Reviews, ruminations, and (occasional) ramblings.
G.I. Joe Special Missions #13 (September 1988) – “Washout” – Larry Hama/Herb Trimpe
This one starts in the (fictional) country of Trucial Abysmia, in northeast Africa. Dusty and Outback re with a couple of provisional Joes (Lightfoot and Mangler) on an evaluation run to see how they perform in the field. The mission is supposed to be easy, but they get ambushed by some government troops. Continue reading “G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe Special Missions 13, G.I. Joe 75, G.I. Joe 76”
Conan the Barbarian #91 – “Savage Doings in Shem” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan, Bêlit, and Zula meeting Bêlit’s ship (the Tigress) on the coast. The crew are happy to have her and Conan back and welcome Zula and his blade. That night, the crew celebrate the return of their captain (who they still think of as part goddess) with a wild celebration. Zula impresses the crew by hypnotizing one of them into thinking he’s a bird, but Zula has to stop him before he tries to “fly” right into the mouth of a hungry crocodile. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 91, Conan the Barbarian 93”
G.I. Joe #74 (August 1988) – “Alliance of Convenience” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Randy Emberlin
This one starts on Cobra Island with the civil war between Serpentor and Cobra Commander (who we know is actually Fred VII in disguise) throwing everything they have at each other. The team of Joes (Lt. Falcon, Spirit, Sneak Peek, Tunnel Rat, Dial-Tone, and Gung Ho) sent to recon the island observes as Baroness’s troops are pushed back by Serpentor’s forces despite their superior numbers. Continue reading “G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe 74, G.I. Joe Special Missions 12”
Conan the Barbarian #89 – “The Sword and the Serpent” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one continues from last issue, with Conan, Bêlit, and Zula fleeing through the passages of the royal palace in Luxur. They find the trap door that leads to the underground tunnels but have to kill some unlucky guards that happen to be patrolling the area. More guards chase them through the tunnels and Bêlit gets confused at a branching of passages, so they pick one at random. It turns out to be the “forbidden passage”, making the guards reluctant to continue their pursuit. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 89, Conan the Barbarian 90”
G.I. Joe Special Missions #11 (June 1988) – “Sheep’s Clothing” – Larry Hama/Herb Trimpe
This one starts in Frankfurt, Germany, where a group of four armed robbers have taken over the main PX building at the American base and are holding hostages inside. Chuckles, Dial-Tone, and Lowlight are on the scene, but Chuckles calls in Scarlett, Lady Jaye, and Jinx from New York for back-up. Continue reading “G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe Special Missions 11, G.I. Joe 73”
Conan the Barbarian #86 – “The Devourer of the Dead” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan and Zula outside the Stygian capital of Luxur, studying the city before they go in to look for Bêlit. Of course, Zula is only there because he promised Conan he’d help rescue Bêlit, hoping that Conan returns the favour and helps him track down his old master in Kheshatta. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 86, Conan the Barbarian 88”
G.I. Joe #71 (May 1988) – “Bailout” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Randy Emberlin
This one continues from last issue, with Wild Bill, Maverick, and Crazy Legs having to cooperate with Zarana, Monkeywrench, and Thrasher to evade General Villavaca’s troops as they search the jungles of Sierra Gordo for their downed plane. Just to complicate things, they also have a bunch of refugees (who the Dreadnoks were using as hostages to force the Joes to help them escape) who need to be looked after, plus Thrasher has a broken arm and won’t stay quiet when Wild Bill is setting it. (Crazy Legs solves that problem by knocking Thrasher out.) Continue reading “G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe 71, G.I. Joe 72”
Conan the Barbarian #84 – “Two Against the Hawk-City” – Roy Thomas/John Buscema/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan returning to the city of Harakht to find Bêlit gone. He interrupts a religious ritual to ask Mer-Ath what’s going on and the Priest-/king tells him how he foresaw the doom of Harakht in a dream. Apparently, he dreamt that Bêlit would topple the king of Stygia, thereby leading to Harakht’s downfall as well. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 84, Conan the Barbarian 85”
G.I. Joe #70 (April 1988) – “Fair Trade” – Larry Hama/Ron Wagner/Randy Emberlin
This one continues from last issue, with Wild Bill and Maverick trying to control the damaged plane while Zarana and Thrasher threaten them. But the plane took heavy damage while taking off from the airfield in Sierra Gordo and it’s overloaded with the Dreadnoks, their Thunder Machine, and the hostages they took. The plane goes down in the jungle, but Wild Bill manages to keep it from being smashed to pieces and it looks like everyone in the back is okay. Continue reading “G.I. Joe Reviews: G.I. Joe 70, G.I. Joe Special Missions 10”
Conan the Barbarian #82 – “The Sorceress of the Swamp” – Roy Thomas/Howard Chaykin/Ernie Chan
This one starts with Conan heading back to Harakht after his adventures in the lost valley. He’s taking a circuitous route through the swamplands in case some of Hun-ya-Di’s men are waiting along the usual trail. He only knows this territory through rumour, but is aware that a small contingent of Stygians live in the vicinity, lording it over some renegade Kushites they encountered there. Continue reading “Conan Reviews: Conan the Barbarian 82, Conan the Barbarian 83”