List of G.I. Joe comics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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[edit] Marvel Comics
[edit] A Real American Hero (Main series)
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 comic's visual storytelling power.
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 (most likely because Hasbro exerted more control over the show and the regulation of characters within the show in accordance to advertising than the comic book). 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 was notoriously campy about showing 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 death.
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.
[edit] G.I. Joe: Special Missions
The success of the main G.I. Joe title gave Marvel Comics a reason to produce a secondary title, G.I. Joe: Special Missions. Spinning out of issue #50 of a story in the main title, this series took on stories unconventional for a toy tie-in comic. The stories tend to be slightly more violent and sometimes the morality is ambiguous. The stories not only featured Cobra as the enemy but conventional terrorists as well. This series lasted 28 issues. Herb Trimpe did the art for the entire run.
[edit] G.I. Joe: Order of Battle
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 COBRA, 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.
[edit] G.I. Joe and the Transformers
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 maintain extremely tight continuity among Marvel Comics titles at the time, that is events that happened in the ongoing monthly titles must reflect in the limited series too. However, while there were references in the regular monthly issues of the Transformers comic to the story line of this crossover series, there were no such matching references in the monthly issues of G. I. Joe. Larry Hama, did not consider the events of the cross-over series to be canon, though towards the end of the ongoing G.I. Joe series he did include several Transformers characters in order to help launch the Transformers: Generation Two comic. In one issue, an Autobot even refers to the Autobots' previous meeting with the G.I. Joe team.
[edit] G.I. Joe: European Missions
G.I. Joe: European Missions are actually reprints of Marvel Comics UK's Action Force. In the United Kingdom, G.I. Joe was marketed under a different name, Action Force. No effort to edit the stories to America were made. Interestingly, it was printed on a better paper stock than the main series. There were fifteen issues released.
[edit] Tales of G.I. Joe
Tales featured reprintings of the first 15 G.I. Joe issues but on much better paper stock.
[edit] Foreign language versions
G.I. Joe was published in a number of languages, sometimes by local publishers. Issues were translated into German, Spanish, Portuguese, French (Canada), Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Japanese, Arabic and other languages.
[edit] Blackthorne Publishing
Blackthorne Publishing released six bi-monthly issues of G.I.Joe in 3-D and one annual. These issues were to be read with 3-D glasses. The stories did not really contadict the Marvel continuity, but are not generally considered canon, and not in the same continuity as the main Marvel and Devil's Due runs.
[edit] Dark Horse Comics
In 1996, the G.I. Joe toyline was relaunched with the G.I. Joe Extreme series. Dark Horse Comics acquired the rights to publish comics based on this property. They first started with a four-issue mini-series that introduced the characters. The mini-series was written by Mike W. Barr and drawn by Tatsuya Ishida. Although the toy line and the cartoon tie-in are both titled G.I. Joe Extreme, the comics dropped the word "Extreme" from the title. The mini-series was immediately followed by an ongoing series. A fickle comic market and the poor performance of the toys quickly ended the series at four issues. Interestingly, Dark Horse Comics never mentioned it was cancelled but on hiatus in its news releases. The stories are not set in the same continuity as the main Marvel and Devil's Due runs.
[edit] Benchpress Comics
Spring 1999, new publishing upstart Benchpress Comics proudly announced the acquisition of the rights to produce new G.I. Joe and Transformers comics. The G.I. Joe project would have seen the return of Larry Hama to the property he helped make popular. The plan was to release two G.I. Joe monthly series: one would feature a core cast of characters while a second title would make use of a rotating cast with stories not unlike Special Missions. For various reasons, the negotiations stalled, Benchpress went bankrupt and before even one issue was published, G.I. Joe comics was in limbo once more.
[edit] Devil's Due Comics
[edit] G.I. Joe A Real American Hero (Reinstated)
In July 2001, another comics studio acquired the rights to G.I. Joe. Image Comics released a four-issue mini-series written and drawn by Josh Blaylock along with artist John Larter and Steve Kurth. A comics convention special was released before the first issue. The mini-series was a success and immediately led to a fifth issue and a monthly schedule. The new series continued the storyline from the Marvel Comics run and combined it with elements from the animated TV series. All the primary cast members return and many new characters are introduced. The new series also had several spin-off series and mini-series and was also responsible for bringing attention back to other 1980s properties such as Transformers, Masters of the Universe and Voltron.
The series ended with issue 43, with the introduction of a new enemy and the deaths of several major characters.
Coincidence: the very first issue of Devil's Due GI Joe comic was released on September 11, 2001.
[edit] G. I. Joe: Battle Files
G.I. Joe: Battle Files gave profiles of the G.I. Joe and Cobra teams, as well as information on their vehicles. Battle Files was published between April and September of 2002. A Sourcebook was published in February of 2003, which collected issues one through three with additional profiles added.
[edit] G.I. Joe: Frontline
This series lasted eighteen issues and featured a rotative creative team for every story. Stories may take place some time in the Joes' past or the present. The first four issues featured Larry Hama's story of one last mission for the G.I. Joe Team.
[edit] Arashikage Showdown
A manga format book telling a tale involving fan favorites Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow, as well as Jinx, Scarlett, Kamakura, TJBang, Nunchuk and Budo. The martial experts try to recover the secret scrolls of the Arashikage ninja clan, to which many of them belong. Some fans consider this book to be set outside canonical continuity, as it incorporates magical and fantasy elements not present in the regular series.
[edit] G.I. Joe: Master and Apprentice I & II
These were two 4-issue limited series written by Brandon Jerwa. M&AI was about how Snake Eyes met and trained his apprentice Kamakura, while M&AII focussed on Storm Shadow and his apprentice/lover Junko Akita.
[edit] G.I. Joe: America's Elite
G.I. Joe: America's Elite is the current main G.I. Joe title on the shelves. It started with a "zero" issue and picked up the story one year after the events of the last issue of G.I. Joe: Reinstated. The series is written by Joe Casey with a darker tone to the series and features a smaller group of Joes. The series starts off with the president asking General Joseph Colton, the original G.I. Joe, to be the team's C.O., replacing General Hawk, who was paralyzed in the previous series. Character profiles are provided in the Data Desk Handbook, as well as in individual issues. As of Issue #18 Joe Casey exits the book amongst mixed fan reaction to his run. Starting with Issue's 19 & 20 Mike O'Sullivan (also editor and long time fan of G.I.Joe) comes on to fill in as writer, cleaning up some dangling plots and unanswered questions from fans. Both Issue's will be penciled by two artist, Devil's Due Staff Artist and fan favorite Tim Seeley and Javier Sicilia. Coming onto the book with issue #21 for a new story arc following the fallout of Issue #18 are writer Mark Powers and penciler Mike Bear.
[edit] Storm Shadow==
In February of 2007, Devil's Due Publishging Announced that Larry Hama would return to write a spin-off focusing on former Cobra and G.I. Joe team Member Storm Shadow. It is assumed to focus on Storm Shadows ninja exploits. It is scheduled to begin in May of 2007
[edit] Data Desk Handbook
This one-shot published files for America's Elite's main characters. The files are presented as computer entries written by Commanding Officer General Joseph R Colton (the original G.I. Joe). Several other files and updated files were later published in individual issues of America's Elite, Special Missions and trade paper back volumes.
[edit] The Hunt for Cobra Commander
This one-shot issue is set in the year between Devils's Due A Real American Hero series and America's Elite series, and featured G.I Joe team member Spirit.
[edit] Special Missions
A series of one-shots, featuring reservist Joes, and set in different parts of the world.
[edit] Manhattan
This issue featured non "A-Team" members (or G.I. Joe reservists) Beach Head, Cover Girl, Mercer, Low-Light and Tunnel Rat, on a special mission involving a bio-weapon threat in New York City.
[edit] Tokyo
This issue features the ninja Jinx, samurai Budo, and "yahoo" reservists Wild Bill (Texan chopper pilot), the Cajun Marine codenamed Gung Ho, lady's man Clutch and Malibu surfer and gunman Rock N' Roll. The team tries to prevent a coup in Japan.
[edit] Antarctica
This issue was released in December 2006, and features Snake Eyes, Stalker, Duke, Scarlett, as well as reservists Snow Job, Frostbite and Iceberg.
[edit] Brazil
This issue features characters that came with the 1986 G.I. Joe Special Missions Brazil Toys R Us exclusive boxed set.
[edit] Declassified
The various Declassified series and one-shots explore the origins of the characters, and are set before Marvel's G.I. Joe Issue #1.
[edit] Snake Eyes: Declassified
A six issue mini-series set before any other GI Joe comic (Marvel or Devil's Due), telling and expanding the story of Snake Eyes.
[edit] Scarlett: Declassified
A one-shot issue telling the history of the character code-named Scarlett (Shana O'Hara), set between Snake-Eyes Declassified and G.I. Joe Declassified.
[edit] G.I. Joe: Declassified
Written by Larry Hama, this series was released bi-monthly beginning in the Summer of 2006. Each of the three issues is double-sized. The story is set between Scarlett Declassified and issue #1 of the original Marvel series, telling the first missions of the original thirteen members of the team.
[edit] Dreadnoks: Declassified
Three issue limited series telling the complete origin story of Zartan -- including how he gained his abilities and how he became leader of the Dreadnoks.
[edit] Alternate Continuities
[edit] G.I. Joe vs. Transformers
This was a cross-production with Dreamwave Productions, who, at the time, held the license to create Transformers comics. Each studio released their own six-issue mini-series which featured their own take on a crossover between the two franchises. Unlike previous efforts to bring the two properties together, the Devil's Due story takes place in an alternate present day where Cobra, just rising to prominence, has uncovered the Ark. Cobra steal the Transformers found inside and adapt them into Cobra assault vehicles, including Optimus Prime, Ironhide and Ratchet being converted in Cobra HISS tanks. G.I. Joe is formed to stop Cobra and receive unexpected help from Wheeljack and Bumblebee, who managed to avoid being taken by Cobra.
The second mini-series was a follow-up to the first story. Cybertronian technology has augumented both G.I. Joe and Cobra's forces, who are still fighting each other. During a battle, an accident causes several Joes and members of Cobra to be accidentally transported to Cybertron. The backlash of the accident also pulls several Transformers to Earth as well as scattering them through time. The Joes and Cobra must travel into the past and future to retrieve the missing Autobots and Decepticons before the Earth is destroyed. This is complicated by the fact that most of Cybertron is under the control of the Decepticon Shockwave.
The third mini-series, entitled The Art of War followed on from the second mini-series, using elements of the first. The new story focused on a reimagined version of a classic G.I Joe villain - Serpentor, here a cyborg created from the DNA of great warleaders and the mechanical components of Megatron. Inadvertently freed by a Cobra raid, Serpentor journeyed to Cybertron. Now Hawk, Grimlock and the other Autobots and G.I Joes must stop him before he takes the Autobot Matrix of Leadership for himself.
A fourth mini-series consisting of two double-sized issues, entitled Black Horizon, was released in early 2007. After Hawk resigned from G.I. Joe in the wake of the events of "The Art of War", he formed a loose alliance with the Autobots to stop the spread of Cybertronian technology. However, a much bigger threat looms - the serpent cult Cobra-La and the dark god of the Transformers - Unicron. Hawk, Flint, and Optimus Prime go the the Himalayas to confront Cobra-La, and find a long lost hero: Joe Colton, the original G.I. Joe.
See also Dreamwave's Transformers/G.I. Joe section in Transformers (comic).
[edit] G.I. Joe Reloaded
Reloaded was preceded by two special publications, Cobra Reborn and G.I. Joe Reborn. The series has no connection to the primary series and features a more real world take on G.I. Joe, a move many saw as an effort to copy Marvel Comics' success with the Ultimate line of titles. Reloaded did not garner enough interest and was subsequently cancelled after fourteen issues.
[edit] G.I. Joe: Sigma 6
Written for a younger audience, G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 is a six-issue series based on the new G.I. Joe toyline from Hasbro and the animated TV series of the same name.
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[edit] See also
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
- G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Cartoon)
- G.I. Joe: The Movie
- G.I. Joe casualties
- G.I. Joe
- File card
- Cobra Organization
- Action figure
- G.I. Joe Extreme
- G.I. Joe: Sigma 6
[edit] External links
- Yo Joe.com Comics Page
- JMM's G.I. Joe Comics Home Page
- Joe Reloaded.com - Home of the GI Joe Comic Forum
