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Classic G.I. Joe #5
G.I. Joe: Classics Vol. 5
Larry Hama's original G.I. Joe saga continues with another ten-issue installment! Witness COBRA's continued manipulation of the JOEs, Destro captures a squad of new JOEs on a training mission, Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow seek revenge against Zartan, and much more. The classic Marvel Comics G.I. Joe gets new life in this fifth collection of must-have JOE stories! This action-packed volume collects G.I. Joe issues #41-50.
235 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 1, 2002
11 people are currently reading
79 people want to read
About the author
Larry Hama
1,950 books151 followersLarry Hama is an American writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.
He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro action figures. He has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.
During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.
He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe, A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro action figures. He has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: the Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
August 29, 2022
This was a great volume. It collects issues #41-50. On top of the epic events of the volume, IMHO it has one of the best runs of cover art for G.I. Joe.
The events surround some huge events. We learn who killed the Hard Master, the Candy story arc is over and we see an assault on Springfield. All of this is topped off with new characters like Dr. Mindbender, Zartana, Serpentor, and Sgt Slaughter.
One of the more important volumes of GI Joe comics as it sheds light on major events and introduces some very interesting characters. A must-read for any classic GI Joe fan.
The events surround some huge events. We learn who killed the Hard Master, the Candy story arc is over and we see an assault on Springfield. All of this is topped off with new characters like Dr. Mindbender, Zartana, Serpentor, and Sgt Slaughter.
One of the more important volumes of GI Joe comics as it sheds light on major events and introduces some very interesting characters. A must-read for any classic GI Joe fan.
April 29, 2020
It's still amazing to me how dramatic and complex the storylines are in this comic. Just much deeper than you'd expect. The Serpentor character is a little goofy but the series does have elements of science fiction so it does work to a point. There are also many new characters being introduced, the majority of which are good characters but there is the danger of overkill since I'm sure Larry Hama had to introduce each character and vehicle as the toys were released.
Overall a much stronger series then you'd expect (which I have said in previous reviews as well.)
Overall a much stronger series then you'd expect (which I have said in previous reviews as well.)
February 7, 2021
By far, the best and defining run!!!
Yooo Hawkkkkk!!!
Yooo Hawkkkkk!!!
January 4, 2023
This one is filled with icon covers by Mike Zeck, and while they don't add to the reading enjoyment of G.I. Joe, they do hit the nostalgia feels just right. More characters are introduced on both teams, and the backstories of some of the main characters are fleshed out. Cobra Commander's biggest challenge is introduced with Serpentor. Stormshadow is reborn and teams up with the Dreadnoks, and I'm interested to see where that goes when Zartan returns.
For the most part, if you've read the first 4 volumes, you'll enjoy this. You can see Hama is getting comfortable with the characters, and telling their stories.
For the most part, if you've read the first 4 volumes, you'll enjoy this. You can see Hama is getting comfortable with the characters, and telling their stories.
January 25, 2016
An excellent blend of the comic superhero style storytelling and a military war comics. Huge cast of characters and a great evil villain and organization balances the series well. Very recommended.
December 8, 2017
Pretty solid installment in the GI Joe saga. However, by the end I was starting to feel new character fatigue.
April 4, 2016
This was a great set. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero issues #40-49. This had some epic moments from the series. You find out who killed the hard master, Cobra launches an ingenious plan to trick the Joes into creating Cobra Island, Zartan jnfiltrates The Pit, Serpentor is created, and finally Ripcord tips off the Joes to the location of Springfield, leading up to a massive assault in issue #50, a special double issue. Great story arc, some of the best of the series I remembered and it's still great now.
February 8, 2012
So handy having these things compiled into book form like this, and then discovering that my local library system carries the series! I screen these before letting my sons read them, but I enjoyed G.I. Joe toys and cartoons back when I was a kid, so it's fun for me, too, to read these stories (which I didn't do as a kid).
May 31, 2016
Just keeps getting better and better! If there was any complaint at all, it's that the new characters keep rolling in and older characters get lost.
September 22, 2020
This volume of Larry Hama's original G.I.JOE series gives presents issues 41-50, which give us some classic storylines such as the early days immediately after the formation of Cobra Island, Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow teaming up to go after the Hard Master's murderer, Zartan's invasion of the Pit, the creation of Serpentor, and the Battle of Springfield. The art is very consistently drawn by Rod Whigham for all ten issues.
My biggest gripe with this volume is that so many characters are introduced so quickly that you don't get to spend any time getting to know them. I realize that much of that wasn't Hama's fault, since he had certain demands that Hasbro wanted met, and to his credit, he tries to spotlight as many of them as he can and give them their moments to shine, but still, when you have characters like Beach Head and Leatherneck introduced in the midst of a battle it's hard to get any indication of their personality. It's also particularly awkward when Sergeant Slaughter shows up out of nowhere, shoehorned into an already very busy issue where Zartan is running loose in the Pit.
These issues were sorely in need of better editing as well--at three different points in this volume, Dr. Mindbender was mistakenly referred to as "Dr. Brainwave". The first two times they refer to him by the wrong name, and then they finally get it right--but an issue or two later, someone calls him Dr. Brainwave all over again. Some of these storylines were a bit too rushed for my taste as well. The creation of Serpentor all happens in a single issue, and they gloss over the ten great historical military leaders whose DNA were combined to create him (I think the only one they specifically mentioned was Genghis Khan). Whereas in the cartoon I recall they had a whole four-episode arc devoted to Cobra traveling around the world trying to get the DNA samples and G.I.JOE trying to stop them, which gave the whole thing a much more earned and epic feel. Dr. Mindbender also gets introduced in one issue where he's trying to prove his worthiness to join Cobra to Destro and the Baroness, but two issues later he's ordering Cobra troopers around like he's a high ranking member of the organization. The guy has only just arrived on Cobra Island and hasn't even met Cobra Commander yet.
Despite these gripes, this is still very much in the midst of my most nostalgic time period of G.I.JOE, so I'm quite enjoying traveling back through these issues. I just wish that the story and these character introductions had been given just a bit more time to breathe.
My biggest gripe with this volume is that so many characters are introduced so quickly that you don't get to spend any time getting to know them. I realize that much of that wasn't Hama's fault, since he had certain demands that Hasbro wanted met, and to his credit, he tries to spotlight as many of them as he can and give them their moments to shine, but still, when you have characters like Beach Head and Leatherneck introduced in the midst of a battle it's hard to get any indication of their personality. It's also particularly awkward when Sergeant Slaughter shows up out of nowhere, shoehorned into an already very busy issue where Zartan is running loose in the Pit.
These issues were sorely in need of better editing as well--at three different points in this volume, Dr. Mindbender was mistakenly referred to as "Dr. Brainwave". The first two times they refer to him by the wrong name, and then they finally get it right--but an issue or two later, someone calls him Dr. Brainwave all over again. Some of these storylines were a bit too rushed for my taste as well. The creation of Serpentor all happens in a single issue, and they gloss over the ten great historical military leaders whose DNA were combined to create him (I think the only one they specifically mentioned was Genghis Khan). Whereas in the cartoon I recall they had a whole four-episode arc devoted to Cobra traveling around the world trying to get the DNA samples and G.I.JOE trying to stop them, which gave the whole thing a much more earned and epic feel. Dr. Mindbender also gets introduced in one issue where he's trying to prove his worthiness to join Cobra to Destro and the Baroness, but two issues later he's ordering Cobra troopers around like he's a high ranking member of the organization. The guy has only just arrived on Cobra Island and hasn't even met Cobra Commander yet.
Despite these gripes, this is still very much in the midst of my most nostalgic time period of G.I.JOE, so I'm quite enjoying traveling back through these issues. I just wish that the story and these character introductions had been given just a bit more time to breathe.
June 18, 2022
GI Joe Volume 5: This series continues to be very strong. My biggest complaint is about how they rushed the origin of Serpentor. It's been a while, but there was so much more detain in the cartoon about who Cobra grabbed and why to make Serpentor. This was just glossed over in the comics. However, seeing Serpentor in action, leading Cobra, was very well done and provided a great contrast to Cobra Commander. I also found it interesting that they switched Dr. Mindbender's name halfway through his first appearance. Destro and Baroness call him Dr. Brain-Wave twice before switching to Dr. Mindbender, then one more mention of Brain-Wave at the end. Seems like a really obvious thing to catch while reviewing the -script?
March 17, 2024
The fifth volume of GI JOE results in a lot of changes to the setting. The Battle of Springfield, Storm Shadow finally finding out about the Soft Master's death, and the first appearance of Serpentor. Serpentor was forced onto Larry Hama despite being an incredibly out there sci-fi concept in an otherwise grounded story. Still, he handles him really well. We also get a somewhat questionable Special Missions story that has the Joes up against a bunch of Weatherman Underground Trotsky-ists who seem out of place in the comic as well as bad stereotypes.
February 4, 2024
The best cover art of the classic volumes! The Battle for Springfield was a highlight, yet it should have had some casualties. Early issues had casualties of named characters who didn't get figures (at the time). Later issues had someone of relative importance die every ten issues or so. This era had huge fights that were basically casualty free. I would love these stories to be remade with more realistic risks and results. Still, a good story, especially if I was still ten.
January 20, 2024
Punto de inflexión en la serie, que desde el asalto a la isla Cobra a la batalla de Springfield parece cerrar su mejor etapa. Destaca sobre todo el racconto dedicado al servicio de Stalker, Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadpw y Wade Collins en Vietnam; casi un pasaje explicativo que unirá puntos de continuidad y seguirá marcando la colección más allá de su etapa Marvel.
April 23, 2022
A Facebook friend said these were really good so I bought them all in a Comixology sale. I wouldn't say this was good, exactly, but I do admire how Larry Hama managed to produce a coherent ongoing storyline despite the constant need to work ridiculous new toys into it.
December 7, 2022
Things Have Stepped Up!
This volume seems to be the turning point in the series. Whereas the earlier volumes were excellent, this set seems to have stepped up the storyline and it felt even more cohesive and engaging - the types of stories where time flies.
This volume seems to be the turning point in the series. Whereas the earlier volumes were excellent, this set seems to have stepped up the storyline and it felt even more cohesive and engaging - the types of stories where time flies.
December 7, 2021
Great Stories for Your Nostalgia
Well worth the read if you're even a small fan. So much better than I even remember. A lot of fun.
Well worth the read if you're even a small fan. So much better than I even remember. A lot of fun.
July 15, 2023
''"Premature panic is the sign of an immature mind!"
September 30, 2023
Cobra is pulling out a lot of wins in the last few volumes. It makes it a lot more interesting than when they were complete morons at the start of the run.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 28, 2025
A definite high point of Larry Hama's Marvel GI Joe run. As a kid I did not appreciate Hama's ability to juggle so many subplots but it's really impressive to me now.
June 16, 2020
reread in 2020 - great escapist nostalgia overload. Not sure I would still grant it 5 full stars but it is among my favorite of all of the Hama Joe stories and this one has crazy nostalgia (Cobra Island!!! The battle of Springfield!!) attached to it so it is hard to be objective.
One thing I hated as a kid and still hate is how the intro to Special Missions story treated Lady Jaye. Probably the most qualified person for that mission and they use her as a "stuck in the powder room" punchline. It's particularly dated/bad now but it bugged me then as well.
One thing I hated as a kid and still hate is how the intro to Special Missions story treated Lady Jaye. Probably the most qualified person for that mission and they use her as a "stuck in the powder room" punchline. It's particularly dated/bad now but it bugged me then as well.
March 19, 2008
Overall it's pretty good... if you can overlook the poor art and editing. Dr. Mindbender was called Dr. Brainwave multiple times in the beginning and then at the very end again! Stalker was colored as a white guy in a panel and Gung Ho was drawn in two separate transport planes at the same time!
June 5, 2015
See G.I. Joe #1
March 13, 2022
More awesome. The story where Rip-Cord and Zartan get switched is awesome, and the assault on Springfield/rise of Serpentor is FANTASTIC. I freaking love this comic.
August 21, 2015
The end of the Golden Age of the GIJoe comic. The crazier elements begin to creep in here, but Larry Hama keeps them grounded. That won't always be the case.
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews