The Joes are back with a new creative team. Too bad nothing
else was new.

General Information

Title: G.I. Joe: Frontline: Icebound

Credited to: Jolley, Johnson, Feister, Snyder and Pina

Original Publication Date: Published over the first half of
2003

Cover Price: All four issues are $2.95 US. The first three are
$4.50 Can, while the fourth is $4.05 Can.

Premise

This story arc, spanning issues 5 to 8, has a selection of Joes
stuck
in another remake of The Thing.

High Point

“I will never be as cool as he is, will I?”

Low Point

The very predictable use of the technology that was obviously
there to
save their lives. Speaking of the way they used that technology,
the
crossbows I’ve used just don’t work when they’re upside down…

The Scores

A military experiment gone bad. A small team of soldiers lead by
the
one living man who has seen this kind of threat before.
Mysterious
enemies that don’t appear on infrared scanners and used to be
human.
Does any of this sound original to you? It sure
doesn’t to
me. I give it 2 out of 6.

The artwork ranges from decent to very poor,
particularly in
the much delayed final issue. I give it 3 out of 6.

The story is predictable, and includes elements
we’ve seen
many times before. The introduction of the Tesla Pen
broadcasted the
ending before we even knew what the mission was. I give it 3 out
of
6.

The characterization was clear, but distasteful.
Duke was
out of character for much of the story, given what he’d already
had to
face in the first volume of the title. The others were particularly
bland, showing only Lifeline’s nerdity and Frostbite’s knack for
demotivating stories. I give it 3 out of 6.

The emotional response this produced was mostly
groaning
disappointment as the story took the easy and predictable ways
out.
I don’t regret dropping this title at all. I give it 2 out of 6.

The flow faltered in the attack on Lifeline, but
otherwise
held up. I give it 4 out of 6.

Overall, it’s not a story arc that I’d recommend to
anyone
else. I give it 3 out of 6.

In total, G.I. Joe: Frontline: Icebound receives 20
out of 42.

Additional Notes and Comments

This will be my last issue of the title.