G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero / Tomb Raider #1
Writer: Kyle Higgins
Artist: Elena Casagrande
Colorist: Alex Guimaraes
Publisher: Image Comics
Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider, has asked G.I. Joe for help locating a long-lost sunken ship that is rumored to hold an artifact able to manipulate time itself. The problem? It's located beneath Cobra Island...
Long Lost
Destro and the Baroness have decided to claim Cobra Island as their new base of operations, since Cobra Commander is holed up in Springfield once more. While they start to rebuild their power base, Lara Croft meets with her old friend Shipwreck to ask for help.
Before long, the Joes and Lara are on the U.S.S. Flagg, on their way to Cobra Island. Lara explains that a long-ago sunken ship, the Arbco Star, is buried beneath the island and is rumored to hold a device able to control time itself. Many years ago, Lara's friend Emma disappeared while searching for the ship. Assuming that Destro is after the ship himself, the Joes agree to help Lara.
However, Destro actually knows nothing about the ship—but now that he's learned that G.I. Joe and the Tomb Raider are on Cobra Island, he knows there is something there worth looking for...
Team Up
This was a fun, old-school style multi-property crossover. There's no time wasted explaining how the worlds of Tomb Raider and G.I. Joe have come together; it's just assumed that they were always the same, everyone knows who everyone else is, and let's get down to business. In an age where crossovers like this spend half of the first issue explaining how and why the two have come together, it's incredibly refreshing to just hit the ground running.
That's not to say that there isn't a lot of explaining here. There definitely is. There's enough dialogue here to make Brian Bendis proud. Probably a few too many instances of a character saying "That's Lara Croft, the Tomb Raider" or some variation of it. There's a lot of dialogue dedicated to explaining the current state of Cobra, for those who haven't been reading G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (I haven't in years, so the information was welcome), and lots of time given to explaining the history of the Arbco Star and the rumored artifact. So it all has a purpose, and none of it feels like a chore.
I really like that we're getting a G.I. Joe story that isn't immediately bombarding us with all of the "big" names. There's no Duke, no Scarlett. Snake Eyes is mentioned, but hasn't appeared yet. Instead, we get guys like Shipwreck, Recondo, Helix, Mainframe, and Outback. All names I recognize, but not the marquee names you'd expect on an "event" book. But since this team is infiltrating Cobra Island and trying to remain under the radar, it makes sense to pick a team based on their specialties. That's what a real special operations unit would do.
Despite all the exposition and character introductions, the issue moves pretty quickly. The central conflict is well set up, and we get a couple of cool action sequences that let everyone show what they can do. This isn't the kind of comic that's going to set the world on fire, but if you're just looking for an old-school good time, this'll give you a solid fix.
Knowing is Half the Battle
Kyle Higgins isn't a name I've heard associated with G.I. Joe before, but he does a good job here. Lara Croft and Shipwreck get the most page time and character focus here, but everyone is well-represented and fits their classic take. The pacing is well done, as there’s a ton of exposition but things keep moving at a good clip.
Elena Casagrande’s art fits the classic G.I. Joe style, with everyone looking as I remember. One of the great things about the Joes is how everyone has a unique visual look, and Lara Croft’s own iconic style fits right in. The jungles of Cobra Island are dense, and more than just a couple of trees smushed close together, which is always nice to see. Oh, and the full-page splash of the U.S.S. Flagg brought me right back to my childhood. I miss that toy…
Alex Guimaraes’s colors aren’t anything flashy, but they’re effective. It’s impressive how a team of brightly-colored individuals manages to blend into the jungle, but somehow they do. I guess that’s why they’re considered an elite force, right? There’s a dark and moody atmosphere all over Cobra Island, which helps to present it as a place that you really don’t want to visit.
No Crossover Fatigue
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero / Tomb Raider #1 is a fun start to a no-frills crossover that doesn’t feel the need to explain how the two toys got smashed together, but rather embraces the fact that they did. The cast of smaller-name Joes gives the series more stakes, as I’m more inclined to believe something can happen to Recondo than to Duke. This probably isn’t going to go down as a classic story for either property, but based on this first issue, it should be a fun one.