Link: http://www.warrenellis.com/?p=6147

So who's been watching G I Joe: Resolute? 'What's that?' I hear you shout, well if you're sitting comfortably I'll tell you all about it. G I Joe: Resolute is an animated G I Joe webseries penned by none other than that crazy asshole and Sidekick favourite Warren Ellis. If you check out his blog you can read how the writer of Transmetropolitan, Next Wave and Freak Angels amongst many others came to be involved in working on a G I Joe cartoon. In a nutshell though it seems Hasbro were looking for something different with this latest miniseries, they wanted a writer that wasn't looking at the Joe characters through nostalgia infected rose tinted glasses.

Sometimes you really should be careful what you wish for as with Ellis he has no regard for these much beloved characters, killing off two pretty prominent figures in the Joe-verse within the first 5 minutes. And as far as I'm concerned the story is so much better for it. Don't get me wrong it's not that I think the characters in question deserved their untimely demise but the sense that nobody is safe and at any moment one of your favourite childhood heroes be it 'goodie' or 'baddie' could end up with a bullet in the brain adds much needed tension.

Not only could anybody die but if it does happen it's sure to be a pretty gruesome death for this isn't the same cartoon I watched as a kid, this version is strictly a mature affair. The level of violence isn't excessive, not by my standards at least, but it does take a little while to get used to; you'd never see Cobra Commander decapitate a loyal Viper soldier just for a little backchat in the original saturday morning faire. It's not just Cobra that's gone all John Woo on us, the Joes themselves don't mind putting a few bullets in the back of their enemies heads. The whole tone of the production is far more adult and is definitely aimed at those like myself who grew up with G I Joe but whose tastes have matured to something just a little more sophisticated (not that I think extreme violence can be equated with maturity or sophistication...it's about reading the Daily Mail right?).

The action is not the only area that's undergone a modern upgrade, the animation style is far superior to the orignal series encorporating a glorious anime look. The people at Warner Bros Animation have certainly taken this mini series seriously assigning big hitters Sam Register and Joaquim Dos Santos the task of updating the Joe-verse. Their resumes speak for themselves, between them they've worked on Justice League Unlimited, Ben 10, Teen Titans and Avatar The Last Airbender all quality shows that reach the highest standards in animation be it for kids or adults. In fact they've done such a good job I'm actually looking forward to the August release of the live action G I Joe, something that I really wasn't interested to until Resolute. So I guess this cartoon has done it's job, it's easily one of the best pieces of movie promotion I've seen and it's free. It was aired in the States on the Adult Swim show and website, hopefully there will be a dvd release soon but until then you can enjoy this entire series via youtube, episode one is posted here so what are you waiting for? Go Joe!