Walk
Through
the Jungle
|
|
Cover Date:
September,
1985
|
Script: Larry Hama
|
Pencils: Rod Whigham
|
Inks: Andy Mushynsky
|
Lettering: Joe
Rosen
|
| Colors: George
Roussos |
Editor: Denny O'Neil
|
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
|
Summary (by Russ Humphress):
We open with a small team of Joes: Stalker, Ripcord,
Roadblock, Gung-Ho, and Recondo, rappelling down a cliff to Rescue Dr.
Burkhart (see issue #1) from a group of Sierra Gordo rebels.They
quickly
take out the guards on the top of the bunker, and then rebel Sergeant
bringing
coffee to the others. Recondo changes into the sergeant's uniform and
descends
into
the bunker just in time to prevent the rebels from injecting Dr.
Burkhart
with sodium amytal, a more potent form of sodium pentathol, aka truth
serum.
The Joes then try to figure out how to get Dr. Burkhart out past the
remaining,
heavily armed, guards.
Elsewhere, Storm Shadow spars with Billy, Cobra
Commanders son, whom
Storm Shadow rescued from Cobra last issue. The lesson proceeds with
sword
thrusts, and verbal recitation on the conquering of fear. After the
lesson
is finished, the two sheathe their swords, and pick up a mental chess
game
as the exit Storm Shadow's water tower hideout. Storm Shadow
concedes
the game to Billy's use of a "clever" strategy, and then imediately
presses
Billy on how the strategy could be applied to combat. The two
continue
walking as Billy explains...
Back in the Sierra Gordo bunker, Dr. Burkhart has oput
on one of the
Rebel uniforms, and the Joes plan to stroll to the main gate, as an
apparent
relief detail for the guards there. Unfortunately, one of the
tower
guards becomes suspicious that a detail of six is relieving a detail of
four and sounds the alarm. A fire fight ensues, with the Joes
inflicting
heavy casualties. The tower guards, Dimitri and Gregor, are about
to take oput Gung-Ho and Stalker, when the Tucaro indians (from last
issue)
open fire on their guard tower from the cliff. Unfortunately, the
two snipers are unharmed. They manage to kill the three Tucaros
on
the cliff, but then they are attacked again by Roadblock and Gung-Ho,
with
the latter taking down the guard tower with his grenade launcher.
We then go to Cobra Headquarters, in Springfield, where
Cobra Commander
listens to the reports of Destro and the Baroness on their
unsuccessful
search for the missing Billy and Storm Shadow. They also report on the
escape of Tomax and Xamot with a certain Crimson Guardsman who is
critical
to an upcoming operation which Cobra Commander decides to oversee
personally.
Returning to Sierra Gordo, We find that Dimitri and
Gregor have survived
the collapse of the guard tower, and they take out after the Joes,
after
killing the interregator who was supposedly in charge. As dawn breaks,
the Joes come to a river, which they intend to cross on a rope bridge,
but first, they have to build it. Recondo points out the Tucaros
"amulet
stick" which they left as an offering to the river spirits. Stalker
suggests
that Recondo back track to make sure they aren't being followed.
As he leaves, Ripcord swims the river to haul over the rope, while
Road-Block
starts cutting trees for the anchor of the bridge. A little
later,
as Gung-Ho and Roadblock finish the anchor tripod, we find out that
Road-Block
was a boy scout, but had to quit
because the meetings conflicted with choir practice. Overhearing
the conversation, Dr. Burkhart muses that soldiers sound like little
boys.
Ripcord calls out that the bridge is ready to cross as we...
Cut to Storm Shadow and Billy being confronted by three
street punks
in New York. The punks attempt to shake the two down for money,
but
back off when Billy stares them down, never speaking a word.
Storm
Shadow says Billy has learned that "The more skill you acquire, the
less
you have to use it."
Returning to Sierra Gordo, the Joes are almost across
the river, when
Recondo returns, carrying two sniper rifles, which he drops in the
river
as he crosses, as an offering to the spirits for the dead Tucaros.
Deep in the Pit, Duke an Lady J are questioning "Candy"
the daughter
of a Cobra Crimson Guardsman, and sometime girlfriend on Ripcord. Candy
denies any knowledge of her fathers work with Cobra, or of why he had
charts
and maps of the Gulf of Mexico.
Back in Sierra Gordo, the team heads for a frendly airfield, and
Stalker
lectures Ripcord on the freedom they're fighting to protect, including
Dr. Burkhart's. She isn't exactly happy at having had other die to
rescue
her. At the airfield, they meet up with Wild Bill and Cover Girl, who
say
that they're making an unscheduled stop in New Orleans on the way home.
|
|
Commentary:
Another masterful issue from the undisputed
master
of G.I. Joe, Larry Hama. Mr. Hama has a knack for bringing back
characters
that seem minor issues later. Dr. Burkhart, first seen in issue
number
one, will return yet again to help the Joes when they are on the run
from
the government.
Also, even though the ninja action takes place on the
periphery in this
issue, this is one of the early ninja issues, occurring while Billy is
being trained by Storm Shadow. Although many complain that the
ninja
action eventually became too much and ruined the GI Joe comic, I tend
to
consider the whole twelve year comic to be somewhat the story of
Snake-Eyes
and Storm Shadow. Much as George Lucas has comments that the
pivotal
characters of all parts of the Star Wars saga are R2-D2 and C-3P0, I
think the main characters on GI Joe are really the ninjas.
In the final analysis though, it's what the readers gets out of it that
matters, and each of us will no doubt get something different
No first appearences this issue, and this issue seems to be primarily
concerned with setting up the coming Cobra operation in the Gulf of
Mexico,
which will culminate in the creation of Cobra Island. |
