JOHN NEY REIBER TALKS G.I. JOE REBORN

[MattBrady]

As announced yesterday, both G.I. Joe and Cobra will be getting upgrades in early 2004 thanks to Cobra Reborn and G.I. Joe Reborn, and a new ongoing series, G.I. Joe: Reloaded. Newsarama caught up with G.I. Joe Reborn writer John Ney Rieber to get some details on reimagining the Joes.

While this is his first time working with Devil's Due on G.I. Joe, Rieber noted that G.I. Joe Reborn will be a return on two fronts. "Not only will this be my second mission with the Joes, but it'll be the second time I've had the chance to chronicle the origin of the team," the writer said. "In the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover, the challenge was to recreate the team in a World War II era setting. Here the challenge is to recreate the team in the context of now.

"Texture of realism aside, the Transformers/G.I. Joe crossover is definitely a fantasy story. This project is much more real world. The twist there being: the world we live in is even stranger and more dangerous than any world I could invent.

"That said, I was drawn to the project on a lot of levels. First--well, I've come to just plain love some of these characters. Second--when Josh Blaylock first approached me about scripting the story, he had a very clear vision of the feel he wanted the book to have, the way he wanted to represent the team. To honor the core of the classic characters--the personalities we know so well, the larger-than-life qualities that make the Joes heroes--and make them real. Maybe more real than they've ever been...

"That's my kind of challenge.

"Last but not least, the Reborn project gave me the chance to tag-team with Paul Jenkins. Paul writes his characters from the inside out--and I mean, he really does it; he doesn't just go through the motions. In a medium where characterization is all too often skin-deep, Paul’s characters are alive down to the bone. And we've been friends since our Vertigo days."

Along with the challenges Reborn represented, as Rieber mentioned, he's come to like and appreciate the G.I. Joe characters and what they stand for on different levels. "I like their histories--the history they have with us, and the history they have with each other," Rieber said. "I like the fact that they're all human. And I love the fact that their identities are so strong, and that their fans' sense of their identities is so strong.

"I feel as though they've remained themselves over the years more than a lot of other heroes have...which is pretty astonishing, when you consider the variety of media we've seen them in, and their characterization hasn't always been deep or complex, but it's been solid. We know their voices. We know who these guys are."

Prior to his work with the Joes, either In Reborn or Transformers/G.I. Joe, Rieber’s last work of a…national hero nature was, of course, the initial arcs of the relaunched Captain America series under the Marvel Knights banner. Rieber’s run had its share of critics, including national political columnists, who found the writer's morally questioning Cap to be offensive and quite frankly not what the country needed right now. Captain America, many felt, needed to be as clear about his actions, morals, and view of his country, even when the current administration led many to have clouded views of the country's actions and morals.

That aside, Rieber’s not anxious to return to a Captain America-style assignment for a variety of reasons. "I'd rather crawl over broken glass for twelve hours a day than write another book driven by the same imperatives that I felt, scripting Cap," Rieber said. "'Enemy'--the only Captain America story arc that was published with the dialogue and captioning and plot I'd written - has been called right-wing, left-wing, jingoist, communist, anti-American and flag-waving...simply because I showed Cap asking himself moral questions, and struggling to reconcile his sense of the American Dream with the realities of America’s political history. As nearly as I can tell, anyway...

"I don't want to revisit that territory with the Joes. It’s not really in the spirit of the characters, for one thing. Good and evil have always been clearly defined in the 'Joeverse,' and the Joes are a military force. They're under orders. They're about getting the job done.

"But bear in mind that Cobra: Reborn and G.I. Joe: Reborn are only laying the foundation for a new ongoing monthly G.I. Joe series, Reloaded. The series' creative team may have their own ideas about the kind of stories they want to sink their teeth into."

While Cobra are and will remain the Joes' main threat, Rieber outlined what kinds of baddies, in particular, the Joes are optimally suited for. "The Joes neutralize threats," Rieber said. "High-level threats to America and American citizens, and the threat that the force is initially formed to combat--Cobra--is based in America. Founded in America by an American. Although cobra's ultimate goal may be global domination, its primary goal is the conquest of the United States of America.

"That said, this incarnation of the Joes is much more covert in nature than others we've seen - maybe not black ops, but certainly gray. It has to be, because we're talking about a branch of the military whose mission demands that it operate freely on American soil. So there's a very high level of intrigue built into the scenario."

As for taking it to the man? "Would the Joes invade Iran? Well, I’d say that an invasion would be a little high profile for the team. They’re more likely to be on missions that you'll never read about in the papers."

And one of those missions, appropriately enough, starts the action in G.I. Joe: Reborn. "The story is really all about the formation of the team," Rieber said. "It starts off when Scarlett tags along on a raid on the hard camp of an obscure militia group--and unearths a cache of extremely destructive weapons - prototypes from a top-secret DOD development program - and evidence that this militia group is only a branch on the tree of a deep and deadly nationwide conspiracy. That starts the grenade rolling...

"The core Joe team is assembled soldier by soldier, specialist by specialist, as the investigation evolves into a series of increasingly dangerous covert missions, and our picture of the threat becomes darker and clearer, until the Joes have a name for the threat: Cobra. And then realize that Cobra's first strike is only hours away..."

The cast of assembled specialists includes several of Rieber’s favorites, which include Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Roadblock, Striker, Beach Head, and Lady Jaye ."I can't imagine writing a G.I. Joe book without them," the writer said.

"The cast list we have for Reborn also includes Hawk as the Joe's C.O.--though he comes onstage as a colonel, here - not too advanced in the ranks to get his hands dirty with the team. Duke's in, too, and we also have Doc on board. Definitely doc...but just as definitely a Doc you've never seen before. There's been some discussion of including Rock & Roll on the team, but the jury's still out on that one.

"We're deliberately paring down the size of the core team, to allow us to give the characters the attention they deserve. Other classic Joes will appear as guests in the continuing series, as situations arise that demand their unique skills."

While Rieber’s commitment to the Joes currently only includes G.I. Joe Reborn, he's anxious to be coming back to play with the characters at the first opportunity. "I'd really like to script a miniseries that focuses on a very tight group of the Joes in a very tight situation," Rieber said. "Three or four Joes, period. Snake Eyes and Scarlett and... The story would be along the lines of something about an extraction or a rescue mission gone horribly awry.

"I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to script a Snake Eyes miniseries, either. A story that didn't dig into the mysteries of his past--who he was, who he is, why he hides his face, why he doesn't speak. I'd like to write a story that just cut snake eyes character loose and let him silently rip.

"But who knows?"

[kingofcities]

This sounds like a GREAT book. I love the fact that Rieber is trimming down the team a bit. It just makes for a chance to get to know the core characters better. Also, he has my vote on the Snake Eyes mini! Can't wait.


Kent / kingofcities

[scan2001]

Maybe it time for me to start collecting G.I Joe again!

[starvenger]

Good work landing John. His Transformers/G.I. Joe stuff was miles better than Blaylock's version (which itself was a poor rehash of Sarraccini's G1 mini) and I've no doubt that this will be the same.

[jawaplumber]

Over on the other thread, everyone is giving Rieber shit for his CAPTAIN AMERICA run, but if you've been following his TRANSFORMERS/GI JOE miniseries with Jae Lee, you'd know he'll fare quite well on this new work for Devil's Due. Can't wait to check it out!

[IanZL]

"I wouldn't turn down the opportunity to script a Snake Eyes miniseries, either. A story that didn't dig into the mysteries of his past--who he was, who he is, why he hides his face, why he doesn't speak. I'd like to write a story that just cut snake eyes character loose and let him silently rip.

If you've been reading Transformers/G.I.Joe you can realize how awesome this would be.

[Pariah]

Interesting idea, but not enough money in my bank account to buy all this. I'll stay with the original series. When will these guys realize we can't buy everything?

[StoneGold]

Jeebus, Devil's Due must be on a PR blitz. How many Joe stories have their been in the last two days? At least three.

I'm not 100% sold on Neiber. Don't get me wrong, I'm down for the book. His Transformers/GI Joe is tons better than his Cap, which did indeed destroy the laws of nature by both simultaneously sucking and blowing. That said, the book is good mostly for the art. The story isn't bad, it just isn't all that good either. That may have something to do with the limitations of squeezing in four very large teams into one book however.

[StoneGold]

Originally posted by Pariah
Interesting idea, but not enough money in my bank account to buy all this. I'll stay with the original series. When will these guys realize we can't buy everything?

When something doesn't sell. And I'm sorry, but just because you aren't going to be able to afford it, doesn't mean they shouldn't make it. By that logic, they shouldn't make aircraft carriers. I sure as hell can't afford one.

[KACH]

Great stuff, great stuff. I predicted an "Ultimate" GI Joe a while back.

And Reiber's work on Cap (though I am one of the few who liked it) is not indicative of his talent. He started his career on stuff like BOOKS OF MAGIC, so let's not look at him as some political fanatic. He's a writer telling stories he was told to write. And judging by his Snake Eyes in TF/GI Joe, he's perfect for this. I wish he was the regular book's writer also.

--J.

[StoneGold]

Actually, you know what was a pretty decent "Ultimate Joe" type thing? The Spy Troops DVD that came with the Snakeeyes Storm Shadow 2pack. A lot better than I thought it was going to be. A lot of the voices even sounded more or less like the original, if somewhat toned down. I don't know if anyone could be as over the top as Chris Latta as Cobra Commander. They totally screwed the pooch with Shipwreck and Beachhead's voices though. BH was a surfer dude, and Shipwreck sounded nothing like Nicholson

[adamania]

I'd rather spend my money on a second ongoing series with it's own continuity, rather than the rotating Front Line.

I am psyched for this series.

If you are reading, JB, please get Larry Hama involved in Devils Due in some capacity. I know he is old school, but so am I.

[phoenx]

Cool. Can't wait for this to come out

[The Drizzt]

Only problem is we'll have to have three issues of misguided quasi-moralizing about how GI Joe is no better than Cobra after every firefight...

"You're the real terrorisssstssss, Duke!"
*sob* "You're right, Cobra Commander! We are! America is evil!"

Followed by an arc in which Roadblock confronts Duke about racism in the military and Duke breaks down in tears over his own white guilt. And follow that up with a "don't ask, don't tell"-centered arc concerning the *real* secret relationship between Snakeyes and Storm Shadow.



Pass.

[beta-ray]

Originally posted by StoneGold
Actually, you know what was a pretty decent "Ultimate Joe" type thing? The Spy Troops DVD that came with the Snakeeyes Storm Shadow 2pack. A lot better than I thought it was going to be. A lot of the voices even sounded more or less like the original, if somewhat toned down. I don't know if anyone could be as over the top as Chris Latta as Cobra Commander. They totally screwed the pooch with Shipwreck and Beachhead's voices though. BH was a surfer dude, and Shipwreck sounded nothing like Nicholson

No offense, but it was like a bad joke to me. I thought the animation was pretty bad and the script was weak and corny.

Ugh why did they have to go and call it "Reloaded" and "Reborn"? Names similar to two things I couldn't stomach: Matrix Reloaded (blech) and Heroes Reborn (barf!)

[MichaelCoughlin]

As a harcore Reagan-esque proud conservative who loves this damn country more than anything except for God and his family (and the family one is touch and go at times) I want to say that I really liked his arc with Cap. I felt it was a perfect take on Cap, though I thought the unmasking was dumb and has served NO PURPOSE so far (which isn't his fault), but I thought it was a good book. To me it was Cap saying, "Yea, America has done dumb things, but I still love this country and it's people and I still believe that America will ultimately do the right thing."

Plus, that damn Cassiday art was just so freaking beautiful. Anyone see his last Planetary issue? Holy crap, the man is reinventing the art form.

[ENNIS ELLIS]

Originally posted by The Drizzt
Only problem is we'll have to have three issues of misguided quasi-moralizing about how GI Joe is no better than Cobra after every firefight...

"You're the real terrorisssstssss, Duke!"
*sob* "You're right, Cobra Commander! We are! America is evil!"

Followed by an arc in which Roadblock confronts Duke about racism in the military and Duke breaks down in tears over his own white guilt. And follow that up with a "don't ask, don't tell"-centered arc concerning the *real* secret relationship between Snakeyes and Storm Shadow.



Pass.

Smiley face aside, did you actually bother to read the interview before posting this?

QUOTE:
That aside, Rieber’s not anxious to return to a Captain America-style assignment for a variety of reasons. "I'd rather crawl over broken glass for twelve hours a day than write another book driven by the same imperatives that I felt, scripting Cap," Rieber said. "'Enemy'--the only Captain America story arc that was published with the dialogue and captioning and plot I'd written - has been called right-wing, left-wing, jingoist, communist, anti-American and flag-waving...simply because I showed Cap asking himself moral questions, and struggling to reconcile his sense of the American Dream with the realities of America’s political history. As nearly as I can tell, anyway...

"I don't want to revisit that territory with the Joes. It’s not really in the spirit of the characters, for one thing. Good and evil have always been clearly defined in the 'Joeverse,' and the Joes are a military force. They're under orders. They're about getting the job done.
UNQUOTE.

I didn't particularly enjoy his take on Cap (but then I've never really enjoyed the character anyway - maybe that's because I'm British though!) but for goodness sake Rieber has written other, far superior, things. Transformers / GIJoe has been pretty good so far, for example.

I'll be checking this out. And I dropped 'Ongoing Joe' after 4 issues vowing never to return. Too much "Oh look here's (insert character here)! Kewl!" and not enough plot.

Hopefully this will be more what I'm looking for.

Cheers.

[The Drizzt]

Smiley face aside,

The problem with that, of course, is that you can't put the smiley face aside.

Color me skeptical that anyone actually told him his run was "right wing" or "jingoistic." It sure didn't have anything to do with "reality." If he wanted to do that, he could have contrasted the origins of America (founded on a fundamental fear of centralized power) with the post-New Deal America (centralized power and entrenched bureaucracies galore).

Regardless, though, I thought the Snakeyes/Storm Shadow line had to be said.

[smokinj]

I alone as the art doesnt turn cartooney later down the road and the writing stays real this could be a really good read...

[StoneGold]

Originally posted by beta-ray
No offense, but it was like a bad joke to me. I thought the animation was pretty bad and the script was weak and corny.

Ugh why did they have to go and call it "Reloaded" and "Reborn"? Names similar to two things I couldn't stomach: Matrix Reloaded (blech) and Heroes Reborn (barf!)

Yeah, it was, but it was still a ton better than the Transformers remakes.

[Kintoun]

Originally posted by MattBrady

The cast of assembled specialists includes several of Rieber’s favorites, which include Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Roadblock, Striker, Beach Head, and Lady Jaye ."I can't imagine writing a G.I. Joe book without them," the writer said. [/b]

So far, no one has mentioned that John Ney Rieber's small cast of 6 main Joes apparently includes a brand new character. There has never been a Hasbro action figure codenamed Striker. The only G.I. Joe that has a similar name is Skystriker from 1988 and he's an obscure Tiger Force pilot. It seems to me that Rieber has already forgotten the correct name for one of his most loved favorites.

Kintoun

[Josh Blaylock]

That was actually a typo - it should be Stalker

Everyone at DDP is thrilled with the response this is getting. Thanks everyone!

[Cmdr_Y]

Originally posted by Josh Blaylock
That was actually a typo - it should be Stalker

Everyone at DDP is thrilled with the response this is getting. Thanks everyone!

I noticed that change too, but since we saw the concept art, I just figured it was a typo.

I couldn't deal with a Joe team without Stalker either....

[Kintoun]

Originally posted by ENNIS ELLIS And I dropped 'Ongoing Joe' after 4 issues vowing never to return. Too much "Oh look here's (insert character here)! Kewl!" and not enough plot. [/b]

You'd most likely see the situation differently if you were a die hard fan of the G.I. Joe toy line rather than just the Marvel comics. I wouldn't be surprised if the G.I. Joe franchise has created 500+ different characters between 1982 and 2003. If Marvel suddenly ceased publishing mutant related comics and an X-Men title finally returned in 2013, would you expect them to limit the cast to a dozen wellknown characters? If you're not familiar with Zandar or Road Pig, naturally you won't apreciate the significance of their return but ommiting them would be just as ludicrous as ignoring Sabertooth.

I'm extremely grateful every time a post 1987 Joe/Cobra makes a cameo but I'm also a bit disappointed that Devil's Due has yet to reintroduce certain classic Joes like Ambush, Torpedo, Zap, Fast Draw, Payload, and Psyche-Out two years after the relaunch. If Devil's Due is going to publish more spinoff titles, I'd love to see these forgotten Joes appear somewhere.

Kintoun

[Jeremy Williams]

I don`t think the main critisism for Captain America came from the right-wing-types(although there were a few), but from the people that felt it was slow and boring. Personaly my problem was that the issues themselves were not really adressed, the writer choosing to wimping out; Cap was later revealed that he did not kill the terrorist but it was the dog-tag that did it. And the dog-tag was revealed to be manifactured by a typical stereotypical villain instead of the US goverment or somebody in it(or close to it, etc.) wich would have made Cap really question ihs ideals, his place, what he stands for.

p.s. It surprised me when John was hired for Transformer-GI Joe based on his non-action, non-adventure style of writing.