'NOW YOU KNOW' With Yorktownjoe 

NOW YOU KNOW WITH YORKTOWNJOE – G.I.JOE MARVEL ISSUE #69 REVIEWED!

Background

Issue 68 saw the culmination of the action in the fictitious country of Frusenland. It had an ending similar to the battle of Cobra Island, where the Joe’s had almost defeated Cobra, but were called off by bureaucrats at the last moment. Feel free to check out the review of Issue 68 in case you missed it. (You can catch up on other “Now You Know With YorktownJoe” reviews there as well!)

On to the issue

Image

The issue begins with Psyche-Out, Hawk, and Roadblock riding into harm’s way through an angry mob in the fictional country of Sierra Gordo. They are riding in the AWE Striker, but they don’t fire any warning shots with the recoil-less top mounted rifle/cannon to quell the crowd.

Image

Roadblock negotiates politely with a arsonist/looter who is attempting to light an American flag on fire.

Image

The looter spits on Roadblock and continues moving towards torching the flag.

People differ in opinions over whether it is okay to burn the US Flag. Whether a court deems it to be free speech or not does not make it “okay.”

What is NOT in question is whether it is okay to douse a US Flag with flammable material while it is hanging on a US Embassy building with people inside. Whether in the fictitious country of Sierra Gordo, or an actual embassy, this can lead to having “your head reduced to a fine red mist.” Civil liberty lawyers won’t be bullet-proof vests for you…

Image

The goon backed off and left. Another win for gentle and polite diplomacy!
As Teddy Roosevelt said “Speak softly, and carry a big stick.”
Marvin Hinton’s rendition is “Speak softly, and carry Ma-Deuce.”

Image

Ambassador Winthrop quibbles with the Joe’s about the heavy handed tactics. He is portrayed as a bit of a doofus.

Image

And speaking of doofusses… (I’m actually not sure on the plural of doofus)

General Villavaca and Mr. Goodfellow are riding in a helicopter with Destro and his Sgt. Major. Trying to keep track of good and bad guys in these issues becomes increasingly difficult when there are greasy sleaze-balls aplenty on both “sides.”

I will make one nitpick. The art in this issue looks like two people were drawing. Roadblock looks great, but the colorist just left his clothes completely white for some reason. The local arsonist, Ambassador Winthrop, General Villavaca, and Mr. Goodfellow do not look real. They look like the pencil person was rushing and just kind of slapped it together.

On the other hand, some of the art shows the helicopter extending beyond the art frames, which is a cool touch! Perhaps they spent more time on the characters tied to action figures and less on side characters.

Image

It appears General Villavaca’s forces are routing a Terror Drome, but Zarana and some Dreadnoks are inside. Zarana initiates a Firebat launch, as they prepare to leave the doomed Terror Drome.

Image

The air battle looks more exciting as Destro’s helicopter comes in to blow up the Terror Drome, just as a Firebat takes off. Personally, I’m a bit disappointed that a single helicopter could take out a Terror Drome. I understand if Firefly had 48 hours to rig explosives along every seam in the armor plated walls, yeah, maybe. But if the thing can get blown up by a single aircraft strike – that seems flimsy.

Image

In the confusion, the Dreadnoks escape in the Thunder Machine. Because of course they do.

Image

Destro and the Sgt. Major make a bold move, spin and take out the Firebat. Okay. I’m going to chalk this up to Destro’s tactical ability and his skills.

There is really NO WAY a non-descript AH-6 or MH-6 “Little Bird” helicopter is taking out a Firebat. Just stop. This isn’t Sunbow or DiC cartoons… *sigh*

Mr. Goodfellow is concerned that Ambassador Winthrop might have evidence that could prove detrimental to the North American Banana Monopoly that he represents.

Image

This leads to a standoff with the AWE Striker crew who were trying to evacuate the Ambassador and his records.

Image

Then they blew up the Embassy building as a diversion so they could get away. Okay. Now we are in cartoon-land! Just hang on and enjoy the ride.
And speaking of the ride, the AWE Striker goes up on two wheels to skirt down an alley! Yikes!

Image

At the airport, Zarana is threatening to murder refugees if Wild Bill and the other Joe’s don’t take the Dreadnoks with them on the Joe’s C-130.
Roadblock gets excited when he says the C-130 has its engines revving, ready and waiting to take them away for a quick getaway.

But then he looks shocked, as he recognizes Wild Bill is taking off and leaving them behind. He doesn’t know they are under gunpoint by Zarana.

Image

The C-130 is hit by ground fire from General Villavaca’s troops.

But just when all appears lost…

Image

Counter-revolutionaries fire on General Villavaca’s armored column from the high ground on a nearby ridge.

Image

In the chaos and aftermath, Hawk, Roadblock, Psyche-Out, and the Ambassador make it to the Counter-revolutionaries . They agree to escort them to another airfield safely. There is confusion as to who tipped them off so they could ambush Villavaca and his men and the Joe’s could get away.

Mr. Goodfellow and General Villavaca narrowly escape with some of their armed escorts. They discuss purchasing more weapons from Destro to eliminate the counter-revolutionaries.

And speaking of Destro…

Image

The issue nears its conclusion revealing Destro and the Sergeant Major in new uniforms. They tipped off the counter-revolutionaries so they could work out continuing strife. Then they plan to sell weapons to both sides.

But more importantly, Hasbro can sell the new Gold-masked Destro and Iron Grenadiers action figures!!!

At the very end, we are left hanging, as Wild Bill and the C-130 are losing altitude…

—–

Issue 69 saw the beginning of a new arc. It had a great cover with Destro and his Iron Grenadiers. There was a memorable line from Roadblock. And a bit of shooting and intrigue. Only minor nitpicks on some of the art and coloring.

Hope you enjoyed this review!

Tune in soon for Issue 70.

Now You Know – a little more about:”INTO THE BREACH” Feel free to let me know what you thought of this issue in the comments or on Twitter or Instagram @yorktownjoe.

    3     
 
 
  

Related posts

Leave a Comment

Serpentor's Lair