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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 1, 2024 17:50:26 GMT -5
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 7, 2024 19:48:39 GMT -5
GI JOE #34Looks like Ace's pucker factor just hit 60. I don't care what you want to say about a "Cobra Rattler;" an A-10 Thunderbolt II (aka Warthog) is not a dogfighting platform and an F-14 Tomcat (Skystriker...whatever) could blow it out of the sky from a distance of 50 miles, with a Phoenix missile; or 25 miles, with a Sparrow missile. That's what you get with ground-pounder writers! (and civilian toy designers) Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Rod Whigham and Andy Mushynsky-art, Rick Parker-letters, George Roussos colors, Denny O'Neil editor, Jim Shooter-unable to fit into the cockpit Synopsis: Ace takes Lady Jaye up in a Skystriker, to test some new ECM gear (Electronic Counter Measure), though why she is going up as the RIO (Radar Intercept Officer), when nothing in her file states she has any flight training, regardless of what the dialogue says. Meanwhile, Wild Weasel is taking The Baroness up in a shakedown flight of a rattler. Lady Jaye gets an audible warning, from the plane's 92K computer (snicker) of a contact, which is a civilian airliner, which shouldn't be true, as they would be vectored on a course based on civilian traffic in the area...not to mention civilian traffic would be vectored away from military airspace, like an Air Force Base or a proving ground. This stuff is marked on maps, you know. Meanwhile, Wild Weasel is flying "nap of the earth," low altitude, over the interstate, with radar guided computer correcting systems for potential dangers, like overpasses. Besides, who would report the flight to the FAA or would law enforcement air units not investigate reports of low flying military-grade aircraft? The next few pages are information dump from Janes Defense, in regards to the capabilities and weapon systems of the two aircraft, which Tom Clancy would pad out to 4 chapters, though it is bad enough that Larry Hama 7 pages on this stuff. Finally, the plot has the two aircraft cross paths (because they would have to be on intercept courses) and it gets all Top Gun (or Iron Eagle...take your pick). A recruiter's nocturnal emission! Wild Weasel launches missiles, but Ace pops chaff and flares to confuse the missiles, but one detonates close enough to cause damage to their transmitter (but not their weapon systems, of course). Ace does some fancy maneuvering and fires his cannon at the Rattler, scoring multiple hits along the fuselage, around the cockpit area. Conveniently, the Rattler has a "titanium bathtub" that can withstand the 20 mm rounds (uh-hunh). Since this thing is booked like wrestling match, it is Cobra's turn and Baroness fires the Rattler's cannon and scores a hit on the Skystriker cockpit, destroying the canopy and cracking the faceshield on Ace's flight helmet.... Ace can't see and Lady Jaye has to take the controls, which would be impossible in a real F-14, as only the pilot, in the front seat, had flight controls. Wild Weasel, seeing that the aircaft is s till flying, assumes that the rear seat is flying; and, further assumes that they are inexperienced. He puts the Rattler into a high G loop and comes around on their Six (O'clock). Ace gets his helmet off, retakes the controls and hits the afterburners and puts the plane into a steep climb. Wild Weasel continues to hug the ground, to get lost in the radar "clutter" from ground objects (like buildings). Lady Jaye has radar in "down looking" mode and Ace tells her to filter the return through the computer, to isolate moving structures. That allows them to spot the Rattler, on radar. Wild Weasel uses the computer linkage to hop up and down over houses and into the troughs between, but he doesn't see the Skystriker come in on his Six. They are both lucky that their flight path doesn't seem to include objects that won't show up on radar easily, like.....say....power lines! The Rattler heads out to sea, where it can no longer use terrain. Ace activates heat-seeking missiles, but his heads-up display is down and Lady Jaye has to target, with the RIO controls (the RIO is the one who targets, anyway). The Skystriker has weapons lock, but Wild Weasel throws up flaps and brakes the aircraft suddenly and the Skystriker and missiles fly past. Instead of disengaging and using the terrain to evade, Wild Weasel comes around in an arc for a head-on strike at the JOEs. It turns into a game of chicken. The Rattler shoots, but a hard turn causes a miss. The Rattler is terrain hugging and makes a hard 90 degree turn. Their radar blip disappears from the JOE's screens and Ace flips a coin and turns right and reacquires target. They launch missiles as the Rattler comes over a junkyard and Wild Weasel fires on the scrap metal and creates a debris storm that disrupts the missiles. They go head-to-head again and fire cannon and both score hits; but...... With no weapons left, the pilots salute one another and head for home, with the two backseaters griping about letting the enemy go. Thoughts: Well, this was pure fantasy. They should have submitted this as a movie script because it fits right in with Top Gun and Iron Eagle. Funny enough, this story was published a year before either of those films were released. Basically, this is Hama's attempt at an aviation story, ala EC's Aces High or DC Comics' Enemy Ace (or even Blackhawk). It's the usual dogfighting game of cat-and-mouse, to mix pet metaphors It is booked like a pro wrestling match or the fights in Rocky, with an ebb and flow, back and forth series of action beats. It ignores actual aerodynamics to tell the story and is filled with plot conveniences, like the JOEs losing their radio transmitter so they can't call for backup, and both aircraft are able to withstand damage that would down any real aircraft, though an A-10 has more armor than an F-14, due to its mission nature (ground attack). In both cases, we have 1980s computers pulling off feats that 2024 computers might find difficult. 92K? You couldn't run a video game on that, today. Rod Whigham (Ralph's older brother) does a fantastic job with both the tech, which is spot on, in appearance terms, and the layout of the fight, grabbing great panels to tell the story. Whigham started out with some fanzine material, then Bolt and Starforce Six, at AC Comics, before ending up at Marvel, on GI JOE. He also worked on Psi Force and Kickers, Inc and a stint at DC, on Doc Savage, the Shadow and Star Trek. Suffice to say, he is good with tech, which helps in a series like this and his figure work is suitably dynamic. He went back to Marvel and did some punisher and then later drew the Gil Thorp newspaper strip. Aside from the massive info dump and exposition necessary to propel the plot, it is a pretty exciting issue and I can see youngsters salivating over the aerial action. There are also some humorous touches in the art, like the buzzing of the barbecue and gawkers on the Interstate. Logic goes out the window on page 1, but that is par for the course for the series. I am curious what precipitated it, other than to show off the aerial toys, since this has mostly been a ground-based comic. There were no aviation movies of recent vintage to sell it and The Six Million Dollar Man had been off the air for a bit. The Right Stuff came out two years before; but, that is a different kind of flying and Yeager and the X-1 and the Lockheed Starfighter are about the only aircraft you see, aside from the Mercury flights and the Russian launches. If I were a betting man, I would say a request to highlight those toys. Based on the commercials, those toys look fairly big, which means expensive; so, maybe Hasbro needed a sales boost from the comic. Or maybe Hama just wanted a dogfight story. I don't mind that the females are in combat missions and have gone through training barred from them, in real life; heck, I was in favor of opening up more areas to women, at the time. However, if you are going to establish specialties, via the character profiles and then just ignore that, for plot convenience sake, you are going to confuse and annoy the reader. There is probably an audience for the comic book (and cartoon) that was separate from the toys; but, it is a big leap from intelligence specialist to Radar Intercept Officer. 6 more issue until meltdown!
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Post by foxley on Feb 8, 2024 2:11:55 GMT -5
Although Hama must have been keeping track of his internal continuity because in at least one later story (I think it might been in Special Missions), Lady Jaye is part of the team running ECM/ECCM on board an AWACS. (Talk about your initialism overload! )
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 15, 2024 16:27:01 GMT -5
GI Joe #35Can you tell that John Byrne is color blind? I hope the blond guy has an English motorcycle; otherwise, he may be in for a fall. Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Rod Whigham, Mark Bright, Bob Camp, Larry Hama, Andy Mushinsky & Mike Esposito-art, Rick Parker-letters, George Roussos-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor, Jim Shooter-riding a chopper, for the leg room Synopsis: Zartan has a new Harley and he has sprung for the holographic package.... Buzzer decides to take it for a spin, without Zartan's permission and Torch and Ripper follow along, calling out, "Oooooh....you're gonna be in trooooouuubbbbllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee............................" Meanwhile, Rock N Rol, Clutch and Breaker are on leave, headed to California, cross country, in a 1956 Chrevrolet Bel Air Nomad... Supposed to be a "Woody".... Zartan finds his bike gone and goes to complain to Cobra Commander; but, he is locked in conference about the attempted Cobra Coup and can't be disturbed. Major Bludd and The Baroness razz him a bit. Zartan storms off, before his mascara starts to run. Despite the Continental US encompassing over 3 million square miles, the Dreadnoks run into the JOEs, on the highway and key their car..... The Dreadnoks continue down the highway, harassing drivers; and, in the absence of Billy Jack, the JOEs give chase. Regardless of how much it needlessly endangers other motorists.... The Dreadnoks run the JOEs off the road, while George Miller films it.... The JOEs are left in the burning wreckage, but Rock N Roll gets the license plate number. Meanwhile, a little old lady gets on the Hellhound Bus service, headed to Springfield..... The JOEs are picked up in an ambulance and carted off for medical treatment. Meanwhile, the Dreadnoks find an air base and proceed to wreck some F-`15s, for s@#$s and giggles. It takes about 6 hours, before Air Force security wakes up and gives chase, but the Dreadnoks use to holographic system to disguise themselves as a jeep and 3 APs. They join the convoy, headed out on the highway, which passes the JOE ambulance, going the other direction. Rock N Roll notices the license plate on one of the jeeps is the same as the truck that ran them off the road and he commandeers the ambulance, does a 180 and gives chase. He tosses an oxygen bottle at Buzzer and destroys Zartan's bike, in an explosion. The others are about to have a head-on collision, with the Helhound Bus, when something strange happens.... The bus turns into a chopper, with Zartan at the controls and acargo door opens, to intercept the two riding Dreadnoks and leaves Buzzer to face Rock N Roll's wrath. When they arrive in Springfield, Zartan tells Ripper to dispose of the old lady; but, all he finds are her empty clothes, lying in a pile. Zaratan comments that it was a deception worthy of a ninja master. Thoughts: Rather pointless pile of fun, but entertaining enough. I assume Deadline Doom had some factor in the platoon of artists involved. Logic goes out the window, since this is mostly played for laughs, but you do have to wonder why Zartan would stop for the "old lady," regardless of his cover. Also, the Dreadnoks meeting up with the JOEs, in the middle of nowhere, is more than a little hard to swallow. I do find it curious that Hama seems to take some pot shots at Army life..... What about "Being all you can be" and all of those technical skills you learn......like dropping mortar rounds on a strong point.........or field stripping an M-16A2 rifle? Guess the US Army isn't coming to Marvel for their next recruiting ad. Actually, it doesn't surprise me that a combat vet, especially Vietnam Era, would discourage people from joining the military, just to get away from home. A lot of people join because there is nothing better at home....no jobs (or jobs that pay a living wage), no progress, no hopes and dreams. The skill come on is mostly BS, as the vast majority will learn to be an infantryman, which means most of those skills revolve around shooting at people and corporations tend to frown on such things, in the workplace. That said, despite the relatively low pay, you do get "3 Squares and a cot," uniforms, schooling, and you can get a beer in the E-Club, at 19. To some people, that is pretty attractive. If you tally up what is provided to you and your pay and allowances, it comes out way ahead of a lot of civilian jobs. Of course, you may have to fight and die in a war; but, you don't have to punch a clock and listen to nonsense about "mission statements" and "value indicators." Plus, there is the added bonus of people saying "Thank you for your service," with the same heartfelt sincerity of saying "Gesundheit" when you sneeze. Okay, I kid; many people are sincere, when they say things like that, but many more just say it out of reflex, with little thought about what "service" entails, especially as the VA budget is being slashed, or combat veterans are trying to cope with PTSD, on a really bad day. Just saying....if you want to thank people for their service, remind your congresspersons of that service when budget appropriations are being debated and held up for political capital. Lest I initially sound like I am insulting John Byrne (well, maybe a little), Byrne is color blind and has commented in the past that he uses Prismacolor markers, to do color indications, for his art, and has to trust in the labels being correct. You can kind of tell if you see some finished art that he colored, like the cover to this Captain America trade..... You sometimes got some odd color mixes or shades and you could kind of see the marker strokes, in some cases, as marker ink doesn't spread the way that paint does. You could also see where he was using a blender to lighten areas. The purple on that cover, as the harsh tones, just seem like an odd choice. or course, he went nuts with the Kirby Krackle. I wouldn't mind seeing him pencil an issue, though. Whether he would stick to models is another issue, though, as no one tells John Byrne how to draw his comics! I can understand a cross country trip; but, New York to California? How much leave did these guys have accumulated? You only get 30 days, per year, though unused leave does roll over. Maybe they have been on non-stop missions long enough to accrue enough to drive across the US and surf, then drive back. Cobra sounds like high school, in this issue, with petty cliques and in-fighting. Next issue, the JOEs head out to sea, which will probably get my blood pressure at dangerous levels. Come on back and see if I blow my top!
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 21, 2024 1:57:08 GMT -5
GI JOE #36"Yo........uh-oh.......... Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Rod Whigham, Mark Bright, Larry Hama& Bob Camp and Andy Mushynsky & Mike Esposito-art, Rick Parker-letters, George Roussos-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor, Jim Shooter-mail buoy watch Synopsis: Hello, Mr & Mrs America and all the ships at sea.....FLASH.....the SS Jane (technically USS, though it is supposed to be a covert platform, so covert maritime designation) is steaming somewhere in the South Atlantic. They have deployed the WHALE to do some recon, in suspected Cobra secret areas, but the seas are heavy....which means you could not be running a hovercraft over them very easily. Tripwire, whose specialty is not as an Operations Specialist, alerts them that radar indicates 4 anti-ship missiles (probably EXOCETs) inbound. Cutter activates the CIWS (Close-In Weapon System.....aka R2D2, when he looks through an appliance catalog....).... and destroys 3 out of 4 missiles, after a wave disables the CIWS (more like a radar circuit card blew, based on my experience), they still have one in-bound. Meanwhile, the WHALE can't help because they are taking fire from the shore, from Cobra defensive positions.... Come on, boys; these toys aren't going to sell themselves! Torpedo is suddenly spouting Hawaiian slang, when he hadn't before (his name is Edward Leialoha.....wonder where that name came from....). He takes the WHALE directly towards shore, because that is the last thing Cobra would expect...and they had heavier armament in the bow. Elsewhere, Scarlett and Snake Eyes are riding the Staten Island Ferry and Scarlett is hitting on Snake Eyes; but, apparently, he is dead from the neck down. It just so happens that Fred II (Cobra Boogaloo) and some other Crimson Guard are on the ferry, at the same time and spot Scarlett, a known JOE and an unidentified male soldier with her. He reports in to Cobra Command that he intends to carry out a prisoner snatch. Back on the Jane, they take a missile hit on the starboard bow and Deep Six loses control of the wheel, in the impact. Cutter shouts for him to grab it and keep the damage on the leeward side. He tasks Tripwire and Doc to put out the fire in the compartment. At the island, the WHALE launches its missiles and then skims over the beach and discover that the island is an atoll (you know, they do have charts of the South Atlantic that would have identified that fact.....just sayin') and they land in a tidal pool, on the other side and Cobra deploys hydrofoils in the channel around the island. And, then we cut back to the ferry, where Scarlett finds herself receiving unwanted attention from male admirers..... You know, I have to say, that is the sexiest Scarlett has looked in this series, and that includes when she was in a bikini, way back when. Snake Eyes, returning with snacks, sees what is happening and charges forward. Scarlett is pulled away while one Guardsman tries to intercept and gets hot coffee in the face. Fred fires a suppressed pistol, but hits his own man. Back on the Jane, Cobra Rattlers have spotted the damaged ship and vector toward her. The fire is out of control in the forward compartment and Deep Six grabs a fire axe and runs out on deck, to some cargo, lashed down to the deck. Over to the atoll, Cobra orders the hydrofoils to cut off the escape on the other side and for the ASP (Assault Systems Pod) guns to be traversed 180 degrees and open fire. Torpedo throws the WHALE around and heads right for them, again, and into the open sea. On the ferry, the Cobra goons hustle Scarlett towards the interior of the ship, while Fred goes out to finish off Snake Eyes, who is reaching through a security gate to retrieve the Walther MPL submachine gun, which the Cobra goon dropped. He gets it and fires a burst at Fred, forcing him to pull his head down. The other two Cobra jerks pull Scarlett down a ladder to the lower deck. Snake Eyes tries to follow. On the Jane, the Rattlers are attacking and Deep Six is chopping through cargo lines, to get at some big crate, under a tarpaulin. Doc and Tripwire give up on the fire and try to reactivate the CIWS, to fend off the Rattlers (those are not offensive guns, guys). On the atoll, the WHALE makes it to the sea and flanks the hydrofoils and fires its missiles up their sterns. And...back on the ferry, Scarlett is tired of playing damsel, waiting for Snake Eyes to rescue her and elbows a Cobra Guardsman in the gut, while Snake Eyes kicks the other in the face and then he and Scarlett stomp a mudhole into the one she elbowed. Fred gets the drop on them and turns out the light in the ladder well, then aims a nightscope-equipped MPL at them. On the Jane, Deep six frees the crate, opens it and reveals an MMS (Mobile Missile System) launcher and fires a salvo at one and hits it. The wingman comes around for another strafing run. On the atoll, they are still exchanging fire with the hydrofoils and the ASP commander is anticipating their next move, expecting them to double back. On the ferry, Snake Eyes and Fred fire at each other, then scream at their poor marksmanship.... Snake Eyes shoves Fred through a door (doors go between compartments, hatches go between decks) and dangles him by his tie. On the Jane, Tripwire says the CIWS fire control systems were shorted out when they took the wave. he can't fix them. Doc aims the gun manually and tells Tripwire to trigger the firing mechanism....if he can find it. On the atoll, the WHALE heads inland again, and Cobra mistakenly fires on their own hydrofoil... On the Ferry, Fred grabs Snake Eyes by the hair and pulls off his face mask (its supposed to be a rubber mask, ala Mission Impossible...the real one, not the crappy films) and then screams in horror and Snake Eyes dumps him in the harbor. Scarlett pulls Snake Eyes back inside and says she has a spare mask, in her purse (just what exactly was she planning, on this excursion?) Back on the Jane, Tripwire finds the circuit, patches it and fires the CIWS, hitting the second Rattler. However, it crashes into the ship. Torpedo spots the oil smoke and heads for it, leaving behind the devastated Cobra base, though the gun commander says they didn't get what they were guarding and their Gulf of Mexico operation can proceed. Torpedo locates wreckage and then finds Deep Six, Cutter, Doc and Tripwire (so.....who was manning the engine room?) on a life raft and picks them up. They radio for support and an aircraft carrier arrives on station, the USS Flag..... Thoughts: Another action-packed issue, though I was getting whiplash from going back and forth between the three locales. The Vulcan Phalanx CIWS is a real weapon, first tested in 1973 and deployed on ships from 1978 onward. The R2D2 section is the radar system, which identifies the targets and automatically fires the 30 mm gatling gun at the target, when it is in range. The weapon fires spent uranium munitions, which have a high density and punch through missiles and aircraft, though there is some controversy about the munitions, as they are not completely devoid of radioactive material (in theory, most of the radioactivity is "spent," hence the name; but, not entirely. The same kinds of rounds are used on US Army tanks, for armor piercing rounds and, during the Gulf War, were used heavily to knock out Iraqi tanks. When the munition hits the targets, some of it is pulverized, littering the area with the residue. There is some belief that the subsequent exposure to it may be a factor in Gulf War Syndrome and in the high cancer rates among the people in areas where fighting occurred, using those munitions (which means all over Kuwait). The munitions were developed to deal with Soviet tanks, as well as to knock aircraft and missiles out of the sky. The CIWS will swivel around, acquiring targets and fire its weapon, then target the next missile or aircraft. The biggest problem is that the radar fire control systems may go down and part of my job was obtaining repair parts for the system, and others. The weapon is designed as a last-ditch defensive weapon and not an offensive one, as seen in Wonder Woman 84. It helps, though, if you have the thing in active mode. In 1987, while on patrol in the Persian Gulf, during the Iran-Iraq War, the USS Stark received two EXOCET missiles, fired by an Iraqi Mirage fighter. Their CIWS was in stand-by mode and did not react to intercept and they were not spotted on radar. The first warning the ship got was from a lookout, when it was too late to maneuver. 34 were killed and 21 injured, but the Stark survived and eventually returned to duty. The whole idea of an uncharted atoll in the South Atlantic is just plain fantasy, even more than Gilligan's Island being uncharted. Those waters have been sailed for centuries and are well charted. An atoll is a ringed coral edged island, enclosing a central lagoon. However, they are mostly found in the Pacific, and not the Atlantic. There is a system of 8 atolls, off the coast of Nicaragua. However, they only exist in tropical areas, due to the conditions needed for the coral formation. Bermuda is sometimes called an atoll, because of its shape; but it was not formed in the usual atoll process and is classified as a pseudo-atoll. The largest concentration of atolls are in the South Pacific, near the Caroline Islands, the Marshall Islands, The Coral Sea and in the Indian Ocean. Several of the atolls were atatcked, during WW2, because the Japanese had built bases on them, with the lagoons forming natural harbors, such as at Kwajalein. In a battle between hovercraft and hydrofoil, my money is on the hydrofoils. A PACV hovercraft, as used during the Vietnam War, had a top speed of 60 knots, which is fast, but even the Pegasus class of hydrofoil patrol boats is capable of 48 nots and those are much bigger than what Cobra is depicted as using. More than likely, they could match the WHALE for speed and would have it all over them, on maneuverability. The WHALE's advantage would be on armament and the ability to cross terrain, within limitations. However, hovercraft tend to turn in an arc and hydrofoils could make tighter turns and react more quickly and be able to cut off a hovercraft, with the right piloting. The ASP guns would be useless, at close range, as you could only depress them so much. It is actually a sound strategy to charge towards artillery for just that reason. In WW1, at Beersheba, that is precisely what the Australian Light Horse did, as they carried out a cavalry charge at Turkish positions and moved fast enough to get under the Turkish guns range and were able to hit them in force and capture the area (it was more complicated than that, but that is the gist of the famous cavalry charge). Of course, knowing the Aussies, with a name like Beersheba, they probably figured there were "cold ones" waiting for them, served by beautiful Sheilas! A vessel the size of the Jane is not being run by 4 men. Someone has to man the engine room; it isn't entirely automatic, even if it were diesel, and not steam-driven. A steam ship has a boiler that generates steam, which then passes through pressure loops to a turbine, driving it to create propulsion> on the other end of the loop is an evaporator, to reclaim some of the low power steam. It is then recycled and heated back up, with the steam following the lower pressure to the turbine. Someone has to man and maintain the boilers and the system. A diesel engine is a diesel combustion engine; but, again, requires regular maintenance to operate. Same with a gas turbine system, where heated gases replace steam. They are capable of greater speed, but require engineers to keep them running. In movies, when you see engine commands given on the bridge and a sailor manipulates brass levers, with bells ringing out, that is an engine order telegraph, which relays the bridge's commands to the engine room. They increase or decrease revolutions on the ship's screw, by manipulating the engine. It isn't just a matter of pressing down on a gas pedal or moving a throttle lever, on a large vessel. You'd also want someone manning radars and someone needs to navigate and you need a helmsman. You should also probably have lookouts and deckhands, though they might be the same people. No less than a dozen is going to run a ship of that size...more likely many more. Snake Eyes and Scarlett's little adventure is a basic cat and mouse firefight/hostage situation, though it is a bit sexist that Scarlett keeps ending up as damsel-in-distress. Given that she is combat trained, she should be fighting more and holding her own, for a bit. More interesting to see her rescue Snake Eyes; but, we have to keep Snake Eyes as the ultimate JOE bad-ass. Lot of cooks at work on the art and it varies a bit. I can detect Whigham in the firefight scenes, especially with the tech. Hama is on at least part of the hydrofoil & hovercraft battle, as the close-up of the Cobra trooper, as the hovercraft fires its missiles from astern, looks like Hama's work, to me. Not sure about Mark Bright. The ferry battle seems to be mostly one artist; but I am not sure who and GCD doesn't have page breakdowns. My assumption is that the level of action led to the multiple artists. In the shot of Fred dangling outside the hull of the ferry, you can see scaffolding around the Statue of Liberty. In 1984, the scaffolding was erected to conduct renovations of the statue and it became a common sight during the mid-80s and was even featured in a fight scene, in the film Remo Williasm, The Adventure Begins, based on the Destroyer series of men's adventure pulp novels. It is nice to see Tripwire doing something other than falling down, but I have to question why Torpedo is in a wetsuit and not utilities, and why Snow Job is still in his Arctic parka. I know it is to match the toys; but, it makes no logical sense in the story, especially Snow Job's gear. if they have to maintain the look, as part of the contract, I get it, but it really makes the characters look stupid; and, if it isn't mandated in the contract, then it means you don't have a distinctive enough model for the character. Deep Six is not in his dive suit, though no sailor wears his "dixie cup" turned down, like Gilligan. In fact, they generally don't wear them at sea, apart from leaving or entering port. You generally wore a ship's ballcap, with the name and hull number of the ship on the patch. Also not sure why Deep Six and Cutter are wearing life preservers, if they aren't at General Quarters. If they are, they should also be wearing helmets. Doc and Tripwire are not in life preservers. Really, if anyone was going to be wearing life preservers, it would probably be Torpedo and Snow Job, in the WHALE. No idea why Snake Eyes is in uniform, but not Scarlett. If they are supposed to be in covert attire, he is a bit conspicuous and if they are on duty, she is out of uniform. If they are on a date, he needs to buy some civies. The rubber face mask is beyond belief, even for this series. I did like the sight of Fred speaking into a huge cell phone, as those things were massive, back in the mid-80s (assuming you weren't using a bag phone). Paul Heyman, as Paul E Dangerously, a wrestling manager (and later booker and promoter) in the late 80s, used to carry one of those cell phones, as his gimmick, and bash opponents over the head with it, rather than a cane or similar, of old time managers. It was used as a great visual device and weapon in the classic ambush of the Midnight Express, by the Original Midnight Express.... Heyman's character was supposed to be an evil Yuppie (and the name was due to a slight resemblance to Michael Keaton, as Johnny Dangerously), so the phone was perfect, as a gimmick. Someone had their Small Arms of the World copy out, as the Walther MPL submachine gun was not a common sight, outside of Germany, nor in movies (I believe you can see one in the Michael Caine movie, Funeral in Berlin). Nick Fury is depicted holding one on the cover of the Nick Fury vs SHIELD trade paperback..... Looks rather like Kurt Russell, there. I always thought Robert Stack was the perfect face for Fury. This issue does set up the next storyline, as we have mention of a Cobra operation in the Gulf of Mexico. It also debuts the USS Flag, the Holy Grail of the GI JOE toy line.... That thing retailed for around $100, though I have heard of sale prices between $75 and $90. One of my NROTC shipmates, a former enlisted corpsman, going through the Enlisted Commissioning Program, was going to buy one, for himself, rather than his child! I had the Flying Aces aircraft carrier/launcher, when I was young and it was about half that size and way less expensive. We only get a couple of panels, from a distance; but, it isn't a bad rendering of a carrier. We can assume that it is named for the slain General Flagg, though that wasn't the naming convention of the period. In the 1980s, carriers were named for former presidents, like the USS Abraham Lincoln. Earlier carriers carried on the names of former carriers, like the USS Enterprise and the USS Ranger, or admirals, like the USS Nimitz. The Flagg came with the figure, Keel Haul, who sports a naval uniform that I never saw, in my 8 years..... Looks like Indiana Jones or Thomas Magnum, with a white combination cap. This is all kinds of wrong and pretty typical for how badly the US Navy was depicted in the toy line, the comics and the cartoon. In the first place, the US Navy doesn't have a uniform with a blue shirt like that, except the old dungaree shirt and only enlisted wore those...not admirals. For Working Khaki, you had matching pants and shirt. You'd also wear a khaki cover, either a garrison cap (aka a "piss-cutter," for reasons I won't go into) or a combination cover with khaki cover (you could switch out the khaki or white cover, though most officers kept at least one of each, to save themselves the hassle of switching it). On board ship, he would wear a navy blue ballcap with USS Flag patch and an admiral's "scrambled eggs." (the braiding, in the form of a laurel). Also....Keel-Hail? That's the best you've got? How about Ironside, in honor of the USS Constitution? Granted, he'd have to look like Raymond Burr.......Anyway, carrier admirals are all ex-pilots, so he would use his call sign, which isn't likely to be a ship driver term, like keel-haul. Meanwhile, Epic Rant in four more issues.
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 21, 2024 2:06:29 GMT -5
ps The Navy doesn't have "primary" and "secondary military specialties." The enlisted have "ratings" which are professional specialties like boatswain, gunner's mate, sonar technician, mess specialist (cook) or storekeeper. You also had a rank, from E-1 (seaman recruit) up to E-9 (Master Chief Petty Officer). You would be referred to by rating and rank, such as GM1 Jones (Gunner's Mate, First Class) or GMCS Smith (Gunner's Mate, Senior Chief Petty Officer). Command isn't a military specialty, it is a duty. It's all to make the toys look good; but, even so, Hama didn't do much research on the Navy and his Army knowledge was nearly 2 decades old on the backer card stuff. Not that some of it doesn't sound authentic; but, every once in a while, you got a whopper!
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 29, 2024 17:44:19 GMT -5
GI JOE #37Music! We need a flashback to a 1970s mission for the GI JOE Adventure Team, complete with the afros and a disco/funk soundtrack! Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Frank Springer & Andy Mushynsku-art, Rick Parker-letters, George Roussos-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor, Jim Shooter-World's Tallest Editor Synopsis: We are at the Arbco Brothers Circus (uh-oh!), where Ripcord and Bongo (whose real name is Candy)... ...are making a delivery of balloons to a meeting of the Young Executives of Community and Home (YECH),; because, who doesn't hold a business conference in a tent, at a circus/carnival? Gung Ho and Bowtorch are there, assisting, as payback for commandeering Bongo's van, in a previous story. The presence of the JOEs is noted by a shadowy figure, inside the tent, who is wearing Cobra insignia.... It seems the JOEs were expected. Meanwhile, Duke and some others are on a testing range, where Roadblock and Lady J are driving HISS tanks. Roadblock tells Lady J that the right foot controls the right track and the left foot controls the left track, leaving the hands free to control the weapons. So, how do you manipulate the throttle? Brake? Anyway, they are there to play target in a test of a new mini-tank, the Armadillo, piloted by new JOE, Flint (or Funt, if the printing is blotchy). Flint wears a green beret with a sort of Special Forces insignia. It's actually closer to the insignia of the 1st Special Service Force, aka The Black Devil Brigade, from WW2 (joint American and Canadian special warfare unit).... The Devil's Brigade wore the crossed arrows that previously signified Indian Scouts. This was later incorporated into the US Army Special Forces insignia, with the commando dagger added, in the center (signifying the commandos and the OSS Jedburg teams) and the banners with the motto "De Oppresso Liber" ("Free the Oppressed") Flint waxes their tails and Lady J snubs him and Roadblock pretty much puts her in her place. Sigh. "Bitchy" female stereotype. Our shadowy circus figure calls in to Cobra Command; but Destro says they are in a meeting and Springfield is on lockdown, so handle things yourself. We also learn that the figure is Tomax, and his unseen brother, Xamot ('cause their twins and they mirror each other) command the elite Crimson Guard (the one that Fred belongs to, who seem to be as inept as the other Cobra troopers). They are just as happy, as it will mean all of the glory, for them. Gung Ho and Blowtorch ride the roller coaster, while Candy and Ripcord go into the House of Mirrors. Then, The YECHs arrive..... They are directed into the House of Mirrors and soon surround Ripcord and Candy. Elsewhere, new JOE, Footloose.... (He doesn't look like Kevin Bacon....) ...reports for duty and Wild Bill immediately sets in to haze him. He puts him in the gunner's seat of the Dragonfly and raises the elevator to launch the helo, despite Footloose being an infantry soldier, not a qualified air gunner. Their flight path takes them past the circus and Gung Ho and Blowtorch wave to Wild Bill. Inside the House of Mirrors, the YECHS are revealed to be Cobra Crimson Guard..... ...but, Ripcord and Candy are two sweet, for the elite, and beat feet! Meanwhile, Xamot prepares to fire into the roller coaster car, as it passes upside down, inside the loop, beneath his feet (which will not shake him off the opt, because....bad physics?) Wild Bill has picked up the Armadillo, from the proving ground and is returning to base, with Flint & Footloose riding in the tank, slung underneath, and witnesses the attack. Flint jumps from the tank to attack Xamot, while Footloose is left to familiarize himself with the tank controls, under fire! Ripcord and Candy run into the main tent and realize their mistake, because they have limited their exits. Flint and Xamot trade punches, then Flint slips on a rear naked choke and suddenly Tomax collapses, in front of Ripcord and Candy, from the loss of air, experienced by Xamot. Read The Corsican Brothers and it will make more sense! Tomax recovers enough to hop onto an ATV and run off to save his brothers, ordering the guardsmen to kill Ripcord and Candy. Other guardsmen check to coaster car for dead bodies and find out that Gung Ho and Blow Torch are playing possum. They commandeer weapons and launch a counter attack. Ripcord cuts loose some rigging ballast and they hang on and are pulled up to a trapeze platform. Footloose lends some supporting fire, with the Armadillo and Tomax rides up onto the coaster tracks. He rescues Xamot and they ride off, while Flint stands there, gawking..... Ripcord and Candy go out through a hole in the Big Top and slide down to meet Footloose. They link up with the others and Gung Ho throws a hissy fit, about the ambush and questions how Cobra knew they would be there, to set up an ambush.... Gee, nobody knew they would be there, at the circus.............except............. Wild Bill tries to gun down the twins, but uses missiles, instead of the gatling gun and misses, as they head into a drain pipe. Frank Springer illustrates the "missiles" coming out of the gun pod, instead of the missile mounts, on the port and starboard sides. Candy tells Ripcord that she has had enough danger and excitement in her life and drives off, telling him to drop dead. She is mainly POed because he won't tell her his real name, which he says is classified (you could use a cover identity, Einstein!). Springer also draws Ripcords jump wings over his right pocket, instead of his left. Who's editing this? Yo, Sergius; wake up! Tomax makes an ominous statement about going to see someone, about balloons. Thoughts: Does anyone on this team have half a brain? Let's see, you are ambushed at a circus, which is a Cobra front, that you are there because you are paying back someone who helped you before. That other person has a delivery to make, at said circus. I wonder who could have lured them to that ambush? Hint: it ain't Footloose! This is more toy introduction and marketing, as we get four new figures from the 1985 release: Tomax and Xamot, Flint and Footloose. 5, actually, if you count the Crimson Guard, as there was a new figure for that bunch. Then, we had two new vehicles: the Armadillo, for the JOE Team and the Ferret ATV, for Cobra. So, a lot of this is just an introduction to their play factors, though it does set up a mystery about how the JOEs were lured into an ambush. It also expands the role of the Crimson Guard, as infiltrators of society, to perpetuate Cobra's goals. This part is mostly Hama's satire of 80s Greed Culture, with an Army of MBAs and lawyers, waging war from corporate offices, in a nod to the negative effects that culture had on society (lowering of real wages, union busting, strip-mining companies for a fast buck, high risk short term investing, bubble and bust economic cycles, etc...). The YECH name is a parody of the term "Yuppie" (Young Urban Professional or Young Upwardly-Mobile Professional). Milton Friedman weaponized! Looking at the backer card dossiers makes me wonder what Hama was smoking. Flint, aka Dashiell Fairborn , is supposed to have a degree in English Literature and joined the Army out of boredom. He's supposed to be a Rhodes Scholar and he enlists? Why wouldn't he be tapped for Officer's Candidate School? As it is, he is supposed to be a Warrant Officer, yet his card says he is an E-6, which is a Staff Sergeant. A Warrant Officer would be a W1, or WO1. A Warrant Officer is a rank in between a non-commissioned officer and a commissioned officer, usually bestowed for technical expertise. In the Army, the largest Warrant Officer contingents are helicopter pilots. It doesn't work and it kind of shows how out of touch Hama was with the modern military and making a mistake like classifying a Warrant Officer as an E6 is a major blunder. Warrant Officers do exist in Special Forces; but, given his background, Flint would have been more likely to have been filtered through a commissioning program. As it is, the card justifies the Warrant Officer ranks by saying his secondary specialty is helicopter pilot. To Make matters worse, his figure and card art show his jump wings over the right pocket and not on the correct left side. His weapon of choice is a 12 ga combat shotgun, in a riot gun configuration, with no shoulder stock. No soldier worth a damn is using a weapon he can't aim, from the shoulder. Military shotguns use either fixed shoulder stocks or folding stocks, for aimed firing. Yeah, in close quarter, you might fire from the hip; but, not in the field, except as a reaction shot. I qualified on the Remington 870 12 ga shotgun, on board ship, where whe fired two rounds from the shoulder and one from the hip. His figure has his ammo in loops on his ALICE suspenders, which isn't exactly convenient for loading. More likely, he would carry a bandolier or on a waist belt, for quicker access. The configuration on the figure is too cumbersome and looks like the designers were flipping through too many hunting accessory catalogs. Civilians with too much testosterone may do things like that; but not experienced soldiers. you want your ammo where you can get it quickly and without dropping it, for rapid reloading. Footloose is the first figure that closely resembles actual US Army issue uniform, of the period. he has the Fritz-style kevlar helmet, with helmet net (the Army dispensed with that back in Korea, issuing helmet covers since at leeast Vietnam, if not before (I'd have to look at Korean War photos). The modern helmet covers had built in holes to add foliage, for camouflage, plus were dyed in camo patterns, matching the BDUs. He does have camo BDUs, though they aren't exactly Woodland Pattern. That one I can forgive rather easily, as that would be a lot of fussy detail, for a monthly comic. The animators did even less than the comic book artists. Footloose' bio makes for strange reading. It says he was part of a snooty Fraternity, at a small Ivy League college, in ROTC, when he was trampled by a frightened parade crowd and then ended up being sent to recover with relatives, in a small, rural town (possibly in Utah), where dancing had been prohibited. He successfully rebelled against the system and then ended up enlisted in the Army, after a short stint as a stockbroker-turned-bicycle messenger. Okay, actually, it says he was getting a degree in Phys Ed, after being valedictorian of his high school, an Eagle Scout, and captain of the track team. He flaked out, dropped out (possibly while high) and ended up enlisting in the Army). Sounds a little too 1960s, to me. 1980s would have been that he couldn't afford the skyrocketing tuition, at college, and didn't want to go into heavy debt from Guaranteed (to make you broke half your life) Student Loans and opted for the Montgomery GI Bill....possibly while high. Tomax and Xamot's cards are even more ridiculous. They are from some unnamed Mediterranean island (possibly Corsica, which seems more likely than Sardinia or Malta, or any of the Aegean Islands) and are supposed to have served in the French Foreign Legion paratroops, in the Algerian War, which raged from 1954 to 1962. Assuming they were the minimum age, at just the tail end of that, that makes them about 40, now, but they are illustrated as being no more than about 30 (give or take a few years). Again, Hama seems to be stuck in the 60s and some of these bios are using too old a timeline. The problem is that Hama is using Vietnam as a baseline and mostly ignoring the bulk of the 1970s, because the decade had fewer military operations after 1973. The rest of the bio is more fun, with them serving as mercenaries, then becoming bankers, in Zurich...because most Swiss banks hire ex-mercenary soldiers to be officers of the bank, rather than from the ranks of the best business schools in Europe and the US. I'll say this, they dress pretty flamboyantly, for bankers! So, aside from the obvious quibbles (I'm mostly poking fun at it...it serves its purpose) this is another entertaining action issue, to market toys; but, there is a subplot building here, both with Cobra Command's problem of attempted assassination and coups, and the Crimson Guard infiltrating American society and targeting the JOE team. Both of these will build, as we progress. There is enough fun to be had here, for a single issue and enough of a mystery to pick up the next issue and see what happens. 3 issues to complete meltdown.
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Post by jason on Feb 29, 2024 21:34:37 GMT -5
Tomax and Xamot's whole corsican brothers plot was where the Joe line started getting more science fiction/fantasy elements to it. You'll see much more by 1986 (if Cody hasnt ragequit by then, I shudder to think what his reaction will be near the end of the book where we get the Transformers coming in).
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Post by codystarbuck on Feb 29, 2024 23:35:38 GMT -5
Tomax and Xamot's whole corsican brothers plot was where the Joe line started getting more science fiction/fantasy elements to it. You'll see much more by 1986 (if Cody hasnt ragequit by then, I shudder to think what his reaction will be near the end of the book where we get the Transformers coming in). I'll throw Hot Wheels cars at them, because they are a hell of a lot more solid than that junk was. That is the thing you notice, between toys of the 1960s and early 70s, compared to those of the late 70s and 80s; the earlier stuff is a heck of lot more sturdy and well manufactured. I could hammer nails with the Johnny West line of action figures. 70s GI joes were pretty decent, afro and beard aside and my brother's ATV, from the Mummy's Tomb playset was tougher than a Tonka truck.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 7, 2024 1:00:55 GMT -5
GI JOE #38Bullet to the head beats katana! Nice cover, by Mike Zeck. Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Rod Whighma & Andy Mushynsky-art, Rick Parker-letters, George Roussos-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor, Jim Shooter-Top of the Pyramid Synopsis: Cobra has convened a, inquest to determine how Billy nearly blew his head off. Cobra Commander believes he had help and intends to root the culprit out. Why the Dreadnoks are involved is beyond me, other than they want to keep them visible. The kid ain't talkin' and Zartan suggests using the brain scanner, devised by Dr Venom. Baroness, realizing it could reveal her duplicity, argues against harming the commander's son with it (remember that?) Zartan pushes hard for it and Cobra Commander orders it. Meanwhile, Ripcord is crying into his Coca-Cola, to Gung Ho, at the PX snack bar, when Stalker tunrs up and tells him they have a mission and to assemble in the briefing room. Duke briefs them on their mission. They are to parachute into Sierra Gordo, the Latin American country where Cobra had they secret research lab and controleld a puppet government. Now, the land is in chaos and extremists on the Far Right and Far Left vie for control. An American peace mission went down there to try to stabilize things and was ambushed, with one taken prisoner: Dr Adele Burkhart (from the first issue). Stalker, Gung Ho, Ripcord and Roadblock fly over Sierra Gordo and are about to hit the silk, when Ripcord brings up the question why they are risking their lives to save Dr Burkhart, who has openly attacked the military, in public. Stalker reminds him of his oath.... Not sure why they are going out the side door of the C-130, instead of the cargo doors, as in a real drop, except because the artist doesn't know any better. Hama might not, either, as I haven't come across anything that says he ever earned his jump wings. Billy is subject to the brainscan, which blocks out the view of who discovered huim rifling through the files at Arbco Brothers Circus, the Cobra transport front. Instead, we learn about the origin of Cobra, when Cobra Commander was slapped down by the government for perpetuating a pyramid scheme.... Cobra grew into a pseudo-militia, holding rallies and gathering followers. Cobra Commander puts a stop to the interrogation, as Billy is revealing classified information. he has him dragged back to his cell. Storm Shadow shows great respect for Billy, while Baroness and Major Bludd worry that he will reveal their involvement in the assassination plot. Duke scrambles a team for a domestic mission and the load uo in the APC and VAMP and head to the secret gate, in the base perimeter.... They know their main gate is being watched, which is why they have a new exit from the base. They are going after the Cobra agent behind the ambush at the circus. Might want to alert the FBI, since they would have jurisdiction, especially since this would violate the constitution, without a call from the New York governor. The JOE insertion team lands in a jungle clearing, in Sierra Gordo and are met by a contact, who appears to be Australian....... ..except he didn't say "G'day!" He also doesn't say "Oy!," has never heard of Midnight Oil, has never seen an episode of Neighbors, and thinks Mad Max is a little over-the-top. He also brought friends, who pop up to cause the JOEs to "unpucker." Meanwhile, Storm Shadow breaks Billy out of his cell and helps him escape. Destro witnesses and scrambles the guards, but Storm Shadow cuts the power. He tries to send Billy on his way, but the kid shames him into helping him further, to take a stand. In Sierra Gordo, introductions are made, as the Aussie, according to his backer card, is actualyl an American, Daniel LeClair, aka Recondo, from Wisconsin. Wonder if he knows Red Foreman? His toy accessory looks like an M-1 Carbine, with cam wrapping on the forestock, but Whigham draws what looks more like a CAR-15. He and his Tucaro natives take the JOEs to the fortified site, where Dr Burhart is being held. It's a mother! Reinforced concrete blockhouse, which will withstand a lot of shelling or bombing, machine gun emplacements on the roof, though their field of fire is blocked at the center. Barbed wire entanglements, slit trenches backed by further machine gun emplacements, mine fields, guard towers, ground radar....just the thing to keep people out and make a frontal assault costly, even with armor. However, I noticed that their defenses are all geared to the front and their flanks, but no coverage of the cliff wall behind them. Sounds like a Mt La Difensa-style assault. Recondo concurs. The JOE reaction force arrives at a home, on Staten Island and surrounds it. Snake Eyes and Mutt go in the back, while Duke and Lady J cover the front. Blowtorch and Cover Girl handle the flanks. Duke then knocks on the front door and acts like law enforcement, rather than soldiers violating the Constitution and the jurisdiction of the FBI and Staten Island Police Department. He gets heavy fire for his trouble and he and Lady J go down. Cover Girl lives up to her name and lays down suppressing fire, through the living room window, while Blowtorch drags the casualties to safety. Mutt kicks in the back door and he and Snake Eyes go in, guns blazing. There are no targets. A grenade comes sailing through shutters from a serving counter and Junkyard picks it up in his mouth and drops it into the sink basin and everyone hits the floor. Good boy! Blowtorch unleashes his barely contained inner pyromaniac and torches the front of the house. Heavy fires comes into the kitchen by whoever is trapped inside. Flint calls the Pit for back-up. Mutt and Snake Eyes close in on their attackers and they crash out the front window..... It's Tomax and Xamont, plus someone in a Crimson Guard uniform, on the Ferret ATV. They fire rockets at the APC and Flint bails out, before they hit. They escape and the JOEs mop up. Mutt finds a radio set and more Cobra Crimson Guard uniforms. Duke and Lady J are okay, thanks to their ballistic vests, though Duke took a round in the shoulder and Lady J has a possible cracked rib, from the impact. They are interrupted by the arrival of a van.... ..with Candy, who wants to know why the JOEs have destroyed her father's house! Thoughts: I kind of skipped around a bit, to reduce the whiplash effect of going back and forth between the A, B, and C stories. So, the JOEs know they are being watched, that Cobra knows that Ft Wadsworth is still, potentially, being used as a base for GI JOE. So, they are messing with Fred II and slipping in and out the back, like Col Hogan and his men. I covered this once before, but the US Army is prohibited from acting on American soil, without a state governor calling for Federal assistance. The governor can call out the state's National Guard unit,; but, domestic terrorism falls under law enforcement jurisdiction and not the military. So, we have to either assume a fascist coup or that the JOE team is duly commissioned law enforcement and not entirely a military unit, within this world. In the real world, domestic terrorism falls under the FBI and the Dept of Homeland Security. The FBI would scramble its own SWAT teams. Given the militarization of law enforcement in this country, especially in the wake of 9/11 (and before, with the War on Drugs), law enforcement has some major armament, though I think artillery, in an urban environment, might be a bit of an overkill. Then again, so is deploying a flame thrower! They don't even have the fire department on standby to control the fire! What they find....copies of Don Quixote and Tolstoy? (That guy sure liked his Penguin editions!) Cover Girl got a bit of a makeover and some big 80s hair, in violation of uniform regs. Lady J is relatively within regs, though she should have worn a helmet, along with the vest. Same for the rest, really. Meanwhile, Cobra began with an Amway distribution franchise! Not much of an exaggeration, on Hama's part. The Sierra Gordo mission is a call back to the start of the series as we get the return of Dr Adele Burkhart, scientist and peace activist. Once again, Hama reminds the JOEs that they took an oath to "protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, against all enemies, foreign and domestic." That includes the right of dissent against the government's actions and the use of military force. Stalker demonstrates his respect for Dr Burkhart's integrity and sincerity of belief. If enough people believed as she did, there would be little need for a military; but, there you go. Hollywood portrays the military as a hotbed of Right Wing militarism and diplomacy at the point of a gun. Granted, certain senior members of the armed forces and some lower ranks do a lot to perpetuate that stereotype. However, they are an extension of the civilian government and if they are used in a fascist way, it is a reflection on that government, as much as the military, as an organization. The Department of Defense does no act independently of the President of the United States and the Congress. That said, in the Destroyer Squadron staff, where I worked, I was pretty much the lone Liberal, though I would call a good portion to be pretty centrist, or at least Center Right. Generally speaking, outside of my time in Barnes & Noble, I've always been a bit of a misfit, in my crowd and even family. Even misfits have served, such as Gen Smedley Butler, who attacked the use of the military to advance economic agendas in Latin America, in the first half of the 20th Century, or General Evans Carlson, the founder of the Marine raiders, in WW2, who built them along the lines of Mao's army, which did not sit well with Marine Corps higher ups. It helps to be close friends with the President of the United States (Franklin Delano Roosevelt) and his son (James). Carlson died in 1947, due, in part, to wounds received during the Battle of Saipan; so, he never experienced the anti-Communist witch hunts that followed the war, as there were plenty in the Marines who labeled him as such. Anyway.... Recondo makes his debut, looking like he should be played by Bryan Brown, in the movie. The design was deliberate, as designer Ron Rudat like the Aussie slouch hats, even though they were not worn in the US Army, except for female drill instructors (not sure if they still wear the hat or not, as there was talk of going to gender neutral headgear, including drill instructor hats (with women wearing the same Smokey The Bear hat as men), back in 2015. I can't find anything recent to confirm whether that was implemented or not. Anyway, he is decked out like an Aussie, who have their own jungle training center, which was greatly respected, in the Vietnam Era. Australian soldiers, particularly their specials forces (like the SAS) were highly regarded for their success, in their sectors, at tracking VC movements. They would relentlessly track and dog VC units moving through their sectors, attacking them and then tracking their withdrawals, to continually harass them, into their supposed "safe areas." US forces tended to break contact, after an engagement and not pursue into other areas (more regular troops than special forces or aggressive groups, like the 101st Airborne). It would have made more sense if the character was either an Aussie exchange soldier or an American who trained with the Australian Army, in an exchange program, similar to how Col Charles Beckwith cross-trained with the British SAS, which formed his ideas that led to the formation of Delta Force (the real one, not the one with Chuck Norris and rocket-firing motorcycles). Storm Shadow has seemed to have betrayed Cobra, by rescuing Billy and helping him to escape. It will be interesting to see where his path takes him. Meanwhile, what about the Soft Master, who disappeared after hitching a ride with Zartan, after the Dreadnoks little excursion. Hama pretty much lays out the JOE attack strategy, for the hostage rescue, when he details the defenses of the bunker. When all defenses are pointed in a specific direction, the best attack is to come from the other direction. This was the strategy employed by the 1st Special Service Force, aka The Black Devil's Brigade, in Italy, at Mt La Difensa. The Germans had heavily entrenched positions on teo mountains, with a commanding view of the countryside, with artillery that could rain down and prevent the Allies from pushing on towards Rome. They were located near the summit of Mt La Difensa, with a cliff overhang at their back, which they considered a natural defense. The 1st Special Service force was tasked to climb the mountain and launch a dawn attack on the German positions, after an artillery barrage drew the German's away from the rear of the mountain. The joint Canadian and American troops climbed the mountain, in icy rain, tethered to one another. they were supposed to wait until 0600 hours to launch their attack, but the Germans were alerted to their presence and they attacked, after setting up machine guns to provide covering fire. they overwhelmed the German defenses in two hours of fighting, in a spectacular display. This is the problem of fixed fortifications; it may keep your enemy out, but it also keeps you in. Defenses need to be in layers and from all directions. I have been reading Antony Bevor's book about the Battle of Arnhem, aka Operation Market-Garden, Montgomery's plan to seize a series of bridges, across waterways through Holland, with the last being a bridge across the Rhine, into Germany. The plan called for a massive airborne landing, to seize the bridges, which would then be reinforced by advancing armored forces, under XXX Corps and General Brian Horrocks. The Bristish 1st Airborne, US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, and the Polish Independent Parachute Brigade were dropped, in waves, over Holland to seize the bridges. Montgomery and his staff believed the Germans were on the run, that their morale was shattered and that the troops in Holland were of low quality, in garrison duty. This was wildly optimistic and not true. Even RAF reconnaissance showed the presence of German armored divisions, including SS II Panzer, as well as Fallschirmjager, under the command of general Student, the pioneer of airborne tactics in the German Luftwaffe (which controlled airborne troops), which were used in the invasion of Crete, in the invasion of Holland and Belgium, and who were noted for their tough defense, in the Normandy campaign. Montgomery's planners failed to consult with Dutch liason officers about the terrain in the Netherlands and ignored reports from the Dutch underground that showed that the German retreat had slowed and halted and troops were being redeployed into defensive units, under SS and Wehrmacht leadership. The theoretical attack on the Arnhem bridge was a regular exercise at the Dutch military staff college and atatcking the british way, via the direct route from Nijmegen to Arnhem, was an immediate failure, as the terrain could not support tanks, off the main road and there was nowhere to maneuver and any troops advancing in that direction would be vlnerable to artillery and armored attacks. Meanwhile, any advance could be halted at several bridge locations, which is what happened when the bridge at Son was blown, before the 101st could get to it. Also, German counter-attacks on the supply line, bogged down the advance, as they had to keep redeploying to reinforce the airborne troops and fight off counter-attacks. The way to pass the exam was to cross the Rhine at some other point and then attack the defending forces from the rear. This exact tactic had been suggested by General Stanislaw Sosabowski, commander of the Polish Independent Parachute Brigade and the only senior officer willing to challenge the British plan (for which he was made a scapegoat and had his command taken away). In other words, when faced with a formidable enemy, in a fixed position, the best way to attack is where they are weakest. This is why I hate chess, as you are bound by the specific movements across the board and cannot use unconventional tactics, like going off the board, circling around and outflanking the opposing King. The same is true in hand-to-hand, when facing a formidable puncher. Don't meet them head on and trade blows. Try to maneuver around and attack at an oblique angle , where their strength is neutralized. The best example of this was in the Pride Grand Prix tournament, where Royce Gracie, who had won the early UFC tournaments, faced pro wrestler Kazushi Sakuraba. Sakuraba had built a reputation of defeating Gracies cousins and younger brothers. The Gracies demanded special rules for Royce's fight, preventing referee stoppage and having no time limit, because their entire strategy was built on defense, until an opponent exposed a weakness. Sakuraba had scouted Gracie out and Royce tried his usual tactics of drawing Sakuraba into the "guard" position, where Gracie would be on his back and trap his opponent between his legs, preventing him from effectively striking or maneuvering for submission. Sakuraba refused to move into the guard and would, insead, throw low kicks to the back of Royce's legs. When he was close to Gracie, he would use Royce's gi against him, pulling it over his head (legal in the fight) or grabbing him by it or his pants and pulling him off balance, to hit him with strikes to the head, when he reacted. Royce proved thrown by these tactics and he would open up his defense and took punishment, until after 90s minutes, his father threw in the towel. Sakuraba went on to fight, competitively, in the next round, but was exhausted and his corner threw in the towel, as he was facing a very rested opponent, who finished his first fight quickly and was a powerful puncher. Sakuraba had been defending well, but wasn't able to mount an offense. Anyway...again.....only sucker meet the enemy head on, if they can avoid it. Now, if I was going to attack that Cobra bunker, I would use their recon position to launch mortar strikes on the forward defenses and draw their attention, while the assault team moves up and over the cliff face and rappels down to the front side and attacks the machine gun positions on the roof. Then, have a group attack the defenders, from the rear, while an assault team , blows their way into the bunker, locates Dr Burkhalt, and gets her out. Of course, it would help if you knew the layout of the bunker and her location in it. It also helps if you can blow the door, without hauling large amounts of explosives over the cliff. Quite frankly, the JOEs need more than 7 men to pull off the mission. I wouldn't try it with anything smaller than a platoon; preferably, a company. Then again, I don't have soldiers with laser rifles and jetpacks (which we haven't seen in a while, come to think of it). This year's storyline continues, as Cobra uses the Crimson Guard and others to launch a new attack, and we learn more about their infrastructure. We also follow Storm Shadow on his quest to avenge his master and the dissent within Cobra. Lot going on; but, Hama is maintaining my interest and Whigham and Mushynsky make a pretty good team on this. Oh; and Candy's father is in the Cobra Crimson Guard and that's how they were able to ambush the JOEs. Question is, is Candy in Cobra or was she duped by her father? By the way, her outfit couldn't be any more 80s than if she had a Members Only jacket. She must have been returning from a Fixx concert.....or possibly the Psychedelic Furs. Two issues to meltdown.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 7, 2024 1:03:33 GMT -5
That blocked video is the opening to Truffault's Fahrenheit 451 adaptation.
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 14, 2024 17:10:36 GMT -5
GI JOE #39Cool cover, though Zeck has the wrong barrel shrouds on the M-16 (they were tubular, by that point, with the A2 model) and both have their weapons at pretty awkward angles. Best looking beret I've seen in this series, though. No unit flash, though. If that is supposed to be Gung Ho, that is the first time he has been depicted with a helmet. Creative Team: Larry Hama-writer, Rod Whigham & Andy Mushynsky-art, Joe Rosen-letters, George Roussos-colors, Denny O'Neil-editor, Jim Shooter, sitting in the blind, with Marlin Perkins and a pitcher of margaritas. Nobody under the age of 40 will probably get that joke. Synopsis: We return to Sierra Gordo, where the mission team is rappelling (or abseiling, if you prefer) down the cliff face, above the bunker where Dr Adele Burkhart is being held captive. Stalker is going to die, because he has no brake.... (I'll explain below) Apparently, the whole JOE team is left-handed. They drop down on the bunker roof and knock out the sentries, because bashing people over the head instantaneously knocks them out and makes less noise than slipping a knife into the base of the skull. Oh, and it's a Code-approved book, so we can't get to crazy with the bodycount. Hama has Stalker make a remark about noise discipline (these guys are about as stealthy as a charging rhino in a teacup factory) and we get some comedy about falling coffeepots and cups, when Gung Ho kicks a guard in the face, when he brings a cup of their name to the sentries. Recondo puts on his uniform to slip inside and search for the prisoner. He doesn't have to go far, as she is sitting below, tied to a chair, down near the bottom of the roof ladder.... While the goons are distracted with trying to find a vein (I have the same problem, with getting blood drawn), Recondo sneaks up and does a Batman on them and calls for the rest of the team to come on down. Now they try to figure out how to get her out of the punker and past the watchtowers and machine gun pits and slit trenches. Why enter into a hostage rescue situation without a plan and make it easier for yourself? Meanwhile, Billy is training with Storm Shadow and playing mental chess.... When Billy can take the pebble from Storm Shadow's hand, it will be time to leave.... The JOEs have Dr Burkhart don one of the uniforms of the guard, to try to sneak her out in the guise of a guard change. However, a pair of Russian snipers, in the tower, recognize that there are too many people for a shift change and sound the alarm and hit the floodlights. or, as we used to say, in the military, everything goes t@#s-up! Recondo's Tucaro allies lay down suppressing fire, while Gung Ho drops grenades on machine gun nests and Roadblock unloads with the fifty-cal. The snipers kill all three Tucaros. Roadblock provides covering fire as Gung ho fires grenades at the support pillars of the tower and succeeds in bringing it down. The JOE's escape through the fence, in the confusion. Meanwhile, Baroness and Destro report to Cobra Commander about the escape of Billy and Storm Shadow, which is bad, and the escape of Tomax, Xamot and the Crimson Guardsman, which is good. The Guardsman is involved in a special operation in the Gulf of Mexico, from New Orleans and Cobra Commander orders his plane be readied to take him there, to oversee the operation,. Back in Sierra Gordo, the bald dude tries to order the snipers after the JOE team and they just shoot him, though they still follow. The JOEs effect a river crossing, while Recondo hangs back to provide a rearguard. Ripcord swims a string line across the river, then hauls over a nylon rope, creating a two strand bridge, once Roadblock and Gung Ho chop down a tree to make support beams. Recondo turns up carrying two Dragunov sniper rifles and drops them into the river as an offering to the Tucaro river spirits, for their safe journey to the "magic mountain." (I guess the river spirits are travel agents to amusement parks). At the Pitt, Duke interrogates Candy, torturing her with his rendition of "I Want Candy" (don't get any ideas...she's 16! Well, in 1982, she was 16....now she's 57..one month older than me!) He wants to know why her father had charts of the Gulf Coast, survey maps of New Orleans and the Mississippi Delta. He tells her to talk, or he might get physical, physical.... She feels like she is slipping into the Twilight Zone..... (Ugh....seriously?...oh, okay, the woman is topless; but, hey, they're Dutch!) Duke responds that all she is giving him is "talk, talk." Hey, that's the same cell as in the "Calling All Girls" video, from Queen.... (Geez...how many music videos of the 80s were referencing THX1138?) The JOEs and Dr Burkhart travel on a bus to a border town, where they cross over to catch a flight back to the US. Ripcord continues to gripe about rescuing Dr Burkhart and Stalker gives him an earful... The plane just happens to be piloted by Wild Bill, with Cover Girl as stewardess (sigh.........) and he tells Stalker they are headed to New Orleans. Thoughts:Plenty of action, a bit of misogyny, some martial arts philosophy and a restatement of the oath that members of the armed forces take, when they enlist or are commissioned. One of the things I do admire in this is Larry Hama cutting through the Hollywood BS and Reagan Era propaganda about the military and presenting the professional soldier's point of view (or at least, a wide selection of them). The military does not exist to further the aims of politicians, no matter how they try to make it so. It exists to serve the population of the country, both to protect it and the Constitution, and serve the ideals of it. Now, the reality is that the military have been used to serve political ambitions and economic interests, as much as to protect the citizens; but, that doesn't mean everyone is a robot or some action junkie or a war monger. Some definitely are; but, for many, it is more nuanced. Or, at least, it was, during my time. That said, the military does tend to skew politically conservative, in my experience, particularly at the officer level and the senior NCO; or, at least when it comes to matters of national security. There are definitely those in positions of authority who legitimately believe in the strategy of "Kill them all, let God sort them out." Thankfully, they are rare and usually nullified by cooler heads. Gen Mark Milley, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, demonstrated that, from 2019 to 2023. So, why did I start out saying Stalker was going to fall to his death and what is a "brake?" In rappelling (abseiling), a "brake, is a portion of the line that is held against the back (or front, if rigged "Australian-style," from the rear), to keep the rope from slipping through the carabiner, in the soldier's "Swiss Seat" (support rigging, which carries their weight, either a specially designed harness or an improvised one, with rope). You rappelling line is fed through and wrapped around the carabiner, to create friction and slow descent. By holding the line at a 90 degree angle or less, greater friction is applied, preventing the line from slipping through, like applying the brakes on a car. If held tightly against the back (or chest, in an Australian rigging), the line does not move. Releasing the brake, by moving the line into a straight configuration, allows it to feed more rapidly through the carabiner and you descend more rapidly. In practice, for safety, another person is "on belay," at the bottom of the rappelling line, ready to run out at an angle, to stop someone from falling, if they lose control of their brake. On my second midshipman training cruise, we spent a week at Camp Pendleton and went rappelling at a training tower, where we executed 2 drops. I have a bit of a fear of heights and was feeling sick at the thought of going up the tower to rappel, mostly because of the climb and the open nature of the tower platform. That was spotted by an instructor, immediately and I was sent up in one of the earliest groups. I almost let my brake loose and grabbed onto a rail, to stop myself from falling. They got me back under control and slowly walked me through keeping the brake on and easing back, then gradually letting off and taking a couple of steps backward, then a couple more, then pushing off the wall, then further, until I got to the bottom. I then went up and repeated the process; but, was far more confident and dook bigger bounces off the wall, though I had me legs too stuff, on one return, and absorbed too much stress and sprained my ankle (didn't know it until later). I was asked if I wanted to try it again, Australian style and I went back up and went through a "hell hole," (basically, a square opening, cut into the platform) and descend just on the rappelling line, without pushing off the wall. I was rigged from behind, with the brake held against my chest, while I faced towards the ground, dangling above it on the rappelling line. I slowly played out the line and descended straight down it, until I was close enough to the ground to get my feet under me. It did a lot to cure my fear of heights, though not entirely. I still don't like being up somewhere without railings or barriers; but, going up and down tall ladders is no big deal. Billy's ninja training lets Hama play around with martial arts philosophy and a bit of bullshido. At one point, Billy and Storm Shadow, in civies, walk down a street and are confronted by a gang, who demand money. Billy stares them down and they flee. Now, not enough time has passed for Billy to have progressed that much, to have that level of confidence; but, it's a nice scene to show how he is growing. However, this being typical 80s Marvel, the street gang looks like a cross between punk rockers and extras in a Mad Max film.....all white, with mohawks and leather and studs, with tattoos and piercings, because who cares if punkers gripe, because they gripe about everything. Besides, Punk was dead and buried, by 1985. It was ludicrous, because it didn't reflect actual street gangs, though you can understand them not wanting to seem racist by having the gang members all be non-white. Still, you either got punk gangs or the most racially diverse street gangs you could find. By nature, gangs are tribal, which tends to fall along racial and ethnic lines. So, it's hard to strike a happy balance between realism and negative stereotype. The team going in without an extraction plan is ridiculous and wouldn't happen, unless it was a reaction to an immediate event and even then you take time to make some kind of plan. This was a mission carried out from a distance, so they had to have something in mind for getting Dr Burkhart out. Of course, the first rule of military planning is that no plan survives contact with the enemy. Basically, you can plan for how things will go, but you better plan for it to fall apart and have contingencies ready, or be able to improvise, effectively, on the fly. Such was the failure of Operation Market Garden, in 1944, when the Allies tried to seize a bridgehead across the Rhine, at Arnhem, in Holland. Montgomery's plan had no contingencies built into it and everything revolved around every aspect going according to plan. Even the lowliest lieutenant knows that is never the case, especially against the German Army, who were masters of the counter-attack. Good planners and leaders always had a mantra, "What about Murphy?", meaning, Murphy's Law: "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong." What if the plan goes wrong? How do you fall back? How do you shift forces, how can you hedge your bets? How can you distract the enemy from your objective? How can you delay their response? Rod Whigham is close, but not quite with the Dragunov sniper rifles..... The weapon was specifically designed as a sniper weapon, based on the Red Army's experiences in WW2, where they made extensive use of snipers, in urban combat, during the Siege of Stalingrad and elsewhere. Then, they used bolt action rifles, as did the Germans and the Allies; but, they, and NATO, developed specialized auto-loading sniper rifles. For the Red Army, it was the Dragunov. a robust and highly accurate weapon. For the US, it was the M-21, an M-14 Rifle matched with a Leatherwood telescopic sight, which was extremely accurate. Since the Gulf War, the US military has also fielded .50 cal sniper rifles, for extreme long range kills and the ability to punch through armor. If you have ever seen Robocop, the rifles that Clarence Boddiger and his boys have, in the finale, are Barrett .50 cal rifles, which have been used by the military as sniper weapons (though they have a specifically designed weapon, as well). Stalker does have a unit flash, on his beret, in the interior art. Not sure why Zeck left it off, aside from the fact that previous stories did not feature one, on his beret. That detail was added, with Flint, which might have inspired the use of one on Stalker's beret. A flash is the colored unit insignia on a beret. In that era, only elite troops wore berets: green for Special Forces, Maroon Red for Airborne, Black for Rangers. Air Police wore Navy Blue berets, in the USAF. The only troops who wore berets in the Navy were riverine forces and SEALs, in Vietnam. Not stateside. Some SEALs, unofficially, wore camo berets. Generally speaking, they usually wore boonie hats or head scarves, in the jungle and 8-point bdu caps, in garrison (like the Marine cap, but without the anchor & globe insignia printed on them). Candy looks like the poster child for MTV. I know they thought this made it look contemporary, but it dated the material quickly. That, more than anything else in this series, screams the 80s. It's all there, too, with the shoulder pads on the blouse, the tight mini-skirt, the short boots, big honking necklace and 10 pounds of dangling earrings, and the rolled headband. Only thing missing was one shoulder cut off, so that it drooped down, parachute pants, a Member's Only jacket, an Izod polo shirt with collar flipped up, white or black high heeled pumps, or a sweater tied around the neck and draped over the back and shoulders. We can also assume enough rouge and eyeshadow to please a bordello and lots of hair mousse. I'm surprised she didn't respond to Duke's questions with, "I want my MTV!" Man...remember when Pete Townsend and Sting had hair? Or me, for that matter. Next time, Meltdown!
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 14, 2024 17:27:25 GMT -5
ps Here is the real GI JOE, in the 1980s.....
And their WW2 forefathers, Blackhawk!
(Judge Reinhold and Bill Paxton!)
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Post by codystarbuck on Mar 14, 2024 17:35:53 GMT -5
pps Can you imagine if Teri Nunn had gotten the part of Princess Leia? We might have had Carrie Fisher fronting a rock band, riding on the metro, singing about sex, yelling, "No more words!" and having her breath taken away.
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Post by foxley on Mar 15, 2024 2:13:45 GMT -5
Not that I've done any abseiling since my time in Scouts, but why would any country rig the brake at your back? Surely it is easier to control when it is on your chest?
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