IDW’s new GI Joe title, Scarlett’s Strike Force introduces us to the new team.

The first issue sets the scene with the cover: it claims to be “The Best Action Comic Ever”!! It’s produced by established GI Joe writer Aubrey Sitterson, with Nelson Daniel on art duties and colors by Ryan Hill.

The scene sets up like this: “It’s Scarlett’s GI Joe team, the Strike Force, against a brand-new Cobra commander, a revitalized Cobra, and everyone else trying to conquer Earth.. or destroy it!”

Plot? The Strike Force battle Cesspool, then set up for an attack on Cobra Commander!

There is a lot of banter among the GI Joe team throughout the issue. Each member on Strike Force, Cobra and GI Joe is introduced to us via name cards, and given their 15 seconds of fame. While the name cards help us to identify all the various players, they get a little tiresome; there are too many. Perhaps it would be more compelling for us to meet a few members of the team in each issue, and get to know them in more depth. This treatment reads like an extended role call.

There’s lots of terse dialogue, and the good guys are continually squaring off against the bad guys, so it looks like we are off and running with the Strike Force!

IDW Scarlett’s Strike Force #1 $3.99 for 24 pages of content; variant covers available

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!