G.I. Joe A Real American Hero Compendium Book One

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero! Compendium #1

by Larry Hama, Herb Trimpe (artist), Bob McLeod (artist)

Limited hardcover edition * Duke Fold-out Poster by Andy Kubert * One unsigned bookplate. Stretch goals not included.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Adventure, Comic Book, War, Military Fiction

Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2024

About the author

Larry 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.

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a boy growing up in the 1980s, it was hard not to be a fan of GI Joe. I was no exception, and though it was the cartoon and toys that initially sparked my love, I soon found my way to the comic—which, of course, provided much of the inspiration for the cartoon and far outlasted it. Comic scribe Larry Hama also wrote the vast majority of the file cards for the toys, which means his fingers are in everyone’s pie, or maybe a less gross way to phrase it would be to say that he shot his love into every one of the Joes (is that less gross?).

Revisiting these comics decades later in the gorgeous Skybound Kickstarter edition was an absolute joy, and a comforting confirmation that sometimes you CAN go back again, and the thing you’re going back to is still good, even if it’s got Hama love all up in it.

[Benji's Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this! I'm sure part of that had to do with the nostalgia of collecting Joe's since I was a kid, but the other half has to do with the good artwork and even greater storytelling.

These are military comic books for the younger people, but Vietnam War Vet, Larry Hama manages to keep me invested as an adult. There were also some unexpected dark moments sprinkled throughout.

The early issues had a few people tired of the same crew being used all the time, but that was the whole point. The first 10+ issues focused on the first wave of Joe figures released in 1982. And since this series was meant to sell toys, characters popped in as they were released in the toy world, throughout the comics being released around the same time.

But again, even being a book meant to sell toys, it's a great collection of stories. I missed out on the hardcover Kickstarter, so I had to go with the paperback, but it was well worth the money and time to read. And the spine still looks great after a full read-through. No cracks or rips whatsoever.

Highly recommended!

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I shall be waiting to reward your genius, or to have you beheaded for terminal stupidity!"

[Justin Partridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

“AT THE VIETNAM MEMORIAL…”

“Lord, I didn’t expect it to be this big…

Look at all the names…

So many names…”

So listen.

I know what you are thinking. You’re thinking “he’s finally flipped it. He’s givin’ the toy comics 5 ⭐️s and he’s gonna talk about how weepy it made him at points, we need to probably call someone now. It’s gone on long enough.”

But also, like…

Holy shit, these are tremendous comics? And an even better example of how these comics and an ongoing series in the general can and will be more than the sum of their each-sold-separately parts? Hell, don’t take MY word for it, just look at the CURRENT SALES NUMBERS of this returned series. Like…SOMETHING is clearly working here.

But truly madly deeply, I was NOT expecting these to be as good and as complex as they ended up being. I expected to have some fun. I expected to see some fantastic set pieces. I absolutely did NOT expect them to be a thrilling, constantly evolving and experimenting ongoing series that just keeps outdoing itself time and time and time again.

I know Transformers usually gets the laurels, and I get that. Hama and company were basically making up that backstory and the Cybertronian “lore” that the toys were just outright ignoring, that’s cool. That’s rad, in fact. But what’s even radder is that HERE, Hama and company are not only keeping pace with the toy line. They are also not allowing that to be dumb or slapdash either. These are real stories with real people and some of those people just happen to be fascist, snake-themed despots who work in the world’s worst and most demanding MLM scheme.

They keep making the interactions between the Joes and COBRA command structure pop. They keep making sure each character and vehicle has their own specialty voice and look and personality. And then ALSO like…talking about the rot inherent in capitalism and global warming and deforestation and nuclear proliferation and bad actors infiltrating a flawed system and the gears of power grinding up and out committed men and women WHILE THEN also just HAMMERING you with FOUNDATIONAL STUFF that’s still standing today! Hard Master! The PITT! Every single vehicle! SPRINGFIELD, for Christmas’ sake!

It’s just…sure, toy comics. You don’t really have the bar set. So then Larry Hama and a stable of incredibly talented artists, colorists, and letterers (AL MILGROM! DON PERLIN!Klaus GODDAM Janson! Michael Golden! ZECK MCCLEOD MARIE SEVERIN I COULD REALLY GO ON) just spends 100+ issues exploding that bar and then building a whole set of new ones and then leaping across those and keeping you gripped as all hell the entire time.

Goddammit, I love comics. And these are just a prime example how and why.

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read most of these issues as a kid, and was looking forward to a nostalgic re-read. Though when I read them as a kid, I don't think it was until the early 30s that I was able to pick the series up regularly month after month. The issues before that I mostly read out of order, if I could find my hands on them at all. But wow, reading an issue a day in order, it really hits hard how early on Larry Hama was world building and crafting multi-issue subplots. I see some people scoff at the early issues, but it's all there. Yes, the series really finds its path in the 20s, but it's all there from the start. He does a great job transitioning from the first wave of Joe characters to subsequent waves while still having his favorites garner plenty of the spotlight. I have new respect for Herb Trimpe as an artist, and am now a huge Rod Whigham fan. His art is definitive 80s G.I. Joe. And those Mike Zeck covers look as good as ever. As for the production value of the Compendium, wow, Skybound knocked it out of the park. As voluminous as the Compendium is, it is light! Like my brain couldn't comprehend how a book this big could be this light. And the paper looks and feels like 1980s comics newsprint paper. The colors look right on this paper. Chef's kiss, Skybound. I can't wait for the second Compendium to come out! Yo, Joe!!

[Dash Hooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a compendium of the first 50 issues of Larry Hama’s first run in Marvel Comics. No matter what binding they are in the issues are still excellent.

[Michael Emond · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the longest comic book collections I have ever read so I will be doing a bit of a deeper dive on this.

I'll start with the short review: Thanks to the incredible writing of Larry Hama this is one of the best comic collections you can get in terms of pure enjoyment. No super powers just an elite military unit going against a bunch of terrorists. I am thrilled this was printed and thrilled I got it. I had read these stories back in the 80's but only a few stuck in my memory (the silent Snake Eyes ones in 21 and his origin two parter 26-27). The art is solid but my one wish is that it could have been better. There are a few where Larry does the breakdowns himself and those issues really shine.

COLLECTION: I got the 1100+ page compendium that you can buy in stores and not the kickstarter one that cost 2-3 times as much and you were forced to buy all three volumes (which I don't think I will do for reasons I explain below). It is surprisingly light thanks to the fact they use newsprint type paper and not glossy paper. I applaud this decision. 1) it made the collection a lot cheaper 2) it made it lighter) 3) it made it look more like the original comics that were printed on a similar paper. The benefit of the glossy paper is it will last longer and is more durable (less likely to tear) but unfortunately the colours that work on newsprint look cheap (to me) on glossy. I also love this collection because you get so many issues. The Marvel G. I. Joe material has been reprinted in the past but you would have needed ~6 volumes to get all these stories released slowly over years. Here you get it all at once. Love that.

ART: As I mentioned - not bad but not great. Until the second half you get a lot of different artists who are all fine but range in quality. In the second half Rod Whigham is the regular penciller - which is nice for continuity and he is a very solid artist but I will admit he wasn't my fav - his figures were too static - lack the more cartoony dynamics of some of the earlier artists. And - as I said - I wish Larry Hama could have done more art - the two or three he does show you how this book could have been elevated if the art had been better throughout. ASIDE: Larry was an incredible artist but realized writers get paid the same and in the same time he could draw one book he could write three books so...he focused on writing.

STORIES: Amazing. Especially for the first two thirds. The way Larry juggles the rotating cast of characters is beyond incredible. Yes - it means we don't get to know many of them too well but Larry was great (especially in the earlier issues) of giving each of them a unique personality and allowing them to shine in their brief time in the comic.
The way Larry incorporates real military info or fake GIJOE military equipment is so much fun. His experience in the military really helped to make this feel real - in a way the cartoon TV series never did.
The way Larry makes COBRA a worthy adversary deserves special mention. He makes sure to give them their victories too so they don't come across as paper tigers for GI Joe to defeat easily in every issue. In the Tv series they are idiots, here they are intelligent terrorists who sometimes get a victory over GI Joe. But - on the flip side - GI Joe isn't portrayed as idiots either. They are heroic and smart.
Larry juggles the episodic stories and the overall ongoing story arc very well. My fav stories are the more self contained ones but Larry also has many ongoing story threads - "Who killed Storm Shadows uncle? What will happen to Billy? Will Ripcord and Candy get together? That last one...was the only one I disliked. Especially how it ended for Candy...off screen and abrupt and unsatisfying.

DOWNSIDE: I mentioned I wouldn't be buying the other volumes and I won't. When I collected these in the 80's, issue 50 (where this compendium ends) was the last one I bought and rereading it I can see why. It marks the start of Serpentor..he is a man created from the DNA of all the great past military rulers. In the cartoon show he had a 4 episode build up and also - we were more able to accept crazy ideas like that in a cartoon series. Here, in the comic, which was more grounded in reality (i.e. people actually die and bullets actually causes you to leak blood) it ruined the series for me. The series had started to fray at the edges when COBRA tricked Joe into bombing the ocean floor which created a new island to appear which COBRA got declared a nation in less than 12 hours (yikes - writing that makes it seem even more absurd). But having Dr. Mindbender create this being out of all DNA (his first try worked perfectly!!) and have this man lead an assault to perfection seconds after he came out of his tank...it was horrid writing and a horrid idea. DESTRO: But leaders aren't simply their genes, experience also plays a part MINDBENDER: I'll just download everything we know about them and he will share their memories and personality. ME: What are you talking about - we know nothing of Genghis Khan's (to pick one leader they used) day to day experiences. This makes zero sense.
For me it marked the end of the GI Joe I loved and the beginning of a soap opera that I didn't want to read because it made no sense. If I had read that in the Fantastic Four...sure, I would have been fine with it. But in a military comic that - up to that point - had been amazing because of its adherence to reality and realism - nope. And rereading it in this collection it still makes me sad and reminds me why I stopped reading the comic all those years ago.
The other minor downside is Larry is throwing characters at us way too fast in those last 10 issues. Where before he gave each one time to breath and develop a personality now we get tossed their names and they barely have a line of dialogue.

So yes the last ten issues - not that great (although they are still fun). But do not worry - the first 40 make up for that. Highly recommended.

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Newsprint FTW!

Quick overview & comparison with the previous IDW edition :
https://youtu.be/vd8ngKPC7vk

[Michael Bertrand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun trivia: what does "GI" in GI Joe stand for?

General Infantry?

Government Issue?

How about Galvanized Iron?

From the wikipedia on GI:

It was originally an initialism used in U.S. Army paperwork for items made of galvanized iron. The earliest known instance in writing is from either 1906 or 1907. During World War I, U.S. soldiers took to referring to heavy German artillery shells as "G.I. cans". During the same war, "G.I.", reinterpreted as "government issue" or "general issue", began being used to refer to any item associated with the U.S. Army, e.g., "G.I. soap". Other reinterpretations of "G.I." include "garrison issue" and "general infantry".

I didn't read the GI Joe comic books growing up. I was five years old when the first issue was published in June of 1982, which means it would have been over my head. Issue 50, the last in this collection, was published in August of 1986. I would have been 9, which would have made me just the right age, except...

The local grocery stores and the bookstores at the mall did not keep a reliable stock of any titles. You got what they got. And starting in issue 9, GI Joe established an ongoing story that varied greatly from the animated series. So if I could find issues, they didn't connect with what I already knew about the franchise. I passed on the comics and watched the TV series instead.

Now, at 48, I've read through the first 50. How were they?

Much better than I expected.

Why?

1. Story comes first in most of these 50 issues. True, the story is *very* silly at times, but even so, they're entertaining, even to a 48 year old.
2. The cast is surprisingly diverse for a military-themed story for kids from 1982. There are women characters in combat roles (Scarlett). There are non-white characters who are more than tokens (Striker, Roadblock). And the women characters aren't damsel in distress characters who hang around to date the male MCs. And the black and non-white characters generally aren't stereotyped- although later in this collection there's some of that with Native and Asian characters.
3. There is mild realism- characters get injured and some die. True, there's a massive amount of plot armor around MCs, but even so, they're shown getting injured. Except for a couple moments, I can remember no blood. Definitely no gore.
4. The art is clean and clear, which makes the action easy to follow. Sure, there are a *lot* of impossible moments, and several badly drawn moments, but considering that this is an 80s comic for kids, I think they did a good job.

How does the comic compare against the animated series?

I tried to watch the original miniseries this afternoon and could not do it. It's awful. Nonsensical to the extreme, with sub-par animation. By comparison, I actually enjoyed reading all 50 issues in this collection. The last few with Serpentor were a slog because the storytelling got sloppy, but the other 48 or so are fun.

So I recommend reading. They're fun.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a fan of the cartoon growing up but never checked out the comics, at least not until now. This is surprisingly very good, since it's whole purpose is to just sell more toys. The first 10 issues are all stand alone stories with the original more military looking Joes. Then with issue 11, the new Joes start filtering in and it becomes more one long form story. Hama's experiences as a Vietnam Vet give this more of a sense of realism in the dialogue than I expected.

There are still some silly moments, like the scuba gear guy Torpedo walking around on dry land in full gear with flippers and oxygen mask attached. How would that even work? He'd constantly be falling over and have an obstructed view. Serpentor shows up at the end and that's about the time I gave up on the cartoon as things started to get silly. We'll see if the quality of the comic continues because there's a lot of great stuff with Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow and the Hard and Soft Masters. I'm curious about Cobra Commander's son, Billy, as well. Good thing there's another one of these so I can find out.

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

The compendium of the first 50 issues of G.I. Joe and this was amazing.

Background: I totally missed this when this series first came out, It happened right around the time I discovered girls and took a ten year break from reading comics as my attention was elsewhere but I had always heard that Hama was a great writer and this was a really well done series.

Great writing, great characters, tons of action, artwork was amazing. Just one of those books I wish I could read for the first time all over again. It took a while to read as this is a chunky book (1100+ pages) but I loved every minute of it.

[Ruz El · Rating 4 out of 5]

A ridiculous object for me, and bought purely out of nostalgia having been a little boy when this series and the toys started in the '80s and only ever having had a handful of the comics. Reading them all these years later, they are a genuine blast to read. The art is kind of all over the place, but Hama does an extraordinary job with keeping storylines moving while seeming to have introduce a new action figure in every couple of issues. It shouldn't work as well as it does, but it works. I don't know if I need future volumes, but I am kind of kicking myself for not going all-in on the Kickstarted boxsets.

[Sebastian Lauterbach · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the whole thing, and I'm so glad it's over.

First of all, I'm completely new to this franchise, as I've never read a comic, watched the cartoon or any live action of G.I. Joe. So there is no nostalgia for me here.

This is basically two armies at war, where the good and bad guys are clearly labeled. The focus is on the action and the special equipment/vehicles/planes/ships the soldiers bring to battle. I suppose this can be a fun concept, albeit very straightforward and simple.

As I'm giving this only two stars, it's obvious that I have a lot of problems, so here goes:
I have read fifty issues of this and I cannot name all of the characters on the cover of issue #1 (which is also the DM cover of my edition). Why is that? This comic introduces new characters left and right to the reader, which results in most of the characters having zero personality or recognition. I care about none of them.

Another problem I have, is that the storylines have zero consequences. No characters are allowed to die, yet people are shooting at each other with heavy weaponry and guns. Very often characters are taken prisoner, to no effect, as they are able to escape immediately.

Then there's the individual stories themselves. The first 15 issues in here are mind numbingly dull. They are all standalone stories and could be read in any order. Characters are never properly introduced. Fortunately the book does develop stories, moving forward, that span over multiple issues and stories that reference moments from earlier issues.

Next there is the dialogue. It is too much pointless rambling. I've read other comics from the bronze age that read much better than these. This becomes very obvious with the silent issue, that has no words spoken and just shows action and is easily the best issue in here. Less is more.

There are few moments in this book, where I had some enjoyment, mostly when the book realises that the characters need some personality. As is the case with the origin story of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow, or the pairing of Candy and the Joe, whose name I can't remember (see problem #1). But these moments are too few for me to give the second volume a chance.

I do want praise the build of this compendium. The book laid open on its own from #4 up to #48, which is really impressive. And after reading the whole thing, it still looks like new. What I like less is the paper quality. The newspaper just feels cheap, but it was chosen for nostalgia purposes, I get it.

Therefore: If you don't have nostalgia for this, I would advise you to avoid this.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up watching the G.I. Joe cartoon - and not liking it, finding it oddly dudebro jingoist even at age 5. So even though guys at my comic shop always suggest this book, I have insisted I'll hate it. But I have to research for an interview I'm doing at a convention, so I read the first fifty issues, and I was shocked. This book is a wild party, a self-aware silly violent adventure book with long-game plotting akin to 70s Claremont. I can't believe it, but I can't wait for the next fifty issues!

[Rory Toohey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tough to give this an objective grade. I'll always have a soft spot for both G.I. Joe and bronze age comics, but this is pretty inconsistent. I tried my best to "slow read it" (I read the 50 issues over about 8 months), but these books were meant to be read at a monthly pace, and it shows.

When it does hit the highs, it's truly amazing. Even after 40 years, "Silent Interlude" still stands out as a triumph of the comic art form.

[AC Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the first however many comics, it was driving me crazy because a conflict would arise and be resolved within a single comic. Like cobra would do something and then within a 23 page comic the issue was solved and that was it. However, around the time when destro was introduced it got insanely good. They finally stretched out story lines and continuously brought in cool characters. Snake eyes and storm shadow will forever be my favs though

[c5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd heard the G.I. Joe comic was a little more serious and grounded than the cartoon I used to watch as a kid, and it's true. Writer Larry Hama was a Vietnam War veteran, and this surprisingly complex comic is at its best when it touches on serious themes (such as the Snake-Eyes backstory).

I've read many of the EC war comics from the 1950s, and I can't help wondering what it might have been like for Hama to go in that direction instead of being tied to a toy line.

[Kenneth Roland · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think anyone without the nostalgia would probably quit before the story got interesting. By the end so much is happening it's amazing Mr. Hama managed to keep it all straight in his head. I originally had this idea in my head that 50 comics, you can get through that in an afternoon. I was very, very wrong.
Already have the second one, looking forward to reading it as a nice palette cleanser between more modern books.

[Nolan Buro · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much better than you'd ever expect for a comic based on a toy line in the 80's. Despite existing to be a toy commercial, you get some surprisingly emotional character moments, introspective questioning of the nature of the military, some wild plot twists, and a lot of bad ass fun. Issue 21 is a masterpiece of comic storytelling.

[I.D. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s the first 50 issues of the original run printed properly and not digitally recoloured. This series was way better than could be expected considering it’s about a toy line and that’s due to Hama who put so much realism into the characters and situations. Occasionally it can introduce too many new joes without much for them to do but overall this is a great series and well worth revisiting.

[Philip Barbier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was expecting a simple, fun read of adventure comics based on a kid's toy line, and that's what I got for the first 20 issues or so. What I was NOT expecting was the story to shift to long, and unexpectedly complicated, multi-issue story arcs that, while still fantastical due to their nature of being based on a toy line, we're surprisingly good. I look forward to the release of Compendium 2.

[James-Michael Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best omni I've read in years! I never had all these issues as a kid, so I only got bits and pieces of the story...which is very different from the cartoon. I loved every issue of Hama's 8ps classic...especially on the pulpy 4-color print paper that 80s comics were made to be read on! YO JOE!

[Charles Eldridge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic packaging of the collection. It’s 1980s Marvel comics “G.I. Joe” written by Larry Hama. It was groundbreaking and evolved into something really special over the original run. Great to see the art style and the depth of the characters grow in real time with a collection like this.

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a collection. Admittedly it started off much stronger, and as more toys were released more characters had to be added in, which did dilute the stories a little, but they’re still great fun to read.

[Jandro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a book acquired through a Skybound Kickstarter. And it was worth it! This was a nostalgic blast from the past. And the stories in the book are far more sophisticated than in the cartoon. Would totally recommend to men of a certain age.

[Mac Spears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, it’s a toy tie-in written for a young audience, but Hama adds authentic touches that ground the “mission: impossible” level globe-trotting action in believability.

As the roster grows, so does the cliff hanging, soap opera-y dynamic, with dozens of character based threads and sub plots dancing around each other. It’s impossible to stop reading.

These stories are fun and at times hilariously grim for what it is. (I’m thinking of toss away lines about Scarlett saving two bullets for her and snake eyes in case things go sideways.)

For me, reading Hama’s Joe run was always a bucket list item. This more than lived up to the hype. If you’re a fan of GI Joe or of Larry Hama, this is the stuff!


Issue 29 had a speech from cobra commander to his followers and whoo boy, too close to home in 2026

Issue 34 and the silent issue both great. The one where Scarlett chases the embassy assassin is also chef’s kiss.

[Marcus Hutto · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good nostalgic walk through my childhood

[Devin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hardcover; ISBN isn’t here yet (978-1-5343-8702-7)

[Joshua]

Yo, Recondo!

This is a phone book.

[Billy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Per classic, 1 - 50 issues of my childhood in 1 volume. Thank you skybound and Mr. Hama.