NOW YOU KNOW WITH YORKTOWNJOE – G.I.JOE MARVEL COMICS ISSUE #75 REVIEWED!
Background
Issue 74 showed the Cobra Civil War in full swing!! And indeed the shooting has begun. Feel free to check out the review of Issue 74 in case you missed it. (You can catch up on other “Now You Know With YorktownJoe” reviews there as well!)
On to the issue
We begin Issue 75 with a splash title page and a lot of exposition. There is a note from Duke in the upper right to bring readers up to speed. The picture shows Hawk entangled with the Dreadnoks on the Thunder Machine. The Thunder Machine is crashed into Destro’s vehicle, and acting Cobra Commander Fred VII (7) is on board as well.
We get a fairly detailed look at the Ferret, driver of Destro’s D.E.M.O.N. tank. This is not to be confused with the other Ferret – the Ferret ATV, a small Cobra All Terrain vehicle.
Destro’s forces continue to arrive from his ship, with more D.E.M.O.N. tanks and AGP Anti-Gravity Pods. The provides a diversion for the Joe’s to disengage and try to link up with Serpentor’s forces.
One of Crankcase’s only lines of dialogue in any Joe comic is a joke about “any bump they go over now will just be a slow Dreadnok.”
Buzzer tries to cut Hawk with a chainsaw. This seems weird, but it could have been very graphic had he succeeded. Meanwhile Serpentor is moving and has Baroness tied to the front of his H.I.S.S. tank as a human shield.
The Baroness has tough times with H.I.S.S. tanks, thinking back to Issue 16 where she got blown up in one…
Zartan shows some decisive leadership in directing forces to take a specific section of the airfield and check up on Destro’s intentions.
Hawk has been rescued and is joining up with the rest of the Joe forces. Comments about them about to be overrun foreshadow a gloomy outlook on the scene ahead. But it looks like BattleForce 2000 is staging up their vehicles!
Zartan spots the Baroness strapped to Serpentor’s H.I.S.S. tank and remarks that he wonders if Serpentor is so naive as to think Cobra Commander won’t fire at him for risk of hitting her.
We’ll see about that…
Cutter complains to Serpentor about his treatment of the Baroness, but they agree to help use the captured ASPS to bring some support fire. I believe there is a rare Hard Top sighting in the bottom right panel.
Shipwreck gets a line of dialogue helping direct artillery fire. Evidently Thunder and other artillery specialists were occupied elsewhere. Good to see Shipwreck with even a slight spotlight in a crowded cast.
Commander Fred VII (7) finally returns with the very battered Thunder Machine. Zartan gives him grief and even drops a “reprehensible” blast on him.
Zartan continues to give him advice to bring in the Mambas for air support, but the acting Commander grabs his binoculars for a better look.
Fred VII (7) even comments about the Baroness being strapped to the H.I.S.S. tank and thinking Serpentor is foolish for using her as a deterrent.
Meanwhile, Destro sets up on the beach to have tea and enjoy the show.
A lot of action scenes are provided and Fast Draw even get to get his 2 cents, err, missiles in.
Crankcase offers Roadblock a ride on the bottom of one panel, but ends up getting the AWE Striker totaled by the next page. Then ironically Roadblock is carrying him due to a leg injury in the crash.
Hawk, Mindbender and Serpentor argue about forces, deployment and chain of command. But then WHAM!
Direct hit on the B.A.T.S. right next to them.
Hawk tells Serpentor to make up his mind since it is “Raining B.A.T. parts.”
The camera shifts to the air to continue the fight coverage. Wild Bill and Maverick are engaged with the Mamba squadron and are badly outnumbered.
Falcon’s advance team overseeing the airfield from the control tower are seen in the shadows. More exposition is provided as this is another vantage point then those focused on the ground or in the sky.
There is a giant air battle that would no doubt have made kids want to build out more quantities of the vehicles in their collections.
As Doc and Lifeline extract Wild Bill from his crash, they joke about his experience and expertise with crash landings.
Another massive action scene and some unusually colored Vipers appear on the bottom panel. I imagine some time since then there has been a re-release/repaint in that color scheme through official or customized channels.
While Serpentor and the acting Commander’s forces are bitterly engaged, Destro’s forces glide into the control tower of the airfield. So Falcon’s squad and Captain Minh exit discreetly.
Tunnel Rat even gets to use the flashlights from his action figure’s backpack as the sludge through the sewage channel.
That’s all for this issue, but Issue 76 will bring us more action
Once again, here is the map of Cobra Island along with a breakdown of forces and alliances. A very helpful resource to keep track of all the alliances as the action unfolds.
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Issue 75 showed the Cobra Civil War in full swing!! The fighting continues, alliances shift, and intrigue is underway!
Hope you enjoyed this review!
Tune in soon for Issue 76.
Now You Know – a little more about:”HOLDING ACTIONS!” Feel free to let me know what you thought of this issue in the comments or on Twitter or Instagram @yorktownjoe.
