Creators: Larry Hama (Writer), Chris Mooneyham (Artist), Francesco Segala (Colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (Flatter), Pat Brosseau (Letterer)
Story: The battle for Springfield rages on with Cobra forces leading Serpentor-Khan's forces into a trap. The Dreadnoks and the Joe Ninja Force bring the Baroness to the hospital so he can be healed, with Zartan pretending to be Cobra Commander. Meanwhile, Serpentor-Khan arrives, changing the tide of the battle and the Cobra forces retreat. Just as Serpentor-Khan believes he has the upper hand, Destro's forces arrive.
Writing: This is a fast-paced battle issue. All the action takes place in Springfield and it's a back and forth between a ground battle, air battle, and the commanding forces figuring out what to do. I felt that it flowed really well and even though the perspective changed to different areas, the pace never let up. I also enjoyed that the story didn't switch to the Joe's command team at the Pit, as I feel this really would have disrupted the flow.
Art: Along with the fast-paced writing, the art it equally fast paced. Even the panels where there isn't action, there is some action that keeps the momentum going. On top of that, we get to see a lot of classic Joe (Cobra & Iron Grenadiers) vehicles, which is always cool. The only real downside is, even when it doesn't quite make sense, there are a lot of reds and oranges used in the background colors. It would have been nice to see the jets flying against the sky and not just an orange background.
Overall: This is what Hama has been building to since Skybound took over the G.I. Joe comic and it's great. Just a big battle issue, which both sides getting the upper hand at various points in the story, Cobra Commander and Serpentor-Khan being their "best selves" (so to speak). The only player left to really join the battle at this point is the G.I. Joe team proper and we'll see what next issue brings!
