G.I. Combat (USA)

[Azrael]

"G. I. Combat" #0, unlike most of the other zero issues hitting stands this week, has the distinct advantage of coming in under the radar to surprise readers. Unfortunately, there isn't much of a surprise from a comic starring the Unknown Soldier.

Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti surprised me with this issue a bit, but not in a good way. While I typically enjoy most things I read from the duo, the Unknown Soldier story seemed haphazardly assembled, almost as though it were two tales that didn't fill enough space individually, so they were stitched together and declared good enough. The final five pages sets the next arc in motion for the Unknown Soldier, but it comes as a severe tangent from the historical narrative that investigates the legacy of the character in the first fifteen pages. Both pieces have upside, both pieces have room for growth, but put together, the end result doesn't quite work.

Staz Johnson's figurework is strong and powerful, perfectly fitting for the battles of the Unknown Soldiers. His scratchy artwork and tendency to employ zipatone-influenced shading is masterfully suited for the mystery and uneasiness of the lead story, propelling the characters out from their surroundings, but leaving the surroundings in question through the first fifteen of the story. The final five pages have significantly more detail and lock in the surroundings as the Unknown Soldier gets prepped for his next mission.

J.T. Krul and Ariel Olivetti fill the last ten pages pleasantly enough. After all, who doesn't like dinosaurs in their comics? Other than the dinosaurs and other prehistoric beasties, like a Smilodon, this story provides a quick rundown of where our protagonist is mentally. The part that stuck in my craw is that the lead isn't named in this installment, and isn't memorable enough to me from previous installments. That just seems really odd and ill planned, especially for a #0 issue. The dinosaur scenes are mostly white noise and pretty pictures, snippets from the days/weeks/months that led up the soldier growing a beard and getting all stabby. I'm not sure where this story is going from here, but if the next issue blurb is anything to go by, we might be getting a brief hiatus from dinosaurs and saber-toothed cats.

Olivetti's art is clean and smooth and beautiful, but if you spend too much time studying it, the Smilodon looks like he's growing Stegosaurus-like plates at one point and the soldier's camouflaged pants work a little too well in other spots.

I would think that a title like "G.I. Combat" is a hard sell for DC, without a real star character on which to pin the title. "G. I. Combat" #0 does provide an interesting break from the rigmarole of superhero books, but if you don't have a vested interest in war comics or the creators specifically involved, there's not a great deal to bring you back.

3/5

CBR

[Martian Manhunter]

Sembra interessante come serie! Qualcuno la sta seguendo?
PS: Molte delle immagini postate non riesco a visualizzarle 

[Azrael]

G.I. COMBAT #7
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Backup story written by JUSTIN GRAY and JIMMY PALMIOTTI
Art by HOWARD CHAYKIN
Backup story art by STAZ JOHNSON
Cover by HOWARD CHAYKIN
On sale DECEMBER 5 • 40 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T+ • FINAL ISSUE
• The Haunted Tank is on the loose in the Black Room. Plus: A resurrected Nazi is at the helm of the War Wheel!
• Plus: In the backup story, The Unknown Soldier goes to war!

[Azrael]

Preview: G.I. COMBAT #5

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[Azrael]

The Haunted Tank returns!
The Good
Haunted Tank

Howard Chaykin is an artist I've never really appreciated. He's extremely talented, but his style is not my cup of tea. That being said, I loved his art on the Haunted Tank portion of this book. There is so much great detail in to everything here, and the Haunted Tank looks super awesome. There's an immense amount of detail here, right down to the rivets.

Haunted Tank is back! I'm so happy! I loved the Vertigo run from a few years back, and I've been patiently waiting the return of this character, and we finally have it. The story was incredibly fun, and it put a big dumb smile on my face.

The issue is action packed and filled with the Haunted Tank rolling over cars, zapping people, causing havoc wherever it goes.

Unknown Soldier

The Unknown Soldier gets himself into some trouble as he tries to uncover who is recent attacks. He seems to get closer and closer to what happened. There are some great action sequences in this issue, including one fantastically drawn splash page by Staz Johnson. Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray always to a great job with this book. I love how they've revamped this character for the New 52 Era. I just wish other people felt the same way.

I really enjoyed Staz's art here. He draws acts of violence extremely well, from smashing someone's face in with the palm of your hand to jamming a pistol literally down someone's throat.

The Bad
Haunted Tank

While I really enjoyed Chaykin's art here, I am not a big fan of how he draws faces. The jaws are a bit too chiseled for my liking. This is preference more than anything else, since his art is extremely solid throughout the issue.

Unknown Soldier

I wish this was its own on-going series. Each chapter is too short. I want more.

The Verdict
My biggest complaint about this series is that it's going to be cancelled come issue 7. This has been a fantastic series, especially Unknown Soldier, and I hate the fact it's going away. This book had 4 issues before DC threw in the towel. DC didn't give it a chance, and more importantly, I don't think comic book readers gave this book a chance, and that's a shame.

Although Haunted Tank and Unknown Soldier are two very different stories, I felt they really worked well here. Chaykin's art and Tomasi's writing bring Haunted Tank into the new DC age, and I couldn't be happier. Gray, Palmiotti, and Johnson do another great job on Unknown Soldier as well. G.I. COMBAT is a modern day war book that gives readers tired of the same old muscles and capes something to truly enjoy.

Overall, I loved this issue, and I highly recommend it, even though it's going to be cancelled in two issues.

5/5

CVine

[Natasha Romanoff]

Sembra interessante come serie! Qualcuno la sta seguendo?

Sottoscrivo la domanda, vorrei saperlo anche io. 

[Azrael]

Preview: G.I. COMBAT #6

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[Azrael]

The Haunted Tank takes a turn for the crazy, and the Unknown Soldier goes undercover as a hacker.
The Good
Haunted Tank

Once again, Howard Chaykin's art on this story is great. There's a lot of depth and great attention to detail here. While I had a few problems with some panels and how the faces were laid out on the person's head, overall, it's some of my favorite Howard Chaykin art.

The first half of this story is super fun. I loved the action and the amount of violence here as Tank and crew shoot down the enemy. It's also always fun to see someone get blown up with an RPG... in comics... not in real life. Don't make me out to be a monster. I love these bits and pieces of action here. My only wish is that more people would give war books a chance.

Unknown Soldier

I know GI COMBAT is being cancelled, and I'm very saddened by that; however, please give Unknown Soldier his own book with this creative team. This is my plea. This is the most underrated thing at DC, and it's going away. Take a real chance on Unknown Soldier.

Well, obviously, I really enjoyed this story. Unknown Soldier does great with the limited amount space it gets each issue. We get a solid set-up detailing the mission, Unknown Soldier infiltrates, and crazy reveal page at the end. Yes, it's a tad formulaic, but it works extremely well. Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti prove they can do a lot with a little.

Artist Staz Johnson is great on this issue. He is fantastic with flow and focus. He's great at leading the eye across the page. I've been really enjoying his style on this book.

Fantastic ending to the issue. Lots of great twists and turns.

The Bad
Haunted Tank

Story wise, I was really digging this issue, until the halfway mark where it got incredibly bizarre. The issue deals with Hitler's fondness of the occult, which is a pretty cool thing, but by the end of the issue, I felt it was to wacky for the book. Yes, I understand this book is about a tank haunted by a confederate ghost, but too many "out-there" elements in this story don't appeal to me. Frankly, it's mainly the last page.

Unknown Soldier

This isn't its own book.

I wasn't too keen on the newspaper-like dot shading in places. It was distracting.

The Verdict
While GI COMBAT is being cancelled, I loved the idea DC took a chance on this book. Sure, it's a huge bummer it's going away, but they tried something new. I applaud them on that. More importantly, give Unknown Soldier his own book again, in the New 52! This issue of Unknown Soldier was great all around, it was close to perfection for me. It is one of my favorite DC reads.

Haunted Tank, on the other hand, was a big mixed bag. While I really enjoyed the depth and detail in Chaykin's art, I really felt the story got a little too wacky for the book. I'm a big Haunted Tank fan (especially the Vertigo mini-series) and I was hoping for something a bit more grounded.... for a book about a confederate ghost haunting a tank...

Overall, it's worth the read. Unknown Solider is what really drives this book home, and while I have my problems with Haunted Tank, I'd still recommend it.

4/5

CVine

[The man who falls]

Sembra interessante come serie! Qualcuno la sta seguendo?

Sottoscrivo la domanda, vorrei saperlo anche io. 

Io la sto leggendo.

Ogni albo presenta due storie.

Quella riguardante il Soldato Sconosciuto e moplto interessante. Le altre sono da evitare. Soprattutto la prima "the War that Time Forgot", di J.T.Krul e Ariel Olivetti è oessima. Trama idiota ed una Olivetti mai così approssimativa, metà delle tavole sono un becero compositing fotografico\digitale

[Azrael]

Preview: G.I. COMBAT #7

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Spiacente, ma non sei autorizzato a visualizzare il contenuto degli spoiler.

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[Azrael]

A very bittersweet ending to this book as both stories wrap up way too quickly.
First, I'd like to say I'm happy this book existed, even if only for seven issues. I'm a fan of military comics and while MEN OF WAR was a miss for me, I felt GI COMBAT, overall, was a great run. I understand that lots of people just don't like this genre of book, but I'm thankful all the creators came together to create something new based on some classic DC properties. Onto the review!

The Good
Haunted Tank

My main problem with the last issue was that Haunted Tank was a bit too out there for me. With the last issue, I became a bit more accepting of the giant Nazi wheel of death, and it this book became a lot more fun to me. Sure, it's a tad over-the-top, and doesn't fit as well in the same book as Unknown Soldier, but if I can't find fun in a book about a tank haunted by a confederate soldier, I won't be able to find fun in anything.

Fantastic ending in this issue. Strangely, it was pretty heart-warming, all goofiness aside. I felt it was a very nice wrap up to the story we were given. Writer Peter Tomasi does a fine job with closing this one out and the last scenes of dialogue here.

I love how much work and detail artist Howard Chaykin puts into every panel of this book. Inside the Nazi Wheel of Death, Chaykin spends the time drawing out every weird computer part and button in the background creating a fuller, more developed panel and scene. Rarely, do you see artists take the time and effort to flesh out a panel this much.

Unknown Soldier

Unknown Soldier has been one of my favorite things to come out of the New 52. Sure, there was the Vertigo run a couple years ago, but I love the fact it was brought over to DC for new readers to jump on board with.

While I felt this story was rushed, it was a fun read. It had some great scenes of action in it, and a really cool splash page drawn by Staz Johnson, who overall did a fantastic job on this issue.

Again, another great ending here. Sure, it's rushed, but I loved seeing Unknown Soldier deal with his past and become interested with the people around him. Writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti have done a great job here at redeveloping a new character and humanizing him a bit more in this issue.

The Bad
Both issues suffered hard from a feeling of rushed storytelling and endings that came out of no where. Everything wraps up way too quickly and abruptly. It's painfully obvious that both stories needed another issue to complete these stories the way they were meant to be completed. I feel like Haunted Tank handled this last issue a bit better than Unknown Soldier though.

Don't jump on here. It's the last issue.

Haunted Tank

I shouldn't really be comparing the two stories because they are separate entities; however, they are in the same book. Haunted Tank is ok, good at best. It's not on par with Unknown Soldier, so reading the two together can be a bummer because the quality of both books is so different, as well as both have a different tone. Simply put, they don't fit together well in the same comic.

Unknown Soldier

Aside from the rush problems on the story, I loved this issue.

The Verdict
It's sad to see this go. This book is highly under-rated, in my opinion, but again, I'm glad everyone took a chance on it. I would love to see Unknown Soldier and Haunted Tank worked into the current DCU somewhere, but frankly, I don't see that as a possibility.

Each story here wraps up incredibly quickly, giving it a very rushed feeling; however, the prologues to these stories are both fantastic, which I was surprised about. Overall, I loved this book, but the average reader probably won't because these are military books, and we all know now that DC has two strikes in the sales department for military books since the New 52 started.

Haunted Tank - 3.5/5

Unknown Soldier - 4/5

Overall - 4/5

I'll miss you GI COMBAT!


4/5

CVine

[toky91]

ma della serie unknown soldier in italia quali sono pubblicate?