This week, it’s just Jackson holding down the fort with Street Fighter x G.I. Joe #1 from IDW Publishing, a comic that was practically tailor made to be bought and read by him.

Check out his review below and let us know what you’re reading in the comments!

Jackson’s Reads

Street Fighter x G.I. Joe #1

Author: Aubrey Sitterson
Artist: Emilio Laiso
Publisher: IDW Publishing
★★★☆☆

In so many ways, I’m exactly the consumer comics creators can easily market and sell to. I’m a mid-20s white dude with disposable income, a willingness to buy less than great books just because they feature a character I like, and am often excited to see even the most minor of cosmetic changes to characters.

Still, it’s rare that a title so directly appeals to my sensibilities as a book called Street Fighter x G.I. Joe. As someone who has very serious opinions about the differences between Ken and Ryu as well as having a useless and ridiculous ability to remember the various alignments, alliances, and connections between all of the members of the Arishikage Clan throughout multiple alternate universes, Street Fighter x G.I. Joe feels like it was custom made to be consumed by me.

And, well, it’s a strange book in the first issue. Opening with little fanfare or explanation with a tournament staged by Shandaloo Crime Syndicate master M. Bison and M.A.R.S. Weapons Developer Destro on an island, there’s little going on here past a series of brawls between fighters. Writer Aubrey Sitterson and artist Emilia Laiso have chosen a host of interesting characters for the first issue, with heavy hitters like Snake Eyes and Ryu sharing panels with Hakan and C. Viper, it’s clear that there’s lots of love for both franchises.

Laiso also does a solid job of replicating some of the iconic moves and combos of the Street Fighter characters and the style and attitudes of the Joes and Cobra killers. The dialogue’s not bad either, filled with knowing in-jokes and charming relationships, like a moment where Destro pulls Baroness up to the dais after she’s knocked out or Hakan and Roadblock bonding over artisan olive oil.

The main problem here comes down to one-thing and it’s hard to square. The story Street Fighter x G.I. Joe #1 is just over 30 pages and costs $4.99, expensive by any measure for a comic. Sure there are pages of back matter with alternate covers, goodies like character cards, summaries of the qualifying matches that weren’t shown and a tournament bracket but frankly, I’d just rather have more plot. The issue rushes through four fights that would have worked much better with more room to breathe.

It’s hard to see a book suffer for reasons not intrinsically to do with the content but it’s really the main flaw here. There’s so much back matter that I think would have played better in a trade and a couple preview pages of a totally unconnected preview pages for IDW’s newest series. It’s a salute to the issue that I want so much more but it really feels like I paid for more content than I actually received with Street Fighter x GI Joe #1.

Jackson Adams is a staff writer at Nerdophiles. His favorite Street Fighter characters are Juri and Akuma and his favorite Joes are Scarlet and Snake Eyes. Follow him on Twitter @JacksonInACup.