When IDW Publishing acquired the rights to the G.I. Joe license in May of 2008, they wasted no time in getting the ball rolling on not one but three new series, which we'll see later this year. In addition, they gave longtime Joe fans the #1 thing on their wishlist: the Marvel series would be back in print.
Okay, maybe it wasn't the #1 thing on every Joe fans wishlist, but it has definitely topped mine for some time now. As a child, my world revolved around G.I. Joe. Sure, there were other toys, but none of them held a candle to Joe and the main reason for that was the Marvel Comic written by Larry Hama. Unlike the cartoon series, which was light on plot and heavy on moving merchandise, the comic never felt like it was dumbed down. I almost felt like I was reading something I shouldn't be reading, something that was intended for an older audience. Cobra Commander wasn't the bumbling buffoon from the cartoon series, he was a scheming, maniacal villain. The politics of Cobra were just as interesting as any story about members of the Joe team and of course, there were the ninjas. The story of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow was like nothing else I had ever seen. Keep in mind, this was at the height of the ninja craze of the 1980's and I was around 7 years old. I was fascinated by the flashbacks to Vietnam, the double-crossings, the betrayals... those sweet matching tattoos that Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow had. I had a nearly complete run of G.I. Joe, but over the course of time, they had become tattered and torn from reading and re-reading them so many times as a kid. Eventually I just sold the whole lot of them figuring that I didn't really need them anymore since I pretty much had every issue memorized anyway. I eventually grew to regret that decision, especially when I missed out on the first batch of trade paperbacks that Marvel put out a few years ago.
So you can imagine my excitement when I walked into the comic shop yesterday as a 32-year old man (who still considers getting that same tattoo that Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow wore) and saw that the first volume of Classic G.I. Joe was on the shelf. I knew it was coming, but I didn't know when.
Cover art to Classic G.I. Joe Volume One by J. Scott Campbell
© IDW Publishing
The book includes the first 10 issues of the Marvel series, and is a must have for old school Joe fans. These are the issues that introduced us to the original Joe team as well as Cobra Commander and the Baroness. Other key players introduced in these intial issues include Kwinn the Eskimo, the Oktober Guard, Dr. Venom and Billy, a young member of the Cobra Youth organization who would end up playing a major role later on in the series. Several other ideas and locales are established as wel, such as the Pit, which was the Joe teams secret headquarters located far beneath the Army chaplains assistant school at Fort Wadsworth, and Springfield: a quiet little town that no one would ever suspect is secretly a front for the Cobra terrorist organization. And of course, we also see a whole lot of sweet Joe vehicles.
The stories still hold up fairly well, though they are quite dated. Things that seemed fantastic in the early '80s are quite commonplace today, and the idea of G.I. Joe as a "high tech military unit" is a bit laughable when my cell phone can perform the same functions as their supposedly cutting-edge technology. I'll admit that my mind may be clouded a bit by nostalgia, but I was honestly entertained and captivated by the stories in this book. Of course, these tales are merely laying the groundwork for what's to come, and Volumes Two and Three are the ones I'm really looking forward to. But that's another review for another time.
Re-reading these stories as an adult gave me a new perspective on them. For example, it's interesting to note that while all of the Joe vehicles are recognizable and iconic, Cobras vehicles and equipment run the gamut from traditional military style to outlandishly unrealistic and nothing looks the same from issue to issue. Recalling my youth, I guess it's because the only Cobra vehicles that had been introduced in the toy line at that time were the FANG helicopter and... ummm... well, they had the FANG helicopter. The Joes, meanwhile, had the MOBAT tank, the VAMP, the JUMP jetpack and a bunch of other sweet weaponry.
The same can be said for many of the characters. In the first issue, Zap, who is known as the team's resident bazooka soldier and demolitons man, ends up piloting a helicopter. I'm assuming this was because pilot characters such as Wild Bill and Ace hadn't been introduced yet. On the other hand, one could easily argue that in order to make it on the G.I. Joe team, one had to be adept enough to handle any situation. At any rate, it isn't really something that detracts from the stories. I think it's safe to assume that nearly everyone buying these trade paperbacks aren't newcomers to the world of Joe and Cobra. Like me, they're probably just reliving their childhood and remembering the sweetness that was G.I. Joe.
I suppose if there were any drawbacks to this collection, it would be the weird, glossy paper it's printed on. It's just a personal preference for me, maybe you won't be bothered by it. I think it looks too shiny and bright, and to be honest, it kind of smells funny too. Again, this might just be me: to be honest, I'd prefer they just printed the thing on newsprint like the good old days. But I suppose we can't get everything we wish for. I'll settle for being able to revisit these great stories and my youth whenever I please.
Those kids and their gloss...
I agree with you, 'Fist. The 80's Joe tales stand head and shoulders above all other licensed properties (except maybe Micronauts) because of the simple fact that Larry Hama didn't treat it like a kids book. He wrote it with the same love and respect he would've written any tale. And it shows.
What makes this book even more amazing is the fact that Hama admits to making it all up as he went along!
I got this book over a year ago as a freebee from Hasbro at Toy Fair... now I know why I couldn't find volumne 2. Each story took me back to being a kid. The view of the PIT reminded me of my cousin's home made built PIT. It rocked!
Have the errors from Marvel's previous collection been corrected by IDW? Otherwise, I might not double-dip on this one.
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It may be my overactive sense of nostalgia, but I think these stories should always be in print (at least the first couple years of it). The glossy pages throw me off a bit as well, but what're ya gonna do? The kids prefer the gloss these days.