G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero--Saturday Morning Adventures

by Erik Burnham, Dan Schoening (Illustrator), Luis Antonio Delgado (Colorist)

YO, JOE! From Paris to Tokyo, deserted islands to mountain fortresses, wherever Cobra is, Duke, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and the team are on their tail in this special Saturday morning send-up, based on the classic 1980s cartoon!

G.I. Joe is the code name for America’s daring, highly trained, special mission force. Its to defend human freedom against Cobra, the ruthless organization determined to take over the… Well, you know the story! But now Cobra may have found their most versatile weapon yet! Can G.I. Joe even stop the Aladdin Initiative?

Brought to you by the superstar creative team of Erik Burnham , Dan Schoening , and Luis Antonio Delgado ( Ghostbusters , Monsters & Protectors )!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels

96 pages, Paperback

Published October 11, 2022

About the author

Erik Burnham is a Minnesotan writer and artist that first broke into comics with a series of humorous short stories in the Shooting Star Comics Anthology. These stories featured his original creation, Nick Landime, and culminated in a one-shot: Nick Landime vs. the World Crime League, published by Shooting Star in 2005.

Off and on, in this same time period, Erik also produced a short run of an online strip, The Down Side, until technical issues wore him down. He aims to return to the strip one day.

In 2007, Erik found produced work for two other anthologies – a short humor piece for History Graphics Press’ Civil War Adventures #1, and a horror story for Gene Simmons’ House of Horror #3, produced by IDW Publishing.

This lead to several other projects for IDW, up to and including his critically acclaimed run on the ongoing GHOSTBUSTERS comic book.

Erik has worked on other projects not related to comic books, and hopes one day to share those with the public at large. In the meantime, he still lives quietly in Minnesota; any rumors about this being because he’s completely afraid of the forty-nine other states (and Canada) remain unverified at this time.

Reviews

[Sean Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love the cartoon as much as I do (I have issues), you will love this beautifully crafted homage. It's an absolute delight and I would pay stupid amounts of money for more.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in the character's voices from the original animated series like it was a lost episode. This is pure nostalgia. The writer was clearly a fan, and clearly having fun. Recommended to all children of the 80's.

[Will Robinson Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book just oozes with Saturday Morning kids fair, and that is a good thing. I really had so much fun reading this book. Everything just works so well here. From the characters voices, to the cartoon accurate artwork and the cheesy PSAs are here as well. Reading this collection was like taking a trip back to simpler times. The plot is absolutely ridiculous but the action and adventure are to notch. The story here is simple, the terrorist organization gets there hands on the lamp of the Arabian nights hero Aladdin. Cobra Commander sets out to make his evil three wishes and the Joes have to deal with the mayhem that ensues. The really fun park about this book is that the Genie of the lamp is a wickedly sly in corrupting the Commander's intentions with his wishes. This simple twist made the story unpredictable. I have to give major kudos to Burnham as a writer. Duke sounds like himself, Cobra Commander actually speaks with his trademark hiss, and my personal very Joe Shipwreck sounds as calm and collect as ever. It is sad that this book works so well while much of American comics don't have this luster. The most important thing that comic creators have forgotten is that superhero books should be fun. We ant to see our heroes take on the bad guys and thwart their nefarious schemes. I am really looking forward to reading more books like this one. Great job IDW!

[Brett Fortenberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you grew up with the old school Gi Joe cartoon like me, you’ll definitely enjoy this beautifully colored and action-packed comic. I got this book for my nephews. I want to introduce them to a wholesome, fun comic book. I’m so thankful that is exactly what I got here. This book is super kid-friendly. Comics these days are mostly geared towards adults, and I don’t have a problem with that per se. However, it’s cool when a book is written in such a way that both ages can enjoy. I think there is something here for old fans like me, and the kids nowadays. That being said, this is definitely a throw back to the 80’s cartoon. It even has the little “Knowing is half the battle” bits. It even references earlier episodes in the cartoon. And it is definitely a more kid level story in terms of narrative and tone. I’m not sure if I’d subscribe, if they continued making more of these books, but it will make a great gift for the kiddos in your life, and it was a neat excursion back into the world of the OG GiJoe cartoon. So what’s left to say? Two words: YOOOOOOO JOE!!!

[Sohrab Rezvan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a delightful story. Not a word I use frequently. As a fan of the original cartoon, the artwork was amazing. The PSAs were a fantastic addition and I laughed out loud at a couple of them (Snake-Eyes and Law & Order). My only complaint, and it's a small one, is related to the ending/resolution of the story, but it does fit with the tone of the original GI Joe series.

[Al Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top notch GI Joe with all the overtop features of a Saturday morning cartoon, art is done in that style, not in the fashion of Herb Trimpe.