G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #276

Part 1 of "Untold Tales" kicks off a new arc for G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero with the original Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Stalker, Torpedo, Wild Bill, Lift-Ticket, Roadblock, and Scoop sent into Northern Trucial Abysmia to capture weapons tech Alpheus Hunzucker responsible for the region's poison gas program which has wiped out entire villages of ethnic minorities. Assisting the strike force are a pair of locals, one of whom is nearly as lethal with a blade as Snake Eyes himself.

After the lengthy "Snake Hunt" arc, this single-issue tale is a nice change of pace for the comic, and it appears to be just the first as the next several issues will be short tales featuring fan favorite characters in untold JOE adventures. The running gag of Scoop being prevented from filming the action (his one job) gets a little tiresome, but otherwise the issue works well enough.

It's the local contact, the fiery Zara, who does most of the killing here (including killing the man the team was sent to extract). Although the mission was a wash, the group gets out intact with Zara the only casualty.

[IDW, $3.99]

• Title: G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #276
• Comic Vine: link
• Writer: Larry Hama
• Artist: Netho Diaz