G.I. Joe: Special Missions #7
G.I. Joe: Special Missions #7 (IDW, September 2013) concludes 'Operation: Deadfall,' the three-part second arc of Chuck Dixon's consciously old-school IDW series, which was explicitly designed to echo the self-contained, rotating-roster ethos of Larry Hama's original Marvel Special Missions spin-off from the 1980s. By foregrounding Zartan — who outmaneuvers both Scarlett's covert Joe team and his own unruly Dreadnoks to escape with stolen DNA bio-scan intelligence — the issue demonstrates Dixon's interest in giving classic Cobra villains unexpected cunning, a tonal choice that distinguished Special Missions from the concurrent flagship G.I. Joe title running alongside it. As part of IDW's coordinated three-series relaunch of early 2013, the book also represents a deliberate editorial strategy to segregate Joe's universe into distinct operational tiers, keeping the 'public' team separate from Scarlett's off-the-grid unit, which gave the franchise narrative room it hadn't enjoyed since the Marvel era.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
IDW announced G.I. Joe: Special Missions in December 2012 as one prong of a three-title relaunch that also included G.I. Joe Vol. 3 (written by Fred Van Lente) and The Cobra Files (Mike Costa). Dixon, who had been writing IDW's G.I. Joe since the publisher acquired the Hasbro license in 2008, brought in Paul Gulacy — his collaborator from the 1987 Eclipse miniseries Valkyrie — to draw the opening 'Crush Depth' arc; Will Rosado stepped in as penciler beginning with issue #5 for the 'Operation: Deadfall' arc that runs through issue #7. An editorial Snake Eyes moratorium, agreed upon across all three 2013 IDW Joe titles, was a deliberate creative choice by Dixon and the editorial team to reserve that character's impact for a later, more dramatic return.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Issue date: September 2013, published by IDW Publishing as part of the IDW continuity (not the Marvel/Hama continuity).
- Story title: 'Operation: Deadfall' (Part 3 of 3) — the concluding chapter of the second arc of the series.
- Writer: Chuck Dixon; Penciler: Will Rosado; Colorist: Aburtov & Grafikslava; Letterer: Neil Uyetake; Consulting Editor: John Barber; Editor: Carlos Guzman.
- Cover A painted by Paul Gulacy (colorist: Aburtov & Grafikslava); Cover B by James Biggie; Cover C (retail incentive) by S.L. Gallant.
- Plot: Zartan escapes both the Joes (Beach Head, Hard Drive, Mainframe, Roadblock, Spirit, Tripwire) and his own Dreadnoks (Buzzer, Ripper, Torch, Thrasher, Heartwrencher, Roadpig, Crusher) while in possession of stolen DNA bio-scan data.
- The series ran 14 issues total (March 2013–April 2014) and is set within the IDW continuity, not the concurrent Larry Hama 'A Real American Hero' continuation also published by IDW.
- Will Rosado replaced series-launch artist Paul Gulacy beginning with the 'Operation: Deadfall' arc (issue #5 onward); Gulacy continued to provide cover art.
- Key Collector Comics designates this issue a non-key with no recorded first appearances or landmark story developments specific to this single chapter.
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