G.I. Joe: Silent Option #1 (of 4) Review

Writer: Larry Hama

Artist: Netho Diaz

Inks: Alisson Rodrigues & Jagdish Kumar

Colors: Vinicius Townsend

Letters: Neil Uyetake

Published by: IDW

Having only a passing familiarity with the G.I. Joe comics in its current format, I wasn’t sure what to expect when starting this mini-series. I had heard about the character of Helix a few years ago (I believe due to her connection to Snake Eyes) and was intrigued when this series came out. However, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that this series revolves more on trying to find Helix, and that the team leading the charge is led by Bombstrike, a lesser used Joe character in the IDW series.

Written by legend Larry Hama, I knew I was going to have at the very least an enjoyable time reading this issue, and that’s exactly what I got. Even though the issue is filled with gunfights and some subject matter that isn’t always easy to handle (the trafficking of children is not an easy subject), Hama handles the story beats in a respectful manner, and being a pro at this, in a logical progression throughout the issue.

It may come off as way too much happening within the issue itself, but in my opinion, that’s actually not a bad thing for a series such as this. Hama makes sure to get the ball rolling pretty quickly in trying to catch up with Helix herself in the comic, and uses the fast pace to not bog down the story. This could have easily been 2 to 3 issues in today’s current trade format writing.

Art duties are given to Netho Diaz, Alisson Rodrigues, Jagdish Kumar and Vinicius Townsend. I am pretty new to all of their work, but they did a good job of generating interesting fight sequences that fit the script and good layouts throughout the rest of the issue.

This was a pretty fun opener for this mini-series concentrating on Helix and Bombstrike’s team. It’s also a pretty good reintroduction to the Joes themselves and I could easily recommend this to anyone who may remember the Joes from their childhood (in any period) and are looking to jump back in.