G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #1 Comic Book Review
The incredible G.I. Joe reboot that inspired a generation of toy collectors, comic book enthusiasts, and cartoon-loving 80s kids.
Published June 1982 by Marvel Comics
Writer: Larry Hama
Pencils: Herb Trimpe
Inks: Bob McLeod
Colorist: Glynis Wein
Letters: Jim Novak
Editor: Tom DeFalco
Editor-in-Chief: Jim Shooter
"Operation: Lady Doomsday"
My original first printing of G.I. Joe #1 remains one of my most prized possessions because my dad bought it for me when he was on a business trip back in the mid to late-1980s. It cost $20, which was a lot at the time, and not something he could throw around back then.
I was really into the G.I. Joe toys at the time and read my copies hundreds of times. I played with the action figures, I watched the show, yo, I couldn’t get enough G.I. Joe! I remember he said “I was also going to get you issue #2, but it cost too much. Is it rare or something?” Well, yes, as it turns out. More on that in the issue #2 review.
Regardless, I love my G.I. Joe #1 and enjoy sharing it with 80s Comics [ComicBook.beer] readers and viewers.
Back to the 1980s!
Somewhere in the void between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Marvel Comics released G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero issue #1 in June of 1982. It’s a larger book compared to similar floppies from the era, running 28 pages. The core adventure is titled “Operation Lady Doomsday”, and there’s a 10-page special bonus feature called “…Hot Potato!”
Two G.I. Joe adventures in one comic book? Yo, Joe! But wait, there’s more. This giant first issue also includes a few character bios, a two-page cutaway spread of the Joe headquarters called “The Pit”, and a sweet ad for the G.I. Joe tank called the “MOBAT”, or Multi-Ordinance Battle Tank.
The first issue didn’t have any ads. Maybe, because the entire issue is an advertisement for the toys. To be fair, there is an ad for the action figures, but it looks so glorious in today's dystopian hellscape that I consider it a work of art rather than an "ad." I want to play with the action figures, please.
Joe #1 is a thick comic book that carried a higher price than usual for the period. Joe #1 clocked in at $1.50. The issues from the ’82 era typically cost 60 cents. You paid more for no ads and higher-than-average paper quality.
The MOBAT tank was awesome. I had one. It was motorized and heavy. It could crush Cobra skulls and squash Ewoks with ease. I didn’t have an At-At back then, but if I did, you can bet that many memorable battles would have taken place between G.I. Joe and the Empire.
*Pro-tip. Cobra HISS tanks are top heavy. If you run into them with the MOBAT, they fall over. Then you can back over fleeing soldiers or machine gun them as they run away.
The Creative Team
Written by Larry Hama and capably pencilled by Shogun Warriors’ veteran, Herb Trimpe, the first issue drops readers into the 1980s reboot of the G.I. Joe universe with a few word balloons that describe G.I. Joe as “America’s elite counter-terrorist strike force!”
“Code named: G.I. Joe – the most fearsome rapid deployment team of all stands ready to fight – anywhere – any time – any way!”
The opening spread on page one is awesome. Stalker and Grunt hoist the American flag while Scarlett reaches for the stars. Jets fly by in the distance, surrounded by explosions, while Steeler gives Snake Eyes a thumbs up, or motions for him to go to the bar, who can say? After reading one page of G.I. Joe, readers immediately want their parents to drive them to Toys R Us. Job well done, Hasbro.
Dr. Adele Burkhart, one of the nation’s top nuclear physicist, and the brains behind the Doomsday Project, but she didn’t know it was a doomsday device, and is en route to testify before Congress on Amtrak 840. Surrounded by guards and the secret service, at 0835hrs on Monday, Cobra strikes during a press conference by hiding guns inside their video cameras. Those brilliant evil geniuses!!
The Baroness is the first Cobra villain that we meet, as she holds a gun to Burkhart’s head and jumps out of a moving train, inflates a balloon, and grabs a helicopter. It’s one of the few times that a Cobra plan actually works! The baroness successfully kidnaps the doctor, and the Pentagon is flummoxed.
General Flagg and the top brass decide to rescue her for public relations.
Hama and Trimpe introduce Cobra, an evil terrorist organization with legions of well-trained soldiers with the latest hardware (which is like calling Stormtroopers crack shots with good aim)
Then, using the best 1980s computer technology imaginable, we meet the G.I. Team consisting of Hawk, Zap, Grand Slam, Scarlett, Short-Fuse, Steeler, Flash, Clutch, Grunt, Stalker, Breaker, Snake-Eyes, Rock N’ Roll, and Shooter. I love the way that Herb Trimpe draws chunky, old-school computers. (They ooze that late 70s Shogun Warriors quality…)
Fighting for Freedom Over All Terrains!
Readers are dropped into The Pit, the top-secret G.I. Joe command center hidden beneath the Chaplain’s Assistant’s School at Fort Wadsworth. Readers are awed as the Joes descend into their five-sublevel deep secret headquarters filled with heavy weaponry and a training center that would make even James Bond envious.
Hawk convenes a meeting to explain the rescue mission and shows the team, using a 1980s holographic projection, the Cobra secret island where they are holding Dr. Burkhart hostage. For the first time, we learn that Snake Eyes doesn’t speak, and he’s the smartest one of the bunch, suggesting that instead of a rescue mission, they carpet bomb the island with B-52s. Goodie-two-shoes Hawk disagrees, though, and cites a civilian population. (Now you know… and knowing is half the battle!)
Like shooting an escape pod in Star Wars, nuking Cobra Commander on page 9 would end the series right there, and there’s comics to sell and toys to hock! The Joes will go in on foot! By boat… from a submarine.
In the first issue, Cobra actually seems kind of threatening. Trimpe draws Cobra Commander with more confidence, or at least surrounds him with lots of cool-looking computers and mainframes that exude confidence. The Cobra soldiers give Nazi salutes (so you know they’re bad!) and look somewhat menacing. It seems almost plausible that, in the first issue, Cobra might defend their island from the Joes, but of course, they don’t. Stalker has a jet pack. Nobody can defeat Stalker with a jet back!
The first wave of the invasion begins, and the Joes do what the Joes do best: they blow everything up and look cool doing it! Flash can fry things with lasers. Scarlett and Snake-Eyes are sneaky. Short-fuse is a mortar expert, and Grunt shouts while he shoots at things.
Now that Cobra’s defenses have been compromised, we meet the rest of the Joes like Clutch, Rock ‘N Roll, and Grand Slam, who arrive in tanks and on motorcycles. “Rock ‘N Roll is here to stay!” Damn right he is!
Of course, the entire thing is an elaborate trap set by Cobra Commander and the Baroness, who try to trick the Joes and lure them into a locked room lined with explosives. Dear readers, I won’t give away the ending, but surely you can assume that Cobra escapes and the Joes live (except for that guy Shooter, who we see on page 6... whatever happened to him? My theory is he became the editor of the G.I. Joe comics.)
Conclusion
In the end, like a good Bond film, everything explodes, including The Joe’s tanks, vehicles, and Rock N' Roll's motorcycle with the sweet Gatling gun in the sidecar. And guess who foots the bill for millions of dollars of lost equipment? That’s right.
YOU. The American taxpayer. Yooooo Joe!
“Operation Lady Doomsday” is a great first issue of G.I. Joe, filled with action, explosions, death, destruction, and some good ‘ole comic mischief. Every Joe does a little bit of something, all of which adds up to one formidable fighting force!
Hama’s writing is top-notch, and the creative team delivers a great-looking book with good pencils, inks, top-shelf colors, and legible lettering.
The short story, titled “…Hot Potato”, written by Hama and penciled by Don Perlin, features Scarlett, Snake-Eyes, and Rock ‘N Roll fighting bad guys in the desert. It’s not as good as the main story, but fun nonetheless. I can never get enough Rock ‘N Roll. He’s always been one of my favorites.
Finally, readers are treated to a few Classified Files similar to the ones on the back of G.I. Joe action figure packaging. The drawings of Scarlett, Stalker, Flash, and the hilarious Breaker are stunning (especially Breaker, who lives on a steady diet of sugar and being awesome.)
When starting your G.I. Joe comic book collection and reading journey, start at the beginning. Over time, as the series got bigger and sillier. The original Joe lineup slowly faded away into the background and was replaced by dozens of new characters, all competing for screentime in each issue while also remaining in the shadow of Snake-Eyes and Scarlett.
Enjoy Clutch, Flash, and Grunt while you can! It’s a shame that Roadblock isn’t in the book yet to give us some life lessons and moral guidance…. “Now you know. And knowing is half the battle!”
G.I. JOOOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!
Review written by Mark Bussler, 2/16/2023
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