Devil's Due can't stop Mark Powers

It's probably safe to say that Mark Powers is one of the best things to happen to Devil's Due Press. I've enjoyed his work on and off over the last year or so, but lately it seems that he can't stop writing hits. The first issue of Drafted comes out some time next month, and even though the Preview issue isn't exactly "new" news, I felt that it really needed to be put in the spotlight again before the first issue. It's a good sign when reading a preview issue and you get to the end and you say to yourself, "Ah, come on. That's it?" I got to the end and really I was already wanting to read more of this story. Right from the start the story hits on topics that are happening today, because that's really what the story is about, how a global war would effect our society as a whole. Many people will yell, "Starship Troopers!" at the very site of this book, but they would be wrong. I already get the impression that this story is going to be much deeper than Troopers ever was. The preview isn't long enough to just give a full blown review but it interested me and that's what a good preview does.

Another Powers hit, is G.I. Joe America's Elite. I choose a great jumping on point with issue 25 which started the year long event World War III. As a kid I wasn't allowed to watch G.I. Joe, I don't know why and frankly my parents have never given me a good enough reason as to why either. So sometimes it's hard for me to get excited over the characters, but as Devil's Due has grown so have their character's depth making it possible for someone like myself that doesn't know the characters to learn who they are. This is in part thanks to Mark Powers and all those who wrote and worked on Joe before him. In issue 26th, the Joe's continue cleaning up anyone and everyone that's ever worked for Cobra. Snake Eyes and Scarlett have tracked down Firefly to Snake Eyes' old dojo. Now abandoned, due to Firefly killing Snake Eye's master leaving him the last of his clan. This is the action that drives the book, while the story is told. The team does a great job of cutting between Snake Eyes and Scarlett, then to the other story elements going on. Cobra Commander and Destro Jr share some great dialog, and Cobra takes off his mask and shows his face to Destro Jr as a sign of respect and asks him to lead an army for him.

One thing that kinda bothered me was that Snake Eyes was using a gun and not a sword, he was the only character that I had any familiarity with and so it bothered me not to see him looking as cool as I remembered him. It bothered me but not enough that it put me off from his character. I'm interested to see what his journey will be, and if he'll use the sword again due to the things Firefly said to him during their battle. Another mask revealing happened when Snake Eyes and Scarlett visited her father, and he told Snake, "Were family, you don't need to wear that mask anymore." and he took off the mask. Great moment and really had a lot of heart to it. In fact the entire book has a lot of heart, and that's what made me pick up issue 26. After reading the last issue I was instantly hooked on what was happening. Since I'm talking a lot about the story I think it's important to say that the art is fantastic and really some of the best G.I. Joe art I've seen the company put out. World War III has become one of the books I look forward to each month now, and I know that's true for my friends that are also reading the book.

Like I said, Devil's Due can't stop Mark Powers... from pumping out the hits! Look for Drafted in September, and you can still pick up G.I. Joe America's Elite issue #26 at a local comic book shop. The book just came out on the 8th of this month so it shouldn't be to hard to track down. Check out Devil's Due Press' site for other news and great books to read!