Daily Comic Book Mission #028: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21

Is everyone ready to get into your 1980s happy place? I hope so because it's time to fight for freedom over malted hops and barley. ComicBook.beer is there with G.I. Joe issue number 21 from March of 1984, one of the most influential comic book issues of all time. And I'm looking at making the next full-length ComicBook.beer podcast on the first 21 issues of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, published by Marvel Comics, started in 1982.

I love G.I. Joe and I got a lot to talk about. I know that most people who aren't really into this stuff just view it as a stupid kid's comic that was meant to sell toys. And that's only half true. Yes, it was meant to sell toys, but it was not a stupid kid's comic. The cartoon show was kind of stupid. But as I understand it, the comics and the cartoon show really had nothing to do with each other other than the fact that they were both based on the same characters and same Hasbro property.

G.I. Joe the comic book for the most part really stood out because of one man, and that is Larry Hama, who’s the writer and was basically the artist of issue 21.

So if we open the first page here, this is the famous “Silent Interlude” issue. Larry Hama did the story and breakdowns. He basically drew it. Steve Leialoha did the finishes, the inking, touch-ups, all that stuff. George Roussos did colors, and the colors are outstanding on this issue. Denny O’Neil is editor, Jim Shooter editor-in-chief. There’s no letterer credited because there are no words.

In “Silent Interlude,” the cover says “the most unusual G.I. Joe story ever.” Is it? I'd say it's the most awesome G.I. Joe story ever. I don't think it's that unusual. But today in 2026, when it's best to just turn off everything and retreat back into 1984, I think we take for granted that silent interlude storytelling without words is just straight storyboarding. It's like a masterclass in page layout and storytelling with visuals rather than dialogue. This was unusual for 1984. Today we've got manga, and manga has always been a lot less wordy than traditional American comics.

In the 1970s and 1980s, comics were very dialogue-heavy. Today you can buy a manga that's 300 pages with barely any dialogue and it's no big deal. But in 1984 for Marvel Comics, this was a big deal. So for those who don't know, now you know, G.I. Joe #21 is your daily comic book mission.

And knowing is half the battle. The other half of the battle is appreciating how incredible Larry Hama's storytelling is, because this opens up on this amazing shot of a Cobra fortress, and we don't know who it is at the time. This is brand new for us readers. Storm Shadow flies in with Scarlett captured. She's wrapped up in a paper bag. We know Cobra Commander by now if you've been reading up to issue 21.

You’ve got G.I. Joe, you’ve got Cobra, and then out of a C-130 or something, skydives the legendary Snake Eyes, complete with his Uzi. Scarlett bites Storm Shadow's thumb, she gets tossed into a pit. Snake Eyes parachutes and lands on top of the Cobra fortress. Destro’s playing chess with G.I. Joe figures on a chessboard.

It's basically one giant extraction story, but what's cool about it is that we as readers wonder if Scarlett even needed the help to be extracted, because she's already breaking out of prison using a hairpin or whatever. Then Snake Eyes shows up and just one by one throws all the Cobra soldiers over the edge. We get to see Storm Shadow’s ninja soldiers.

My favorite shot in the whole book, I wonder if this was inspired by Indiana Jones, there’s that scene where the guy is doing all the fancy sword moves and Indy just shoots him. Here, one of the red ninjas looks like he's going to get clever and fight Snake Eyes, and Snake Eyes just throws a grenade at him and blows him up. The storyboarding is just fabulous. There’s a great shot of the grenade with the text right next to the ninja’s face, and then it blows up.

And even though it was Snake Eyes who showed up to save Scarlett, Scarlett ends up saving Snake Eyes, who in return then saves Scarlett while she’s saving him.

It’s just an incredible ending, and that's why this is your daily comic book mission.

This is also kind of a rough draft for me getting into talking about G.I. Joe. I love the first couple years of G.I. Joe because, while it was aimed at selling toys, they actually took the time to focus on character development. We got to learn about each of the Joes individually. Some of my favorites are Breaker, Stalker, Rock and Roll. Everybody loves Snake Eyes and Scarlett. But we also had Clutch and Grunt and Grand Slam and Zap and a bunch of others that didn’t get as much screen time later.

Then they brought in Duke and Roadblock and Gung-Ho and a bunch of other awesome characters, but the early years were a lot of fun.

I’ll be talking about that, but before I do, go out there and read G.I. Joe issue number 21, the original “Silent Interlude.” I know that Image/Skybound has tried to make some Silent Interlude spin-offs or whatever, they just don’t really capture the magic. They don't really capture the magic. This one's hard to beat because it's quite simply the best that there is. And that's why it's your daily comic book mission.

I feel like I need to follow this up with a G.I. Joe-style PSA. What should I warn you not to do? What advice can I give you as presumably most of you are adults? What can I tell you that you haven't already figured out?

I've got a good idea. Because I know so many of us rely on our phones for things like calendars and texting our friends or making phone calls... But it’s possible that the negative outweighs the positive at this point. So how about this for a cool PSA:

Take out your cell phone with all the social media apps, put it on the ground, get a sledgehammer, and smash it into oblivion. Then go to your local comic book store, buy a couple of 1980s G.I. Joe comics, kick back on the couch with a cold beer, and read your comic books in peace.

There you go. Now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

See you next time on your daily comic book mission from ComicBook.beer.