I know we are still three months out from the beginning of World War III but....

What can you tell us about World War III?


Mike O: Everything hits the fan. Everything we have been building up since ELITE #0 comes to a head. We've been catching some flak from readers that they didn't like certain elements of what has happened in the title over the last two years, and this is where everyone gets to see what we were building toward... There was a master plan all along, and we're finally going to get to see it unfold...

I think people will be pleasantly surprised. I think #28 is going to blow people away.

Well, at least one person will get blown away...



How will the events in the current arc (and the arcs before it) play into it?

Mark Powers and I are from the age of comics where everything was connected. Remember the days when something happened in the Fantastic Four that sparked an Avengers story that was mentioned in the X-Men? That's the way we like to do things... So, in plotting out WWIII, we've tried to connect all the dots. There will be bits and pieces drawn from many previous stories, even dating back to the Marvel days. The story itself can (and will) stand on its own, but there will be all sorts of easter eggs and payoff for the people that have been watching all along.

That being said, the main things that made WWIII possible happened in #41 of our previous title, #13 of ELITE and will happen in #24. The other main element that made this possible started in the toyline, but was never seen through to fruition. Then, two other significant elements are taken from SNAKE-EYES: DECLASSIFIED #2 and SCARLETT: DECLASSIFIED. Then, something that happened before GIJOE #1 ties it all together.

Yeah, the kitchen sink will make an appearance, as well.



The solicitation says we will see more Joes called up, can you give some names? Or how about just some numbers?

There are three old favorites joining the ELITE roster for the first time and one coming back. So, the roster will be at 11 actives, one on leave (of sorts) and 3 members back at The Rock. And of course the other 188 reserve members...

I'm especially thrilled, as the active roster as of #25 is my ideal team of Joes... if Lady Jaye were in the ranks, I'd say it would be my perfect team.


Have you guys signed Mike Bear to a one year contract so us fans know he will be around for the entire WWIII event?

That is what we are hoping/planning on... Mike's said he wants to be here as long as possible, and that's what I'm shooting for. But, as we all know, the only constant in life is change... By the time we get to the end of WWIII, that will have been 16 consecutive issues he'll have drawn... let's hope we can keep him drawing, happy and interested! I'll do my best to make that happen!


Will there be a crossover with the new SS series coming out?

There may be a few apocryphal stories attached to WWIII... not crossovers, per se, but if all goes planned, you'll see some things that will enhance the main story.

The main focus will be to keep the twelve issues of the story self-contained and accessible to readers on their own.


This event will take us into 2008, does this mean that DDP will (or has) extended its license agreement with Hasbro? (I seem to remember that 2008 was the last year DDP had the license)

That'd be a Josh question, but I know he'd probably not want to talk about business stuff publicly. I'm just trying to put together a kickass story, and let the bigwigs handle the biz stuff...


Recently (30MAR07), you mentioned that there had been three ideas pitched to Larry Hama and that he chose the SS ongoing series. Can you tell us what the other two were? Are they still on the table?

One of the items got scrapped. But, we pulled the best ideas from that scrapped item, and folded them into ELITE. The other is being handled by other folks. We're doing our best to make sure that y'all aren't missing out on anything.

So, while not giving specific answers to the above, I can tell you that you all may be surprised by what Larry decided. I was.


As always I appreciate Mike taking the time to answer questions.

Right.

So ...

ARAH41. G.I. Joe and the Red Shadows scattered Cobra into splinter cells.
AE13. Cobra Commander killed three Senators and replaced them with CGs. (Naturally he knew he'd be revealed by the Phoenix Guard plot so he planted three agents in Capitol Hill to further influence votes?)
SE#2. What did he do in 2? I never read it. I know he killed Judge Tate ...
SCARLETT. James McCullen took control of MARS, and started ramping up MARS activity, making prototype Iron Grenadiers.

Cobra splinter cells all over the world.
Cobra agents that can affect the vote.
Destro's baby as a bargaining chip.

We could certainly see something involving Cobra Commander trading Destro's baby for all the weapons he could ever want, arming hidden cells in almost every country in the world, and attacking every country in the world simultaneously, throwing the world into complete anarchy.

Isn't anarchy and terror Cobra's agenda in the first place? To foment a revolution of global proportions? To eliminate the corrupt in as bloody a way possible?

awesome great interview ! loved it and cant wait

I like the simple fact that they are pulling stuff from the Marvel run and also seeds have been planted in the DDP stuff that will play out in this new story. That is one thing Marvel and DC have been missing out on until recently. A sense of a shared universe where the characters and events in one title are seen and felt in all of them. Now DDP might not have 50+ Joe titles on the shelf, but the fact that events in one of the other side books will have effect in the main book is great in my opinion. I can't wait to see what some of those ties to the past are. Can't wait.
On another note while DDP might not want to discuss the "buisness" side of things they do in fact have the rights to do Joe comics until 2008. (When exactly that runs out in 08' is beyond my knowledge.) It was reported in the CSN weekly flyer that some comic stores hand out. If the book stays on schedule and sales don't drop TOO bad, that will take us to around issue #42 being released in December of that year. Will we see a renewal? That depends on sales by that time.
Anyway... Can't wait to see issue #25. Sounds like an interesting story at least. (Then again so did the Red Shadows when they were announced.

I actually think that this kind of "Joe Mega Event" could get some press time. Not Marvel/DC sized, but I guarantee the 25th Anniversary of GIJOE, the fact that it's called World War III (which could be a little shock of its own since DC has a WWIII going on), and the fact that obviously Cobra is going to be doing some serious damage to this planet's population ... and old characters returning ...

And Mike Bear's fantastic artwork, Mark Powers great writing, and probably the best Joe storytelling DDP has done in the "Present Day" setting (I'd say right up there with Snake Eyes: Declassified, G.I. Joe: Declassified, Master & Apprentice Vol. 1, and the original golden years of Hama good).

Excellent word of mouth. Excellent artwork. A big time event. Cobra Commander doing some winning. 25th Anniversary of something people watched as a child.

It'll get around. Definitely.

(I'm curious whether when it's TPB time ... World War III will be split into 2 parts).

Great interview, Phil, some good insight and just enough info to leave my mouth watering...

I hope America's Elite gets some good press out of this, and I hope it's reflected in sales dollars...

It's only been three issues since Casey left, but the book has made incredible progress since then story-wise, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what Mike O and Mark can do with some time and freedom to really map out a great story.

I'm looking forward to it.

Justin

Very interesting. I'm already wondering who's going to bite it at the end of the story arc.

I'm very curious in seeing how this all inclusive thing will play out. What always bugged me about the big events in Marvel and whatnot is that they hype it up, the big revelation or whatever goes down, but is eventually forgotten about. The next writer quietly goes in a different direction and I end up feeling like it was just a stunt to sell more comics.

That being said, Lady Jaye is still dead and Hawk is still crippled, so I feel a little better that Mike O and Co. will stay whatever course they plot.

I truely hope that this is really a kick butt story cause it is risky to do a year long story.

A really long story is really what fits best for GI Joe and Mike O has shown a great ability to tell and support (an example is how he ties in the Special missions to the main story) GI Joe stories.