G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #254 Review

Special Missions: Part Four: Destro: Shit Blows Up

Writer: Larry Hama Artist: Netho Diaz Publisher: IDW Publishing Release Date: August 1, 2018 Cover Price: $3.99

Review By: Lord Andy

If you’re like me, you like a little Tactical Battle Armor, Rocket Propelled Heat Munitions, Bunker Busting Bombs, Armored Blast Doors, Armored Vehicles, Armed Drones, Armed Armor, Up to Date Surveillance Equipment, SU-25 Frogfoots, Anti-Radiation Missiles, Quick Response Teams, Air Defense Systems, Paveway Laser-Guided Bombs, Attack Helicopters, Battle Androids!, Wrist Rockets, Wrist Grenades, Chain Guns, and at least one Mag Fully Loaded with Hi-Velocity Armor Peircing Ammo in your comics.

But, if that’s not really your thing.. Well, you'll enjoy the art! In fact, Diaz's art and imaginative vision (Sick Ass Battle Androids!) has me looking up his past and future projects. It was the art that kept me in the book which otherwise read like a Guns & Ammo fantasy mag.

So a bad guy named Destro and his hot assistant (I assume she's his assistant, as she's wearing sexy librarian glasses) go out to the Desert to sell weapons to a Sheik named.. Ali. Simply put, a lot of shit gets blown up during negotiations, but in the end, a deal is struck and everyone leaves happy. Yup.

I'm assuming that this issue was something of a setup to the real shit about to go down in Special Missions: Part 5. However, it wasn’t really made clear that there was a Special Mission until the last dialogue box of the last panel of the last page. Oh! I exclaimed, Destro was on a mission to sell guns, and look fly in his silver surfer body armor so high-tech you can even drink wine while wearing it. Mission accomplished Destro.

Bits and Pieces:

So if you’re not getting enough of war's destruction of the Middle East in real life, or you just get nostalgic for the simple truth that it’s a comic book, written about an action figure. Well, this issue has plenty of action, but just like the dolls, the characters have no soul. The script felt like a Hasbro Toyline commercial, only with no hands. It wasn’t GI Joe’s fully automatic grenade pistol that saved the day, it was Netho Diaz's art.

5.8/10