For this big milestone issue and conclusion to the Snake Hunt arc, Larry Hama revisits arguably his most iconic Joe issue ever with a silent finale.
Silent Interlude worked so well due to the intimate main cast of Snake Eyes, Scarlett, Destro and Storm Shadow. With a story featuring every loving Joe member, the Oktober Guard, Zartan and the Dreadnoks and Destro, the storytelling device isn’t nearly as effective.
We’ve grown to love these characters’ voices over the decades and this big moment and payoff with most of Cobra Commander’s many enemies unite warranted some dialog just to convey his exasperation.
It also hurts this chapter that artists Robert Atkins and Netho Diaz largely tell the story in full page panels. Again, Silent Interlude was so effective as Hama guided the story along without making the reader fill in too many of the plot points. It’s immensely challenging to tell a story in one panel pages.
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Since part of the fun of Snake Hunt was seeing so many vintage characters return it was a little disappointing they didn’t get dialog to cap the storyline.
The art did look crisp and it was fun picking out the various characters, but I don’t envy Atkins trying to find a panel to work in all the characters.
Sometimes an idea sounds better on paper than the reality and that’s the case with Snake Hunt’s conclusion. They can’t all be winners and the next arc promises an intriguing direction for the title. For this one, it’s just a matter of an interesting idea failing to stick the landing.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10
Photo Credit: IDW Publishing
