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First Strike Issue 2 Comic Book Review

While flawed, the second issue of “First Strike” delivers in the action department.

In issue 2 of IDW’s big Hasbro crossover event series titled “First Strike,” the story picks up where issue 1 left off (obviously), Scarlett and her team of Joes are trying to find a way to get to Cybertron (and possibly recruit some help in their journey), Baron Ironblood and the Cobras continue their attack against the Transformers, and some M.A.S.K. and ROM connections begin to emerge. That’s all I’m saying here!

While writers Mairghread Scott and David A. Rodriguez did a fine job with the promising first issue, they stumble a bit in the second. If you are looking for action, you won’t be disappointed by this one as it has it in spades. Expect to see everything from cyborg Ninjas to Cobras shooting at Transformers. Story wise, however, it’s merely a set-up issue with very little forward movement here. The biggest problem, for me at least, is that there are too many references to past individual comics from various series. I get the need for continuity and so forth, but this really should have been a self-contained event. It seems rather limiting to keep potential new readers interested in this event series (such as myself) in the dark a little. Of course, you can pick up on what is happening, but there’s context and history missing there for those who haven’t read other comic titles. Past references are certainly nothing new in the comic book world, but it feels like a glaring problem here.

The art by Max Dunbar is, once again, fantastic. From the epic action depictions to the character models, Dunbar nails the look and feel of every character and setting that he is drawing.

Note: This issue contains lots of cover art pieces, a short story titled “The Origins Of Evil Part 2: A Game of Chess” involving Destro, Doctor X and Baron Ironblood, interviews with Mairghread Scott and David A. Rodriguez and a First Strike checklist of forthcoming titles.

August 22, 2017 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Book review | First Strike Issue 2 Comic Book Review, G.I. Joe, Hasbro, IDW, M.A.S.K., ROM, Transformers