Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
G.I. Combat #1
DC Comics
Krul, Gray, Palmiotti, Olivetti & Panosian
GI Combat is a book that combines two comics into one: The Land That Time Forgot and the Unknown Soldier. Neither are new concepts to the DC universe, but this reinvention of them isn't something that has been done in the past few years so it has some level of freshness to them. For the most part, the stories couldn't be more different other than the fact that they deal with the military. I liked one of the stories a lot, but felt both stories lacked that certain "wow" factor that would make me immediately add the book to my pull list. At this point, I think if either concept appeals to you or if soldiers in general are your genre then this is a good book to sample.
The first story, The Land That Time Forgot, by Krul and Olivetti, is very straight forward. We get introduced to a couple of characters through a video call home. We get little glimpses into their personalities, but nothing to make them stand out too much. Then, the characters are ordered into Korea, where they find a black hole of sorts. You can guess the rest, but here's a hint: dinosaurs. The story moves very quickly which is a plus but does it make sense that the Land That Time Forgot is the actual cliffhanger? I'm not sure there was enough to get us there naturally.
The Unknown Soldier, by Gray, Palmiotti and Panosian, is a concept that has seen more action recently. This incarnation doesn't appear to be connected to the previous launches of the character but I can't be 100% certain. This story is much more dense. We get a full fourteen page read with a lot of exposition and a lot of character development. We may not "know" who the Unknown Soldier is, but we certainly get a good chunk of the origin story. This book felt like a much more satisfying read and the ending promises to throw the character into some interesting situations down the road. This was a good read.
The art teams couldn't have more different tasks at hand if they tried. Olivetti gets elements of fantasy and big splash pages with lots of crazy images. Panosian gets grim and violent images. Olivetti has a painted style whereas Panosian goes full-on realistic with a ton of details. Both stories are enhanced by the artwork.
As a package, this book has two, fourteen page stories for $4. It's a good value for the stories within. I'm not sure this book was going to ever be in everyone's wheelhouse, but I do think a lot of people will be pleasantly surprised at what they find. You get an all-out, action, science fiction, army story on one side and you get a tragic, revenge-driven, complex character, army story on the other. Pick it up and give it a shot.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
