G.I. Joe America's Elite Volume 5: WWIII Omnibus [Paperback]

Mark Powers (Author), Mike Bear (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 29, 2008

When Cobra gains control of the most advanced weaponry manufacturer, they use that advantage to turn minor skirmishes across the globe into full-out wars! World War III has begun! While G.I. Joe is spread thin dealing with this, the world is ripe for conquering... enter Cobra Commander! The world -- and G.I. Joe -- will never be the same! Collects G.I. Joe: America's Elite #25-36 and the WWIII prologue from Special Missions: The Enemy!

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Devil's Due Publishing (July 29, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934692026
• ISBN-13: 978-1934692028
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #594,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Uneven finale to 25 years of stories, September 14, 2008

By 

Kid Kyoto (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: G.I. Joe America's Elite Volume 5: WWIII Omnibus (Paperback)

Marvel Comics' GI Joe was one of the most popular comics of the 80s thanks to its tie-in with the popular toy line and TV ads for the comic (paid for by Hasbro to get around restrictions on toy ads). But also in a large part because of the efforts of writer Larry Hama (himself a US army vet) to bring realistic military jargon and thinking to the comic.

After a lull in the 90s the comic was relaunched, ironically just before the September 11th attacks, and continued through the 2000s.

World War III is finale to this long-running story and tries to fit in every character who appeared in that quarter-century of comics.

The result is uneven. Minor characters are killed off-panel while the main characters survive bullet wounds and massive battles without any trouble. Cities are razed, governments fall, the world is in chaos but you never feel like any of the characters is seriously at risk. The writer tries but never quite captures Hama's ability to make these action figures sound like real soldiers.

Plus as the finale to 25 years of comics casual readers will be completely lost and even long-time fans will be scratching their heads trying to remember who's who.

So add a star if you're a fan of GI Joe, take one off if you've not read these before.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great G.I. Joe story with almost every character, October 5, 2008

By 

J.S. Hicks "J.S. Hicks" (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: G.I. Joe America's Elite Volume 5: WWIII Omnibus (Paperback)

Almost every G.I. Joe and Cobra character cameos at some point in this thick sized Devil's Due graphic novel. I'm not sure calling it an omnibus is correct. It's nowhere near as big as the Marvel or DC Omnibus (omnibi?) are. But it is an extra thick graphic novel (though not oversized).

Cobra has taken M.A.R.R.S. away from Destro and the Baroness and are using the advance weaponry to destabilize most of the world's hot spots. The world breaks into World War III while G.I. Joe is deployed internationally to get to the bottom of it. Then, to further escalate the war, Cobra nukes Boston.

The story is fine and virtually every living Joe and Cobra has at least a brief cameo. Those most heavily featured are: Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Agent Delta (you'll just have to read it), Shipwreck, Cover Girl, Duke, General Hawk, Wild Bill, Spirit, Destro, James McCullen Destro, The Baroness, Firefly, Roadblock, Scarlett, Cobra Commander, Tomax & Xamot, Billy (Cobra Commander's son who meets his end), and Zartan.