I really like reading G.I. Joe comic books. I liked the old Marvel ones, I liked the Image/Devil's Due ones from a while back, and I like the IDW ones that are coming out now.
But I really like G.I. Joe: Cobra.
The first set of six issues showed Chuckles going deep undercover to infiltrate Cobra, and gets as close as the Crimson Twins, Tomax and Xamot. In this new series (issue #2 just came out last week), Chuckles is still on the loose, and the Joes think he's gone off the grid, as his obsession deepens.
Chuckles is a great character to follow. He's part Jason Bourne and part Bruce Wayne at the start of Batman Begins. Very rough and tumble. Flawed and dedicated and interesting to read and easy to root for. He's not Duke or Snake-Eyes or Shipwreck, and his cartoon background was completely forgettable, so the writers do have a good amount of freedom to really make the character their own, and they've made him pretty damned cool.
I really don't want to give away too much, because it's a very well written comic, and full props are due to Christos Gage and Mike Costa who are crafting a suspenseful spy thriller. They play it very smart, and use the fact that most of the readers are Joe fans very slickly in order to improve the work without making it feel like fan service.
Also, a few months ago there was a G.I.Joe Cobra special one-shot comic featuring the Twins that was amongst the best comics of 2009 and I highly recommend tracking down a copy if you're a Joe fan.
The other Joe books are fun and nostalgic and give you what they promise to deliver, but Cobra is a great comic.
