Comics:G. I. Joe

Universe: Earth-120185



Members: Duke, Hwak, Flint, Sgt slaughter, Snake-eyes, scarlett, Beachhead, Quick kick, Shipwreack, Cover girl, Jinx (ninja), gung-ho,Clutch, Breaker, Grunt, Grand slam, Flash, Lady jay, rock and roll, mutt, dusty, short-fuze, sci-fi, stalker, stealer, ace, zap, airborne, doc, lifeline, snow job, torpeto, wild bill, torch, ripcord, junkyard, roadblock.

Info-- Since its debut in 1982, the comic book history of G.I. Joe has seen three separate publishers and four main-title series, all of which have been based off of the Hasbro toyline of the same name. The first series was produced by Marvel Comics between 1984 and 1993, running for 155 issues and spawning several spin-off titles through out the course of its run; the second series was a short-lived run published by Dark Horse Comics in 1996; and the third and fourth series are in current production by Devil's Due and also feature several spin-off books.

Hasbro relaunched their G.I. Joe franchise with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. It was supported by a Marvel Comics series. It was unique at the time in that it was a comic book series that was promoted on television commercials which also supported the toy line. This 155-issue series is considered to be one of the longest-running comic book tie-ins to a toy line. Much of its success is to be credited to Larry Hama, who wrote the entire series save for a few issues with guest writers. Rather than treating the stories as a mere promotion for the toys, Hama wrote the series with seriousness and infused it with doses of realism, humor, and drama. Other than Transformers, no other series was able to duplicate its success. Notable artists include Herb Trimpe, Ron Wagner, Rod Whigham, and Marshall Rogers.

Issue 21 became a fan-favorite, not only because the Cobra ninja Storm Shadow was introduced, but that issue also became a prime example of comics' visual storytelling power, having no dialogue or sound effects.

A number of differences existed between the comic book and the animated TV series. Certain characters who were very prominent in the comic book, such as Stalker, were featured very little in the cartoon, while characters who were less prominent in the comic book, such as Shipwreck, were very prominent in the cartoon series. Another difference was that in the comic book there is clearly a romance between Scarlett and Snake-Eyes, whereas in the cartoon, it is hinted that there may be a romance between Scarlett and Duke (most likely due to the differences between writing for a comic book audience and writing for an animated series). The most notable difference between the comic and the cartoon, however, is in its handling of combat. While the cartoon showed that every character in every battle survived (for example, every shot of an aircraft being shot down was shown to have its pilot escape in a parachute), the comic did not shy away from mass character deaths.

Shortly after the final issue, a G.I. Joe Special #1 was released, with alternate art for issue #61 by Todd McFarlane. The first 37 issues were also released in 13 digests. In 2001, with the success of Devil's Due Comics run of G.I. Joe, Marvel Comics collected the first 50 issues in five trade paperbacks, with ten issues in each book. All covers for the trade paperbacks were drawn by J. Scott Campbell. Marvel will not publish the rest of the series, because Hasbro has purchased the rights to the comics. Hasbro has since released reprints of some issues with some of their action figures.

The four Yearbooks (1985-1988) collected some previous stories, summarized events, etc. and, aside from the first Yearbook, published new stories that tied into current events in the main title.

The success of the main title lead Marvel Comics to produce a secondary title, G.I. Joe: Special Missions which lasted 28 issues, with Herb Trimpe as the artist for the entire run. Spinning out of issue #50 of a story in the main title, the series featured more intense violence and a more ambiguous morality than the main title, while the enemies were conventional terrorists as well as Cobra itself. The first four issues, as well as the backup story from issue #50 of the main title, were later republished as a trade paperback.

Order of Battle was a four-issue comic series that reprinted the data found on the action figures' file cards with some edits and all-new artwork of G.I. Joe characters by Herb Trimpe. Published in 1987, the first two issues featured G.I. Joe members while the third issue focused on the Cobra Organization, and the fourth featured various vehicles and equipment used by both organizations. The second issue caused some controversy when it erroneously listed Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa character as a member of G.I. Joe. While negotiations had taken place, concerning the character's membership on the team, the deal had fallen through. The third issue contained a retraction stating that Rocky Balboa was not and had never been a member of G.I. Joe. The trade paperback edition of the series removed mention of the Rocky character entirely.

A four issue limited series that teamed-up the Joes with the other popular property of the 1980s, Transformers. The Joes and the Autobots must join forces to stop the Decepticons and Cobra from destroying the world. The story suffered from the need to have the events of the limited series reflect the events of the main G.I. Joe and Transformers titles published by Marvel Comics at the time. However, while there were references in the Transformers ongoing series to the events of the limited series, the G.I. Joe ignored it completely, as writer Larry Hama didn't consider it to becanon, though towards the end of the ongoing G.I. Joe series several Transformers characters appeared in the G.I. Joe title as a prequel for the upcoming Transformers: Generation Two comic. The issues made reference to the limited series. A trade paperback later collected all four issues.

G.I. Joe: European Missions was actually a title that reprinted Marvel Comics UK's Action Force (the UK's name for the G.I. Joe toyline) comic strip in the US. The title lasted fifteen issues.