The Circle : great new military book

[jamarmiller]

http://thecirclecomic.com/

Its up to issue number 4 and I just discovered this book but its good a lot like Joe.

Infact when they reboot the comic and the 25 years of continuity and start over from day one (when IDW takes up the license ) Im dropping the JOE book and I will be picking this up as my replacement book

[pocoyo_joe]

Well based on your recommendation I'm gonna check this series out.

The cover to issue 1 looks great, just like Scarlett and Duke undercover and shooting out against some Cobras!

Is it confirmed now the IDW will take up the Joe licence and not Marvel?

*sigh* I know just where you're coming from on the Joe comic front. I spent the best part of the last couple of years tracking down (not easy over in the UK where comic shops usual response to GI Joe is "NO!!!!") and getting up to speed on the Devils Due Joe comics, only now to feel kick in the gut.

I've got the TBs Marvel did a few years back but they stopped at issue 50 (d'oh!).

However a continuity reboot isn't always a bad thing, back in the 80s in the UK our Action Force comics continuity was all over the place. First Battle Action Force was good old British war comics with SAS et al up against the Baron, then they abruptly change the Baron into Cobra Commander and suddenly a lot (but not all) of the comics became 2D versions of the Joe cartoon (especially the whole Duke/Scarlett thing). Then all of that got dumped so that Marvel could start again, and publish old US comics along side new UK comics that didn't share continuity.

I'm sure you know all that but my point is that great characters (and I consider Action Force/GI Joe to be just that) survive many reinventions, just look what Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman have been thru since WW2.

Anyhow, I'll let you know what I think of "The Circle" once I've track down the comics.

[jamarmiller]

it hasnt been officially confirmed or announced but the militarty advisor for Devils Due has confirmed it to be true.

so not officially unveiled but pretty darn close

the big thing with continuity being dropped and it moving to IDW is that we can pretty much kiss away any chance of the red shadows or AF character reaapearing.

Devils Due had been doing that, and if IDW restart from the beginning they are not going to want to include the RED SHADOWS or any of the other characters of ACTION FORCE, there going to want to only include the core cast of GI JOE .

If DDP had been able to keep it, then the next big story arc would most likely have featured the RED SHADOWS and with the current writers comments in interviews we probally could have expected to see lots of AF and RED SHADOW characters from the BAF days.

its really too bad.

I just dont have it in me either to start all over from the begninning either

I mean if they do a book like the TF SPOTLIGHTS and do a story on someone like SNOW JOB whom we dont know much about and its like a declassified book then as long as it doesnt contradict anything then Ill buy the book

but I just dont have it in me to start all over from the beginning

I wish then no bad will or anything I just wont be there to support them

[The Baron]

We don't know that. Sure, when IDW took over The Transformers from Dreamwave the storylines were abandoned, but IDW have been reprinting the old Marvel UK Transformers comics. They've also been rumoured to be interested in reprinting Zoids.

As for DDP, well, they had a go at the Shadows and it didn't catch on ('cos they weren't very good). We did our petition and they threw some old school AF guys into a panel as a nod in our direction, I'm not convinced they would have gone any further.

It's a shame about DDP but from what I've seen by IDW I think they're in good hands. Their Angel - After the Fall (series 6) comic captures the characters exactly. I think our chances are about the same as before. Slim, but anything's possible.

[pocoyo_joe]

Transformers were a bit after my time so I never really got into them, so can't really comment on their comics, but I'll pick up the new Joe comic when it eventually appears and stick with it for at least a year, hopefully it'll be good.

Yeah while it was good that Devils Due tipped the nod to the Red Shadows, they were portrayed very different to the "Blood for the Baron!" yelling fantactics/would be Nazis I remember from my youth.

I always felt a great potential plot line was lost by making the Baron into CC.

The story I always wanted (and indeed still do) is the Baron vs Cobra Commander, now that would be great, the two greatest villians of all time going head to head with Action Force caught in the middle of the struggle.

I know they had Black Major going up against Cobra in BAF, but the Baron against the Commander was the confrontation I longed to see.

[jamarmiller]

hell ya! I would love to see cobra commander vs the Baron as well !

that was one of the few things I didnt like either, having the Baron becoming cobra commander

much better if they are seperate and like you said a much bigger and better confrontation would be possible

[pocoyo_joe]

I got issues 1 and 2 of The Circle this weekend. Really impressed with the artwork, less so with the writing though I suppose they had to set things up in the 1st issue even issue 2 takes a bit to get going.

Not keen on the geeky MI6 bloke Wallace Christopher but Ullee and Ilona are pretty cool (she so reminds me of Scarlett it's not true). THe character Y is interesting too, and I like the idea that the "good" guys aren't quite as good as you'd normally find, a reflection of the times we live in.

Hopefully I'll track down issues 3 and 4 soon. Promising start.

On a side note got issue 31 and 32 of GI JOE America's Elite and it;s WW3 arc, building up quite nicely though it's obvious they would never have done such an end of the world story unless they knew they were pretty much doomed to lose the licence. Battle Action Force used to do these kinda stories on a regular basis, where the Enemy pretty much took over and AF looked doomed but won thru in the end. Mind you so did the Joe toon, the Marvel US Joe comics were always pretty small scale.

[jamarmiller]

I got issues 1 and 2 of The Circle this weekend. Really impressed with the artwork, less so with the writing though I suppose they had to set things up in the 1st issue even issue 2 takes a bit to get going.

Not keen on the geeky MI6 bloke Wallace Christopher but Ullee and Ilona are pretty cool (she so reminds me of Scarlett it's not true). THe character Y is interesting too, and I like the idea that the "good" guys aren't quite as good as you'd normally find, a reflection of the times we live in.

Hopefully I'll track down issues 3 and 4 soon. Promising start.

On a side note got issue 31 and 32 of GI JOE America's Elite and it;s WW3 arc.......................

issue 3 and 4 get better and so far people are saying issue 4 is the best yet.

So what did you think of QUARREL , HUNTER, Moondancer and Blades appearing in 31 !! Man we had been working on that for at least a year!

we were all siked to see that

[pocoyo_joe]

Wow you're right issues 3 and 4 really do get better. I got issues 3 and 4 yesterday and read them last night. These issues are the pay off, the flash back showing the whole of the Circle group does remind one of the Joes/AF. I'm guessing of those 8 you've got a Brit or Aussie maybe, a Nordic chap, an African lady, the Japanesse fella we already met, a couple of Hispanic guys and of course our Slavic hero and heroine.

Nice change to see an American (Y) portrayed as the baddie and the Slavs (Ulee and Ilona) as the good guys, and the bumbling Brit (Wallace) is growing on me, his encounter with the pig (and its owner) are great comedy.

Some parts even remind me of TinTin books. 3 & 4 have really sold me on this series, pity it's only got one issue left but I can't wait for the climax. The cliff hanger from 4 with the bombers was pure gold magic.

Thanks, jamarmiller, glad you mentioned this comic book. I too think other fans of Action Force/GI joe would love it too.

Hopefully the guys behind the Circle will get a chance to do another story arc, but I know comics don't get the sales they used to, it's hard to keep a comic going now, America's Elite is a prime example.

Yes I did like the brief appearance of the Action Force guys (and gal) in issue 30, I hoped they would appear alongside Big Ben in the fighting in Suffolk but Big BEn was supported by Joes rather than AF guys. Nice tribute though, even if it was only one panel.

[The Kraken Wakes]

When i first saw that panel I got very excited as the guy on the right looked like wheels or a Z Force infantryman with the red goggles on the helmet...