Writer & Artist: Andrew Krahnke
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Cover Artists: Andrew Krahnke, Jorge Fornés, Jimbo Salgado,
Peter Smith, Tiago Da Silva & Karen S Darboe
Editor: Alex Antone
Publication Design: Jillian Crab
Production: Ashby Florence
Creative Consultant: Diana Davis
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 23, 2025
A convoy traverses a winding, snow-covered road. The
soldiers operating the roof-mounted guns remain alert as they pass a Road
Closed sign. They signal each other and maintain formation as they travel on
tracks and skis. Another bend in the tree-lined mountain pass awaits them.
Still, they can see their headquarters higher up the slope.
Someone hides behind a tree as the vehicles pass. Then, the
man races through the forest, intent on outpacing the motorcade. Will he assist
the convoy? Or will he prevent the Cobra soldiers from reaching their home
base? Let's grab our machine guns, leap into G I Joe: A Real American Hero:
Roadblock #1, and find out!
Story
The convoy brakes when a tree falls atop the foremost
vehicle. As the Cobra soldiers inspect the tree, the driver seated outside the
armored vehicle waits. Beside him, someone peers out through a slit in the
metal container. The soldier is one of four, clutching rifles as they surround
their captive. She sits on the floor, hands bound, head down. But she looks
around as the driver shouts, and the convoy reverses course.
This time, the man standing amid the trees awaits them. He
heaves on a precut tree. The towering evergreen crushes the vehicle that took
the lead. Two sets of eyes stare through openings on either side of the driver
as the motorcade stops again. The guards also peer out of slits on the sides.
Like the soldiers outside, they wonder who has boxed them in and what further
attacks await them.
In G I Joe: A Real American Hero: Roadblock #1, Andrew
Krahnke ratches up the fear factor. As in Agatha Christie’s novel And Then
There Were None, an unseen opponent picks them off. The Cobra soldiers are
confused and distracted. They are so close to home. Instead, it's time for the
fireworks to begin.
G I Joe: A Real American Hero: Roadblock #1 is a study of
tactics. Roadblock has methodically planned this rescue. While no plan ever
survives contact with the enemy, Roadblock's preparations help him face the
difficulties that threaten to derail his operation.
Art
Andrew Krahnke packs each page with detailed panels. While
conveying hero moments and a battle amid scenic surroundings, the scenes never
take over a page or sprawl across its neighbor. Exhalations join vehicle
exhaust, the snow spraying from the ski and track vehicles, and the smoke
rising from crushed conveyances. High-flying action and wrestling moves enliven
the weapon and hand-to-hand fighting in G I Joe: A Real American Hero:
Roadblock #1. His intense physical training grants Roadblock freedom of
movement while the combat suits, parkas, gloves, masks, balaclavas, and helmets
confine the Cobra soldiers.
Francesco Segala paints the vehicles and snowscape blue
while lavishing purple on foreground figures, distant slopes, and the evening
sky. The red lighting inside the prisoner transport suggests a high alert,
while yellow and brown explosions send soldiers and vehicles flying. Amid the
limited colors, Roadblock braves the elements and armaments in his green
camouflage tank top.
Up the slope, in a circular building that evokes Piz Gloria,
a man clad in red, his features disguised from head to toe, leaves a green-lit
control room. And he won't wait for orders from Ernst Stavro Blofeld to ensure
Roadblock doesn't have everything his way. Thanks to Image Comics, Skybound,
and Hasbro for providing a copy for review.
Final Thoughts
Roadblock doesn’t rely on his physical training and fondness
for machine guns to get by. G I Joe: A Real American Hero: Roadblock #1 reveals
a man of refinement whose understanding of human nature, meticulous planning,
and concern for his comrades help him accomplish seemingly impossible tasks.
Rating 9.8/10
For more cover art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
