This week's GI Joe: Cobra Special is really an epilogue and explanation to the four issues that have come before, telling the origin of the power behind the terrorist throne in such a way that the comic itself becomes a physical metaphor for the characters involved. To say too much more would be to spoil the reveal that came at the end of the original mini-series, but suffice to say that this is literally a comic that deserves to be read backwards and forwards, with a symmetry that at once rewards and betrays the reader.

It's a clever idea, and one that goes beyond its gimmicky nature thanks to the execution and the fact that it legitimately works as a metaphor for the story it's telling; a final sign that this is a different, more thoughtful G.I. Joe.

It's true — GI Joe: Cobra tells a different story than the one we've seen in toys, comics, cartoons (and now, movies) through the years - One of an undercover Joe agent, working his way upwards through the Cobra ranks as the organization puts itself together, and as things get more and more out of his control. Dispensing with almost all of the over-the-top elements of the franchise - although we get easter-egg-style glimpses of the robotic BATTs and the HISS tanks - this is a harder-edged take on the familiar. And it's miles away from the old cartoon's enforced no-bullets, no-death rules (As one captured Joe finds out midway through the story, when an interrogation comes too close to the truth).

Credit writer Mike Costa (working with Christos Gage on the mini-series' four issues) with the revisions, but maybe Ed Brubaker, as well; his Sleeper seems like an obvious influence here, even if this series has a nihilism maybe even greater than Brubaker's modern classic. Artist Antonio Fuso's presence helps, giving the book a spiky freshness unlike the more traditional Joe comics, and fitting in with the off-kilter feeling of the series as a whole.

Even if you haven't read the GI Joe: Cobra series, tomorrow's Special is well worth picking up; it stands alone enough - and has enough formalist play - to work on its own. But if you pick up the four issues that came before, you'll find yourself confronted with a Cobra more realistic, and much more interesting, than you could've imagined when you played with the toys as a kid.

GI Joe: Cobra Special is released tomorrow.

For those scared off by the idea of dropping many clams on collected editions, I'd like to steer you in the direction of the first issues of The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh (Mark Waid's supernatural super-science mystery series comes back for a second go-around). Also, there's Spider-Man: The Clone Saga (in which one of the 1990s' worst mistakes gets a second chance as original architects of the storyline Howard Mackie and Tom DeFalco do it over and try to do it right, this time.) And finally, the GI Joe: Cobra Special, which - as unlikely as it sounds - is a thriller that plays with the comic format surprisingly effectively as it fills in the background of the public face of the Cobra organization... But I'll tell you more about that in another post later today.

That said, this really is a week for collections. Dark Horse has the much-anticipated second volume of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's incredible Umbrella Academy (The Umbrella Academy: Dallas). Dynamite offers the obscure but ahead-of-its-time Power & Glory (by American Flagg's Howard Chaykin).

Meanwhile, from the opposite end of the superhero spectrum (which is to say, sound and fury signifying lack of critical approval) comes from Marvel's Ultimatum hardcover. (Marvel also has an accompanying epilogue collection, Ultimatum Requiem, as well as the Golden Age revival book Avengers/Invaders, hitting stores tomorrow).

The week, however, really belongs to DC Comics. DC offers the first collection of the Zuda strip High Moon (Vampires and werewolves in the old west, and if there's any justice, soon to be a major motion picture.) Also, two "deluxe" editions of classic comics are making a comeback with Absolute Promethea Vol. 1 and Fables: The Deluxe Edition Vol. 1. Promethea collects the first year of Alan Moore's post-feminist, post-deconstructionist take on the female superhero archetype, while Fables brings together the first two paperbacks for a suitable introduction to Bill Willingham's addictive updating of fairytales, myths and legends. Both are highly recommended in any format, but it has to be said... they do look great in these new oversized hardcovers.

As usual, the complete list of comics reaching your local comic store can be found here, and said local comic stores can be found here. Even if you're not looking for a massive slab of classic comics, you should take a look, anyway.

After releasing three sets of Transformers II-themed shoes earlier this summer, Nike is planning to release these sneakers, each based on a villainous member of Combra Command: the Alphalution Supreme for Cobra Commander, the Sharkalaid for Storm Shadow, and the black, red, and silver Hyperize for Destro. But evil doesn't come cheap; the sneakers start at $159.99.

[RMK via Topless Robot]

In celebration of this weekend's toyetic toy epic, the website of literary magazine McSweeney's has given Keith Pille's Journal of a New Cobra Recruit the spotlight of its front page again, allowing a new generation of cynical reader the chance to glimpse behind the scenes of what it takes to turn a man into an unstoppable faceless (non-)killing machine:

June 16, 1986
First day of boot camp was a bear. All of the other boots seem like nice guys. Don't know what any of them look like because the first thing they did when we got here was give us blue helmets with black hankies to cover up our faces. I'm getting pretty good at recognizing people's eyebrows though.

Figured we'd do a lot of exercise today, but we didn't do as much as I thought. Mostly just running out of a door and yelling "COBRA!" at the top of our lungs. I got pretty good at it. Now I can sound awful scary when I yell "COBRA!" You wouldn't think it would wear you down, but boy, am I pooped.

If that's not enough, you can also revisit Pille's Journal of a Seasoned Cobra Veteran:

June 10, 1987

My first day on duty at the Terrordrome! What an experience! It was like being on a Hollywood red carpet, I saw so many heavy hitters! I'd barely walked in the door when I saw this beautiful woman in the tightest uniform I've ever seen. I was checking her out when I realized it was the Baroness! Live and in the flesh! That lady really knows how to make the COBRA emblem look good. (I shouldn't say that. The Baroness is a valued leader in the COBRA organization, and it's not right for me to objectify her.)

By the time you're done, you too will want Pille to write the next Joe movie.

[YouTube]