Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Apparently, 80's Marvel wanted you to blow stuff up.

Where the hell are they?  Tatooine? So, last week we mentioned Mysterio faking a fire with flour, which you absolutely still shouldn't try at home. And today, we have another example of Marvel Comics all-but-encouraging you to blow crap up with common household products: from G.I. Joe Special Missions #13, "Washout" Written by Larry Hama, pencils by Herb Trimpe, inks by Andy Mushynsky. On a mission in "Trucial Abysmia," Joe veterans Dusty and Outback are on a mission with "probational" new Joes Lightfoot and Mangler. Spotted by a chance patrol, the mission goes south quickly, and the team is captured. Under torture, Lightfoot gives up the mission objectives: an American weapons cache, leftover from the previous regime. As a corrupt political officer makes for the cache, his captain refuses to execute the Joes, and instead leaves them in the desert with a single canteen, to make it to safety. Instead, they push on to destroy the cache; unarmed, without explosives, provisions, or transport... I'm going on a watchlist now, aren't I? Lightfoot has to cobble together an explosive device to take out the cache, which should maybe be easier than he makes it sound here, since the political officer mentioned there were sidewinder missiles in there. But there's a bit of drama, some helpful desert survival tips from Dusty (that you probably also shouldn't try...) and a good, solid issue. Just keep it under your hat.

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