By TonyDoug Wright
When I was reading comics in the 1980s I was interested in war themed titles like Fightin' Army, The 'Nam, and G.I. Joe. This was also an era when Marvel was generating comics for toys and G.I. Joe was part of that line-up with ROM, Transformers, and Micronauts. For some, these titles were nothing more than Marvel shamelessly peddling toys, but in my opinion, comics like G.I. Joe were well written stories with characters that had a great deal of depth.
The success of G.I. Joe was due to the creative output of lead writer, Larry Hama. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, an artist, and a student of martial arts. Hama's knowledge turned G.I. Joe into a legitimate title and he was involved with the comic for a twelve year span that included 155 issues. One of my favorite issues was G.I. Joe #26 which provided readers with a background of the enigmatic commando, Snake Eyes.
This cover is wonderful because it shows the classified dossier for Snake Eyes featuring pictures from his days in Vietnam and of his sister. There is a newspaper clipping which deals with the death of his family. The story itself is excellent and it truly showed that although G.I. Joe was a toy based comic, it could be a serious and engaging title. Thank you, Larry Hama.
TonyDoug Wright is the owner and editor of Champion City Comics. His webcomics include Dr Death vs The Zombie, The Red Devil , and Day 165.
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