If you don't know the story of GI Joe #21, its the 'silent issue'. Snake Eyes infiltrates a Cobra stronghold to rescue Scarlett. It turns out she didn't need rescuing until he put her in that position. It all works out in the end. Told with images only (and some sneaky text worked in on computer screens and munitions), it was a revelation for the children of the 80's.

There's a reason it has been aped so many times. Marvel even had a whole MONTH of silent comics. Done well, the pictures become the words. It was done very, very well. The big twist was that the issue was drawn by the writer for GI Joe, Larry Hama, and finshed by Coyote's Steve Leialoha. It was good enough to make you wonder if other writers could draw, a strange thought now as so many artists look to get away from drawing with a big break into writing.


Jump ahead 38 1/2 years, and IDW is celebrating the anniversary of Joe with 22 artists each taking a page and redrawing it. Marvel has done this in recent years with anniversary books for the FF and X-Men, so the idea isn't a new one. What makes this one excel is that IDW has also reprinted the full original story in the book, so you can bounce back and forth to compare w/ ease. There are even eight pages of side by sides, a bonus cover gallery, and some pin ups.

IDW isn't going to have the GI Joe license for much longer, so they're pulling out all the stops to put as much money in the till before its gone. Cash grab or not, this is worth it.