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scans_dailyWednesday is here! Which means GI Joe A Real American Hero 191 is out! Which means I can tell you all about the awesomeness of GI Joe 190 for my first ever post in this community. Aren't you all excited, I know I am!
Eep! It's one of my three favorite Joes*, Lady Jaye about to be plugged by Major Bludd. Say it ain't so.
*For the record the other two are Storm Shadow and General Hawk.
The story opens with Lady Jaye undercover in "Southeast Asia," as is often the case in GI Joe Southeast Asia seems to most often refer to Vietnam. It came into heavy usage in the Devil's Due era to disconnect the characters from the Vietnam war; Many of the Joes like Snake-eyes, Storm Shadow and Stalker had origins that were specifically connected to serving in 'Nam and using SEA let them stay young in the new Millennium. There's a reason why I'm convinced that that Vietnam has to be the setting in this story, and that's coming up in a bit.
You know Lady Jaye knows she's bait; the the rest of the people don't. They're putting at least a dozen non-combatants at risk here, but I'm sure nothing bad will happen to them.
Lan's wife spots an armed Helicopter heading towards the bridge.
Here we have one of the main points of tension in the comic, The Joes have set all this up so they can kill this General, but now that they've baited the trap, and the mouse has gone for the cheese they just can't get the order to snap it closed on him. The reasons will be explained shortly, but basically the Joe-kill team has to helplessly watch while their friend and innocent civilians are shot at.
Fortunately no one dies in this encounter, Mjr. Bludd recognizes Lady Jaye and calls off the attack, much to the Generalissimo's dismay. A bit of irony in the fact that her cover was supposed to be so well crafted that it'd be a protection but the only reason anyone survived this encounter is that it was blown.
Jaye and the civilians return to their village, as does the Joe kill team, along with GI Joe Ninja Jinx (who prevents the Joe kill team from disturbing the local hunter's offerings to the spirits). The kill team poses as members of the World Health Initiative there to give out immunizations against diseases. And here's how I know it's Vietnam...
Apparently these people are the Jeh, a tribal group in Vietnam. I have no idea if Larry Hama ever met them himself or not (as he himself is a Vietnam vet), but when I decided to do a bit of research to discover who these people were, I was able to find scant reference to Kanam spirits on wikipedia or much else. I was eventually able to find this site which tells me the following about the Jeh:
"The Jeh believe in two kinds of supernatural forces: the aloof Yang spirits that dwell in the mountains, the rivers and the sky; and the evil Kanam spirits, the forest-roaming souls of the dead ancestors who for one reason or another are not at peace. To keep these two forces in balance the Jeh sacrifice pigs, chickens and buffalo in honor of the Yang spirits who the Jeh believe will keep the Kanam spirits from causing trouble.
The Jeh believe that a violent death causes a soul to wander and inflict harm on people nearby."
It seems like Larry got the Jeh beliefs down, though I have no idea if they'd actually say "entropy of human existance," that sounds like pure Hama to me, but maybe I'm wrong. But let's keep the second point in mind shall we?
Also wow these people are expendable as far as the Generalissimo is concerned too... They're really not in good shape.
Tep makes his way too the village along with General Bludd and the kill team makes a hasty withdrawal leaving Jaye, and the natives him harms way. Chuckles tries to message the PITT to get his kill order but the DoD is still holding their hands and we find out why.
And this here is why I love Larry Hama's GI Joe, more often than not the Joes get more screwed over by their own superiors then by Cobra, or any outside power. GI Joe doesn't play punches with the political realities of a soldier's life. The Military isn't displayed as this noble collection of heroes who are always out for the common good, political self-interest often comes before any other consideration.
Meanwhile the Generalissimo and Bludd have all the civilians rounded up and Lady Jaye takes responsibility for building the bridge. Bludd who pretends he doesn't recognize her, drops her to her knees and asks if anyone wishes to speak on her behalf before she's executed. And speak they do...
I have to wonder if the Jeh would be so keen to speak on her behalf if they realized that she deliberately brought the Generalissimo's wrath down upon them. But remember what we've learned about the Jeh, they view violent death as something very bad indeed.
I love the panel where the people are reflected in the Tep's glasses, his face is totally inexpressive but you can still quite clearly read his thoughts. He's lost control of these people, if he kills Lady Jaye they will riot against him, but if he lets her live then they will no longer take his threats seriously. Unfortunately that realization is very bad news for the Jeh.
Tep and Bludd take off in their 'copter with Lady Jaye but they circle back around and fire on the village. The Joe kill team, who of course have been watching this whole time bound helpless by the lack of a kill order, rush down to the village to see if anyone is alive.
Turns out the only survivor is Lan's son, and Chuckles swears that he's going to kill Tep, order or no order, and rescue Lady Jaye. Which I really don't think is damseling on Jaye's part... Hama once said the fantasy of GI Joe isn't "GI Joe Vs Cobra" the fantasy of GI Joe is having friends who will never leave you behind... many Joes have been captured or trapped behind enemy lines over the years and it's not been the women with any greater frequency.
This comic has unsettling racial and classist implications, but they're meant to be just that unsettling.
Anyway this is an issue that reminded me why I love Larry Hama's writing, and why I've been a Joe fan most of my life. I hope you enjoy it all too.
Eep! It's one of my three favorite Joes*, Lady Jaye about to be plugged by Major Bludd. Say it ain't so.
*For the record the other two are Storm Shadow and General Hawk.
The story opens with Lady Jaye undercover in "Southeast Asia," as is often the case in GI Joe Southeast Asia seems to most often refer to Vietnam. It came into heavy usage in the Devil's Due era to disconnect the characters from the Vietnam war; Many of the Joes like Snake-eyes, Storm Shadow and Stalker had origins that were specifically connected to serving in 'Nam and using SEA let them stay young in the new Millennium. There's a reason why I'm convinced that that Vietnam has to be the setting in this story, and that's coming up in a bit.
You know Lady Jaye knows she's bait; the the rest of the people don't. They're putting at least a dozen non-combatants at risk here, but I'm sure nothing bad will happen to them.
Lan's wife spots an armed Helicopter heading towards the bridge.
Here we have one of the main points of tension in the comic, The Joes have set all this up so they can kill this General, but now that they've baited the trap, and the mouse has gone for the cheese they just can't get the order to snap it closed on him. The reasons will be explained shortly, but basically the Joe-kill team has to helplessly watch while their friend and innocent civilians are shot at.
Fortunately no one dies in this encounter, Mjr. Bludd recognizes Lady Jaye and calls off the attack, much to the Generalissimo's dismay. A bit of irony in the fact that her cover was supposed to be so well crafted that it'd be a protection but the only reason anyone survived this encounter is that it was blown.
Jaye and the civilians return to their village, as does the Joe kill team, along with GI Joe Ninja Jinx (who prevents the Joe kill team from disturbing the local hunter's offerings to the spirits). The kill team poses as members of the World Health Initiative there to give out immunizations against diseases. And here's how I know it's Vietnam...
Apparently these people are the Jeh, a tribal group in Vietnam. I have no idea if Larry Hama ever met them himself or not (as he himself is a Vietnam vet), but when I decided to do a bit of research to discover who these people were, I was able to find scant reference to Kanam spirits on wikipedia or much else. I was eventually able to find this site which tells me the following about the Jeh:
"The Jeh believe in two kinds of supernatural forces: the aloof Yang spirits that dwell in the mountains, the rivers and the sky; and the evil Kanam spirits, the forest-roaming souls of the dead ancestors who for one reason or another are not at peace. To keep these two forces in balance the Jeh sacrifice pigs, chickens and buffalo in honor of the Yang spirits who the Jeh believe will keep the Kanam spirits from causing trouble.
The Jeh believe that a violent death causes a soul to wander and inflict harm on people nearby."
It seems like Larry got the Jeh beliefs down, though I have no idea if they'd actually say "entropy of human existance," that sounds like pure Hama to me, but maybe I'm wrong. But let's keep the second point in mind shall we?
Also wow these people are expendable as far as the Generalissimo is concerned too... They're really not in good shape.
Tep makes his way too the village along with General Bludd and the kill team makes a hasty withdrawal leaving Jaye, and the natives him harms way. Chuckles tries to message the PITT to get his kill order but the DoD is still holding their hands and we find out why.
And this here is why I love Larry Hama's GI Joe, more often than not the Joes get more screwed over by their own superiors then by Cobra, or any outside power. GI Joe doesn't play punches with the political realities of a soldier's life. The Military isn't displayed as this noble collection of heroes who are always out for the common good, political self-interest often comes before any other consideration.
Meanwhile the Generalissimo and Bludd have all the civilians rounded up and Lady Jaye takes responsibility for building the bridge. Bludd who pretends he doesn't recognize her, drops her to her knees and asks if anyone wishes to speak on her behalf before she's executed. And speak they do...
I have to wonder if the Jeh would be so keen to speak on her behalf if they realized that she deliberately brought the Generalissimo's wrath down upon them. But remember what we've learned about the Jeh, they view violent death as something very bad indeed.
I love the panel where the people are reflected in the Tep's glasses, his face is totally inexpressive but you can still quite clearly read his thoughts. He's lost control of these people, if he kills Lady Jaye they will riot against him, but if he lets her live then they will no longer take his threats seriously. Unfortunately that realization is very bad news for the Jeh.
Tep and Bludd take off in their 'copter with Lady Jaye but they circle back around and fire on the village. The Joe kill team, who of course have been watching this whole time bound helpless by the lack of a kill order, rush down to the village to see if anyone is alive.
Turns out the only survivor is Lan's son, and Chuckles swears that he's going to kill Tep, order or no order, and rescue Lady Jaye. Which I really don't think is damseling on Jaye's part... Hama once said the fantasy of GI Joe isn't "GI Joe Vs Cobra" the fantasy of GI Joe is having friends who will never leave you behind... many Joes have been captured or trapped behind enemy lines over the years and it's not been the women with any greater frequency.
This comic has unsettling racial and classist implications, but they're meant to be just that unsettling.
Anyway this is an issue that reminded me why I love Larry Hama's writing, and why I've been a Joe fan most of my life. I hope you enjoy it all too.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 01:18 pm (UTC)Also, while it might seem like a minor thing, I like that even the scene with the politicians interfering is fully lit. Most of the time when we have a scene that has politicians interfering with what is viewed to be right by the protagonists, they are kept shadowed and non-descript. Black Panther issues by Hudlin are a good example. Instead, here we have a room full of normal people, simply doing their job. They're still keeping the nominal heroes from doing what they were ready to do, but you can still see that this is just another group of people
no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 01:55 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-20 08:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 08:34 pm (UTC)I'm not sure if the Jugglers still exist in the Hama-verse or if they were a result from Marvel being squeamish about directly criticizing the Goverment during the Cold War, but it's nice to see that it's not always a shadowy cabal in a smoke-filled room who makes these calls.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 09:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-20 09:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 03:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-06-19 04:47 pm (UTC)