Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow #19 Review

Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow #19 is the next chapter of the "Target: Snake Eyes" storyline running through this title as well as G.I. Joe. To catch you up quickly, while falsely being believed to be dead, Snake Eyes returned to his clan, the Arashikage. Upon discovering he was very much alive, the Joes think he abandoned them and Storm Shadow believed his sword-brother to have truly rejoined him and their clan. The events of the last issue as well as this one call both of those notions into question.

Chuck Dixon has proven himself capable of handling the G.I. Joe franchise for IDW Publishing. Here however, there are several bits of the overall story tied together that don't mesh well. The ending set up something we should have gotten in this issue. Scarlett stating that she believes Snake Eyes is working deep cover and Helix's progress on the tail of the silent ninja are the only redeeming elements of the issue.

Alex Cal and Romulo Fajardo Jr., artist and colorist, respectively, give the book a look that resembles the work of Mike Deodato Jr. That aspect fits this title because it is about two of the most popular ninja in fiction and their clan. There's a lot of secrecy involved, so the use of shadows is fitting. Beyond that, there aren't many remarkable visuals.

I recommend staying away from this issue. You won't miss a beat by skipping this book. My primary complaint is that it doesn't add much to the crossover. For a book about two highly-efficient ninja, this book doesn't work well. Each issue of a story may not have complete focus on the main character, and there's nothing wrong with that. But in those cases, the books tend to add significant elements to the overall story. So pick this up at your own risk.

Book of the Week

I've wanted to do this feature for some time, but never could because I was behind on so many books due to school and other obligations. But that's a thing of the past. I'm caught up on all but two of the books I'm reading monthly from a list of around 38 titles. This includes bi-monthlies, several books on hiatus, as well as some mini-series, so that number will drop soon.

I just trimmed some fat on the DC side and I'm eyeing a few other books that might not have a home on my pull-list anymore. Yeah I'm looking at you Witchblade. More on that another time though. So there will be plenty of books to choose from each week. That is unless a week worth of books just happens to suck; which would be quite unfortunate.

IDW's Ghostbusters #9 is my pick for book of the week. It's quite fitting that the first entry in this category is from my first love. As a kid, I LOVED the Ghostbusters. I loved the movies and the cartoon. I even had a ton of the toys including the action figures and toy replicas of the items they used.

Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening, and Luis Antonio Delgado have the fellas in their technologically superior RV and set them out to travel the country. They first stop in Ohio before settling into Detroit for the rest of the issue. In Fort Wayne, they must deal with the resurgence of Major-General Anthony Wayne; a soldier from the Revolutionary War. Pretty sure he shouldn’t be around. And he's followed by the rest of his dead army. And I’m sure they shouldn’t exist anymore either. Whatever will the Ghostbusters do? I’m doing this spoiler-free, so you’ll have to read it yourself to find out.

This is just a fun book. Burnham has a way with the characters that will appeal to longtime fans of the franchise. His writing will also pull in newer readers. Schoening’s visual storytelling matches the writing well. He’s backed up by Delgado’s bright colors. Luis’ touches on the supernatural entities definitely stand out. If you aren’t reading Ghostbusters, I definitely recommend the series. Who ya gonna call? You’re comic shop of course, to order this series.