G.I. Joe: Sierra Muerte No. 2 review

Destro woos Baroness, Cobra Commander mopes, and Storm Shadow breaks free in this latest issue of GI Joe: Sierra Muerte!

Michel Fiffe’s Sierra Muerte No. 2. Art by Michel Fiffe (Courtesy Hasbro, published by IDW)

Issue two of Michel Fiffe’s GI Joe: Sierra Muerte is a fun, distilled version of a GI Joe comic book. As noted in my look at the first issue of this miniseries, Fiffe is well known for his Suicide Squad “cover album,” COPRA and, to a degree, Sierra Muerte is a similar exercise. It’s an officially sanctioned story, but with the creative control loosened up a little bit. IDW is celebrating 20 years (and trying to stay afloat by selling itself off), and it looks like maybe they’re trying to reinvent themselves too, as a welcoming place for singular, indie creators.

For IDW and Hasbro, inviting Michel Fiffe to play with their toys means allowing a quirkier look for GI Joe and Cobra troops. For Fiffe, it probably means he can’t jump off a cliff just because it’s there. COPRA (now at Image comics) evolved over four years and 30-plus issues to become its own beast but, with just three issues to play with, one can see Sierra Muerte hewing closer to its toy line and Marvel Comics origins. Fiffe is a fan, as well as a comics creator, and his work can comfortably sit next to its source material.

In issue two, the Joes recoup from their initial skirmish with Cobra: wrapping wounds, interrogating captured Dreadnoks, and gently prodding the scientist they came to Sierra Muerte to rescue (who just might be Zartan). Meanwhile, Cobra Commander lashes out at underlings, flops onto a bed and whines about his impending death. He acts like a moody teenager, it’s a great distillation of the character.

Michel Fiffe’s Sierra Muerte No. 2. Art by Michel Fiffe (Courtesy Hasbro, published by IDW)

Fiffe moves on to Destro and Baroness next. He hones in on the constant “triangle” that exists between them and Cobra. The Baroness/Destro duo have been in orbit around each other since the comic book first debuted, with Cobra often getting in the way. Aside from employing the Baroness, they’re also the only people buying Destro’s wild weapons. Here, the two debate whether it’s a good idea for Baroness to leave Cobra once Destro’s plan to cut off the terrorist organization’s head comes to fruition. As he sells his paramour on the idea, they come closer and closer to embracing. As this tension builds, the panels alternate between their percolating dance and the sneaky approach of Lady Jaye and Flint (another longstanding GI Joe couple). The page’s bouncy visual rhythm climaxes in a four-way stand-off: wrist missiles and bullets are blasted back-and-forth, while innocent tourists flee in the background.

Michel Fiffe’s Sierra Muerte No. 2. Art by Michel Fiffe (Courtesy Hasbro, published by IDW)

Before the issue ends with Chad Bowers text piece on the history of Snake Eyes (an excellent companion to this year’s G.I. Joe Yearbook), we check in with Dr. Mindbender and Storm Shadow. Captured last issue, Mindbender now plans to use the ninja’s body as the receptacle for Cobra Commander’s memory, which will cure his ailing leader, while providing the opportunity to make the megalomaniac leader more malleable thanks to some sneaky mind-control on the bad Doctor’s part. Storm Shadow, brain-wiped or not, has other plans for his body.

Next month’s issue three will be the last chapter of Sierra Muerte, and Fiffe has laid out a tight “chessboard” of pieces for the finale, familiar yet unpredictable series. It’s a distillation of everything GI Joe represents, comics and cartoon-wise. If you wanted to show someone what America’s elite fighting force is about in the shortest number of pages possible and you weren’t going to give that person a Larry Hama book for some reason, Sierra Muerte would be a great example.