G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #4 - Video Review by ComicBook.beer

Welcome back to ComicBook.beer, where every day is 1982 around here, apparently. Today we’re going back to October of that blessed year with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero issue number four, a classic Joe and a very interesting one because this is before they established the whole “G.I. Joe versus Cobra every issue” formula. This one is G.I. Joe versus a private militia, a strike‑first militia funded by Cobra, but we don’t actually see Cobra soldiers in this issue.

Larry Hama and Herb Trimpe. This is a Larry Hama / Herb Trimpe issue. Hama is the writer. Herb Trimpe does the pencil work. I love Herb Trimpe’s art, but this one has a slightly different style, a little grittier. We see the militia training in the woods. Check out the storytelling here, how it zooms in panel by panel. Then we see Hawk’s shadow, and then Hawk talking to the Joes as they watch a film reel. He’s giving instructions on how these guys are going to operate.

The Joes infiltrate the militia’s training grounds. We get some great character moments: Grunt, Snake Eyes, Stalker. There’s a lot of 1980s energy here: basic training, Dungeons & Dragons references, Radio Shack technology, and a militia leader who wants to drop a nuclear bomb on Russia. It’s wild. The Joes sneak around, get discovered, and the whole thing escalates into a full‑on firefight. Jet fighters get involved. It’s a whole situation.

I guess this guy didn’t clear his plan with his wife because she shoots him in the back, which is actually pretty funny. She doesn’t appreciate her own kids being nuked. We get some great action from Joes you don’t normally see much of: Zap and Grunt. There’s Zap. I think Zap might be Tony Stark in a different life. I’m not sure.

Anyway, G.I. Joe issue number four is a great read. These are kind of expensive to collect these days, the original ones, but you can find this issue in a variety of collections. It’s sort of a standalone story, so you don’t really need to know what’s going on, but it helps if you do. It’s really good. G.I. Joe issue number four, October 1982.

Fighting for freedom over beautiful locks of red hair and Star Wars: Jedi Arena for the Atari 2600. Become a Jedi Master without ever leaving your home.