Creators: Larry Hama (writer), Paul Pelletier (penciller), Tony Kordos (inker), Francesco Segala (colorist), Sabrina Del Grosso (flatter), Pat Brosseau (letterer).
Story: At the Pit, a car drives up with Cobra agents willing to defect. Dr. Mindbender makes his case to join Revanche as Alpha-001 brainwashes the tourists so they don't remember their time on Cobra Island. Cobra Commander continues to be a captive of Destro, who stops the Baroness from killing the Commander. The Joe Ninja team gets new orders to impersonate the defectors. Meanwhile, the Cobra Island infiltration team returns only to be told they'll be heading right back to Cobra Island.
Writing: This is a build-up issue. As the storylines from the past year wrap up, new plots are put forth. I was a bit disappointed that the Infiltration Team is heading right back to Cobra Island. While the justification is sound (they just got back and know it well), it's always nice when different Joes are used. Hama is also setting the stage for a Joe/Destro confrontation soon as well, with the Ninja Force going back into Springfield.
Art: Paul Pelletier fills in for Chris Mooneyham in this issue and it works. His style meshes really well with Mooneyham. Colors are really good in this issue as well, especially the nice use of shadowing when the Baroness tries to kill Cobra Commander.
Overall: While this issue serves as a build-up issue (and would be a good spot for new readers to jump aboard), it also lacks in any real action. We've seen this before, though, with Hama taking an issue or two to set all the players in the right spots before getting going with the action. Pelletier does a fantastic job on the art and would be a nice fit in the series.
