By Mike Badilla

Here's what I know about this whole Revolution thing: nothing. It has to do with Rom, and the Transformers, and GI Joe and who knows who else, but I don't know what. The recap page states that when the Earth Defense Command failed to push back the Autobots and Decepticons, GI Joe took over. Joe Colton, head of GI Joe, is killed during a mission to stop the Cybertronians. Scarlett is in charge now. Joe Colton was not the real Joe Colton, but a Dire Wraith imposter. I'm not kidding, this is the recap page. Everything crystal clear now?

The Joes on the team are: Scarlett, Roadblock, Rock 'n Roll, Quick Kick, Wild Bill, and Shipwreck. That's it. There are more, as any fan of the figures would know, but apparently these "Dire Wraiths" are shapeshifters and have infiltrated the team, and these are the only Joes that Scarlett can trust. They are vaguely briefed on the mission at hand, although Scarlett doesn't tell them much because she can't be sure that there isn't any shapeshifters in the bunch. They are then fired out of a submarine (seriously) in bubbles of air (seriously) and arrive on a beach. The team separates into Scarlett and Roadblock (me-YOW) on one team and the other three headed the other way. Shipwreck stayed on the sub, because that's just his job.

Suddenly Scarlett and Roadblock are under fire, and they call for backup from the other team. During the radio call, Quick Kick and Rock n' Roll are attacked by Wild Bill, whose eyes are glowing red. He can also shoot a laser out of his mouth. Rock is hit by the laser, Quick Kick and Bill start beating each other up. Bill then releases tendrils from his hand and start choking Quick Kick. Suddenly when it seems all is lost, Rock appears and beats Bills head in with his rifle, only to find that he's one of the shape-shifters (gasp). Rock bandages up Quick, while Scarlett and Roadblock start firing back, knowing now that the island has been taken over by shape-shifters.

This was the point that I stopped caring. Actually, it was earlier than this, but I figured I had to squeak out at least a half page before throwing in the towel. I like the idea of GI Joe and the Transformers and Rom all tied into a story, but shape shifting aliens? I just can't make that seem interesting in my head. This book had decent art, pretty consistent throughout the book, minus that cover art (which was terrible). The dialogue and everything seemed good, all of the Joes had their own personality and tone which I liked. I just couldn't get past those fucking aliens. Maybe this is a good series and perhaps it'll flesh itself out later down the road, but I'm leaving this one where I found it.

Score: 2/5

Revolution: G.I. Joe #1
Writer: Aubrey Sitterson
Artist: Giannis Milanogiannis
Publisher: IDW Publishing