeper security-wise than we think.

My point is, how can we trust the writer/editor to write a military-based comic book if they fail to understand how their own government works?
I have nothing against the military and have great respect for them and my late parents were veterans of the Air Force, so I understand this sense of duty.

[Cobra Night Watch Officer]

OK can I stop the "War" for a minute and get my question answered???

I think he's a pretty cool character and all I want is some pics of him now can someone PLEASE LMK if they have some??

Thank you!

[Bigtattoo]

This is about the only one I could find:

[Bigtattoo]

Found another:

[Sanctum1972]

Found another:

yep..that's the guy.

[Dreadnok4life]

Dissatisfaction is a big part on my criticism towards the book. One pattern I noticed is that the writers Joe Casey and Mark Powers had previous experience working in Marvel Comics while Blaylock and Jerwa were independent. So far, it had a share of 4 writers. 5, if you count the editor Mike O' Sullivan who scripted "Hunt for Cobra Commander" and I think he did the Phillip Rey/Duke storyline.

The problem I noticed with Joe Casey was he was telegraphing himself if you look carefully at his storyline with the Phoenix Guard as too similar to the Thunderbolts concept.

The quality did go downhill after Joe Casey missed several opportunities and the book lost direction past issue #4 (I think). It got real bad when he 'killed off' Snake Eyes and put CC in the White House. The job of the editor is to keep the storyline air-tight as possible and look over any glaring mistakes and issues.

What Mike O' Sullivan messed up on letting Joe Casey get away with CC having disguise himself as Chief of Staff, which I've explained before many times in other boards, that this job description does not allow him to have clearance to peek into military information. The CoS is responsible for the President's public relations, campaigning (sometimes), scheduling to events/interviews/speeches, review policies, etc. It was an adminstrative position, not military. The CoS cannot, by law, involve themselves with the affairs of the Armed Forces.
This is not meant to be a political flame here but rather my point of view of what I understand how the government works.

The editor should've noticed that major oversight and had it corrected. In essence, CC went to the White House all for nothing, realistically because the NSA and CIA monitor everything in D.C. and everywhere in the world, and probably more deeper security-wise than we think.

My point is, how can we trust the writer/editor to write a military-based comic book if they fail to understand how their own government works?
I have nothing against the military and have great respect for them and my late parents were veterans of the Air Force, so I understand this sense of duty.

The vast majority of Americans, not to mention comic book readers, don't know what the Chief of Staff does, or has access too. To nit pick a book because of it is a tad ridiculous. Plus you are placing the Joe universe in the real world, which it isn't in. Isn't it possible that in the Joe's universe the C.O.S. does have access to this information? If this small mistake is enough to turn you off on a book, I imagine there isn't much you enjoy in the entertainment world. As for the "Thunderbolts", I have no idea what that is so I obviously saw no connection to the Phoenix Guard story.

[Sanctum1972]

The vast majority of Americans, not to mention comic book readers, don't know what the Chief of Staff does, or has access too. To nit pick a book because of it is a tad ridiculous. Plus you are placing the Joe universe in the real world, which it isn't in. Isn't it possible that in the Joe's universe the C.O.S. does have access to this information? If this small mistake is enough to turn you off on a book, I imagine there isn't much you enjoy in the entertainment world. As for the "Thunderbolts", I have no idea what that is so I obviously saw no connection to the Phoenix Guard story.

When you are a fictional writer, it's okay to push the envelope a bit but research is also important to keep things believable. Is it okay for someone like Tom Clancy to pretend the F-117 can talk like KITT in Knight Rider and transform all because he's doing a story of a conflict between one country and the USA? That may work in the Transformers, but not in a military fiction novel in one of Clancy's stories (who's well known for books such as Hunt for Red October, Patriot Games, etc).

(I'm aware of Transformers/GIJoe crossovers which is a different thing)

Someone in the military is going to read it and laugh, knowing he's full of it. That person is going to say "Umm..this is not how it works in the real world". It would be an insult to the people serving in the armed forces if we exaggerated or don't get the facts straight, even our own government.

As for the "Thunderbolts", this was created by Marvel comics back in the 1990s showcasing a group of superheroes who are actually the 'bad guys' in disguise, replacing the Avengers on the scene (I believe after the Onslaught storyline). It was the first time Marvel ever done this and it was received with great praise as an intelligent concept. They were led by Citizen V who is actually "Baron Zemo" in disguise while later on..the group decided they liked the gig so much, they preferred not to return to their villainous paths.

See where I'm going with this? Joe Casey 'lifted' that idea from Marvel. A lot of readers in the DDP message board noticed the familiar of the plot back then.

[skullheadman]

Well, if the Phoenix Guard decided they were tired of Cobra and international terrorism and took to defending the Constitution, I would say that it was a rip-off of the Thunderbolts. But just cause both comics have a team of bad guys pretending to be good guys doesn't make one a copy of the other. The idea may have come from the Thunderbolts, but since their intent was to wipe-out the Joes, it's quite a bit different. Phoenix Guard have more in common with the German commandos posing as Polish paratroopers trying to assassinate Churchill in "The Eagle Has Landed".

What storylines are truly unique anyway? Popular culture follows trends. One good idea comes out in comics, movies, etc. and it is soon followed by dozens of similar products.

[neapolitan joe]

"Ciao" Wraith, it's WWIII time!