Classic G.I. Joe, Volume 6

Classic G.I. Joe #6

by Larry Hama, Andy Mushynsky (Artist)

More classic G.I. JOE action is this sixth collection of G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero Including issues like "Thunder Machine," "Snap Decisions," and "Pit-Fall," read along with the action as the G.I. JOE team fights to remain operational amidst government oversight scrutiny. Meanwhile, Serpentor and Cobra prepare to lauch an attack that catches the JOE team off-guard - with major consequences

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Adventure, Graphic Novels Comics, Science Fiction, Military Fiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 29, 2009

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

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This 6th volume of the Classic GI Joe series was excellent. Not only did the covers bring back great memories, but they were uniformly awesome. Following up on the huge events of Volume 5, this issue carries on the tradition of explosive events.

The Joes' invasion of Springfield and Serpentor's subsequent successful evacuation has serious consequences as the Pentagon put the Joe program on stand-by pending investigation. Serpentor and Cobra Commander have a very bad relationship.

Cobra is able to lead an all-out assault on the Pit HQ of the Joes and destroy it. In the explosion, Destro and Cobra Commander are presumed KIA, and Serpentor takes over command of Cobra. Meanwhile, some new characters in the form of Joes and Cobra characters are introduced, the Storm Shadow story is further developed and Cobra Commander finds his injured son Billy.

Great cover art, and some exciting story lines make this one great volume. The remastered artwork looks very good. I guess my only question, in one of the stories, Grunt leaves the service to go to Georgia Tech for school and runs into some weird bimbo who allegedly served in the military and she asks (due to his looks) if he was a SF guy and he says no..and then she makes some nebulous "oh you like like Stratfor type"....ummmm whelp I've no clue what that means. It's not a term I've ever come across. It wasn't a term for SF even back in the 80s..70s..60s...well you get the point. *sighs*

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The series is still in its prime in this volume. The amount of characters is starting to get overwhelming (and it's only to get to worse) but Larry Hama does a great job of focusing on certain characters for certain storylines to keep readers from getting too confused. Some really surprising developments here as Cobra starts to splinter into different factions while still having to worry aobut the Joes. I'm sure the bottom drops out at some point, but not yet.

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume introduces new characters (gotta sell those toys!) fast and furious, to the point that it's almost overwhelming. On the Joe side we meet Dusty (one of my childhood favorites), Mainframe, Law & Order, Chuckles, Dial-Tone, Tunnel Rat, Cross-Country and his Havoc, Outback, Falcon, and some guy named Fastdraw in a goofy metal suit who I absolutely DO NOT remember. I'm sure there are some I'm forgetting.

On the Cobra side we get a bunch of new Dreadnoks and their ilk, such as Zartan's siblings Zarana and Zandar. Also introduced are Thrasher with his Thunder Machine, Zanzibar, and Monkeywrench. This volume also marks the first appearance of Raptor, who represents the beginning of the characters getting quite a bit more silly. Writer Larry Hama even has Cobra Commander make fun of Raptor's bird costume, and one has to wonder if that isn't Hama's own attitude towards some of these sillier characters coming out.

This volume contains stories such as Zartan's siblings rescuing him from G.I.JOE headquarters "The Pit", the subsequent Cobra attack and destruction of the Pit, Cobra Commander and Destro wear silly disguises and go on a road trip, Destro goes back home to Scotland only to find an imposter assuming his role at his keep, and Cobra Commander tries to reconnect with his estranged son when he discovers him in a coma and realizes that maybe he hasn't been the best father.

The overall story in this volume feels a little less focused than some of the previous ones, and it suffers a bit from the overwhelming fatigue of introducing too many characters in to short a time that the story doesn't have enough to do with. Things feel stretched pretty thin in a lot of places, and some of the careless editing (Dr. Mindbender is once again called "Dr. Brainwave" at least twice in this volume) gives the impression that the creators didn't much care at this point, but I'm still very much enjoying this trip down memory lane.

[Tym · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good character story for people on both sides. Almost earned 5 stars if not for some confusing art.

[Tacitus · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this because I was nostalgic and this was the only available Classic volume in my library network. I was hoping to find a strong connection back to this franchise through the comics. However, I was disappointed.

It’s easy to criticize this for being marketing for the toys, or for giving these issues a pass for the same reason. Yet these issues have none of the intrigue, mystery, or implied lethality and drama of the character file cards that were on the back of the action figures and that were also written by Larry Hama. None of that coolness or excitement from the file cards carried over here.

Despite the functional artwork and copy, there were threads of stories that went nowhere, and details that seemed meaningless. Snake Eyes may have died or disappeared but no Joe seems to notice. Instead, the Joes go through elaborate efforts to dismantle a Cobra bunker, but why or what they learn isn’t revealed; it does, however, give Roadblock an excuse to trim a downed tree with his .50 cal.

Destro and Cobra Commander go maskless, but seem quite normal (unlike Snake Eyes, who is in comparison apparently so disfigured that he’s repellant). Why do the baddies even wear masks then?

There was a narrative fixation on disguises in several issues, as both Cobra and the Joes resort to this technique. As a storytelling device, it was overused and not surprising. This is all Zartan and Co. do, but their jobs are never done artfully, like Rogue or some other spy. They always rip the masks off and run away laughing. Snake Eyes does something equally hamfisted and frankly poorly thought out involving a disguise. Interestingly, Cobra needed to blow up its own base but didn’t call in Firefly.

Meanwhile, Destro goes back to his ancestral home to find an imposter (Major Bludd!) in his place. Both Destro and Cobra Commander are believed dead, there’s command confusion and betrayal within Cobra, and yet they went their separate ways, Cobra Commander to Colorado and Destro to Scotland. The US had its own command problems, but why Chuckles kicked down a taxpayer-funded door just to give the offenders a pen to resign with is a strange touch.

There’s a weird subplot where Cobra Commander has a son named Billy, who not only was in a coma but was disabled in an accident and may be a ninja. Cobra Commander found out about this by happenstance when he was pulled over by a state trooper who happened to recognize his face as a possible relation to this kid. Cobra Commander is helped by a Fred working on deep cover—as an auto mechanic in Denver.

There was an awkward moment when Cobra Commander hugs his kid while wearing full armor. These stories made me feel like that kid; they were constantly wearing some kind of armor, and had no genuine warmth, emotion, or connection. And much like Destro and Cobra Commander, Billy and his dad part ways to go on separate adventures. It’s like these characters couldn’t be allowed to bond or experience life together. I don’t understand the reason to introduce Billy at all if it’s not to add some depth to Cobra Commander. And who’s Billy’s mom, by the way?

In the time they are together, Cobra Commander reveals to Destro that he was once a used car salesman, skills that he conveniently puts to good use acquiring a car. There’s a joke here about used car salesmen being the worst human beings, but I am not sure if this joke lands anymore. It also makes Cobra Commander seem mundane and less serious, but I guess that’s kind of his shtick.

Otherwise, the human side seems all over the place and, when it appears at all, only serves to advance the story. Destro teams up with Joes in Scotland, despite having just trying to kill each other a few issues ago. Scarlett seems to care more about deconstructing the Cobra base than rescuing Snake Eyes (unless that was the plan?). A grieving Baroness flies a long way just to drop a wreath; it feels like if she really cared, she could have done more, or uttered a plan for revenge over her candle-lit Destro shrine. The human motivations of these characters felt forced, like an afterthought, as if we shouldn’t think about them for too long. They’re just toys, after all.

There was just nothing meaningful in these stories and what’s there was often trite. I’m sure that some of these threads and subplots may have been brought back up again in later issues, but as they stand in this volume they felt like dead ends. (I’m also not referencing later canon for this review).

I get that there was a lot going on in this fictional world, but the Snake Eyes angle seemed like a multi-issue feature on its own. As a result, these issues lacked narrative focus, and as a consequence, my patience with the constant diversions, and my interest, dissipated.

A lot of the dialogue featured characters describing what they are doing in each panel, which became tedious and mind numbing after awhile. Hama injects much military knowledge and humor into these scripts, but the jokes about chaplain’s assistants, or plot points like accessing military pay records, come off as mundane when mixed with the more gonzo franchise hallmarks, such as pogo vehicles and modern-day ninjas. Some of the more fun, creative, or just plain goofy ideas include a rocket in a Jersey Shore hotel, the Cobra Consulate building in Manhattan, or the Dreadnoks hiding out in the Meadowlands.

Time also worked against my experience of these issues. The Vietnam references made sense in the 1980s but are less relevant now. The Arabs seemed like caricatures, and their portryal felt a little cringe-worthy now.

These issues were also lacking in characterization, which is interesting given that this a toy franchise all about unique people. At the end of the day, like with most toy franchises, maybe the best stories were the ones we created with these figures, and maybe that’s the source of the nostalgia. We probably didn’t do much better or worse as kids for free in our living rooms than what paid adults produced here.

Rod Wigham drew most of these issues, and he did a clear and workmanlike job throughout. At the same time, that worked seemed prosaic. This contrasts with Todd McFarlane, who did the pencils for #60. I am no McFarlane fanboy, but his work breathed much-needed life into this volume. He captures the chaos and frenzy of the action of that script well, especially with all the techy stuff. If there’s anything to recommend this volume, it’s this change in artists. It’s a shame McFarlane wasn’t involved in more issues. (The colorists also changed, which may have helped as well).

[Ned Leffingwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collect of the old Marvel GI Joe stories. We get some stories featuring Zartan and the Dreadnoks, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Scarlet, and other fan favorites. The stories are action packed with the right dose of humor. The last issue in the collection was penciled by Todd McFarlane, and all of them were written by Larry Hama. Recommend to those who know, because knowing is half the battle.

[Little Timmy · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Aaron Kleinheksel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume is just not as good as the previous ones. To put it simply, about this time the storyline ran into Hasbro's product roll-out and lost. I'm certain there were contractual requirements to "write-in" all the new G.I. Joe and Cobra equipment and members so that the kiddies could nag their parents to run to Toy'R'Us and buy them up. Unfortunately, too many Joes and too much increasingly ridiculous and outlandish psuedo-military hardware choked out the storyline. Even the mighty Larry Hama just couldn't surmount the challenge. You just can't have tight writing and compelling storytelling when you are trying to introduce 4 new characters every issue. They all end up running together. Add to that what must be the nadir of the artwork for Hama's run of G.I. Joe ARAH and you have a sub-par 10 issues.

Reading over this review I'm wondering why I didn't give it 2 stars? Well, the internecine political struggles between Cobra Commander and Serpentor for control of Cobra and the side story featuring Cobra Commander re-uniting w/ his son Billy were good, as was the main event featuring the G.I. Joe HQ "The Pit" being destroyed and turned into a literal pit. 2.5 stars is fair.

Did I mention I despise the dreadnoks? Who created them, and WHY?! I hated them as a kid, and my antipathy has only festered in the intervening years. They had no reason to exist in the G.I. Joe universe and only served to dilute the entire product line and comic book storyline. Someone should have brought the Punisher in for a super-special Marvel Cross-over event and let him wax every one of those incompetent and loathsome scabs on humanity. Yo Joe! Excelsior!

[Kris Shaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought every one of these issues off of the stands the day that they came out. I haven't read these issues since then, so this was a blast to go back and re-read them. I was surprised at how many issues I could remember the plot to all of these years later. Larry Hama breathed life into what were, quite literally, plastic characters and made most of this stuff seem believable. Serpentor, well, not so much. I can't believe that they didn't reprint the story from G.I. Joe Yearbook #3 that was the conclusion to Issue 56. My only other gripe is that the restoration is poor, with low resolution scanning resulting in fuzzy black lines on the borders and word balloons. They went to the trouble of re-coloring the issues to match the original color palette but couldn't be bothered with high resolution scans? My $50 scanner could have done a better job. Oh well, these are good reads in spite of that.

[Sohrab Rezvan · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the biggest criticisms I've heard from this series is that the story gets kinda silly as they had to add more characters from the cartoon. I really felt that in this volume, with new characters in almost every issue. That's not necessarily bad, but you just get so many so fast without much character development. I also think the storyline with Cobra Commander's son is completely unnecessary. It's also disappointing that the editors didn't bother to clean up some of the lettering - there are pages with missing or partially missing letters, which doesn't make any sense to me. Why not fix that for the compiled edition?

[Eric Butler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know some people complained about the influx of new characters in this collection, but it's one of my favorite parts. This is my childhood and many of my favorite characters show up in these issues. We also get more backstories on the main favorites: Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, Cobra Commander, and Destro.

While they've always done a great job with cover art, we also start getting some very good interior art as Ron Wagner and Todd McFarlane get in on the act. Not that the regular art is bad in any way, but it wasn't anything special. I can't wait to dig into the next volume.

[Phillip Murrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picks after the awesome Invasion of Springfield. The Pit fight wasn't nearly as epic, and the new vehicles and characters were underwhelming in many cases. Not Tunnel Rat! As an EOD soldier in real life, I have to support him and Tripwire. I'm talking about the stupid new Cobra Commander Battle Armor, the Pogo, and Raptor. It's a transition to the Cobra Civil War, so still before jumping the shark, but the signs are starting to show.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic GIJOE issues 50-60. Probably around 1987. The collected edition cleans up the art, removes the ads. Maybe not the best of the series and the introduction of dozens of new Joes stresses the storytelling to a certain extent, but Larry works wonders with the cards he is dealt.

[Brian Lakes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for the nostalgia...

It is what it is and I love it. This volume starts with some great stories,but then as you get towards the end it more and more ventures into the ridiculous. But hey, it was the 80s and that was part of the fun.

[Malum · Rating 3 out of 5]

The number of characters is getting overwhelming at this point and the stories are getting a bit sillier and more cartoony. The long, character-defining arcs are getting less and less and one-shots where a group of new characters are introduced are getting more and more.

[Gonzalo Oyanedel · Rating 2 out of 5]

La necesidad de dar vitrina a más juguetes empieza pesar en los guiones, con personajes cada vez menos definidos y tramas que comienzan a sentirse repetitivas. Pero Hama hace lo que puede para entretener en una cabecera hecha para promocionar y cuyo baile de dibujantes llama a desinteresarse.

[Honesty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The new characters are becoming increasingly corny (Zanzibar, seriously?), but it's still [mostly] more fun than television.

[Dylan Sharek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird formatting and distracting art in this volume. Story is a bit better but still uneven.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chuckles RIPS!

[Walter Stahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad these are available. I used to have all the issues as a kid. I love reading them again :).

[Chris Greensmith · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Well, save my bones for Davy Jones."

[Marcus Barnhill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that they have reissued the comics from the original comic series. I was really young when they first came out so I didn't read them then. I'm glad I got to read them later.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Continuing the re-read of my childhood...)

Not Hama's best, but not his worst. A couple of great issues in this set and a couple that make it obvious that Hasbro had control over what and whom he had to feature every few months (and yet he somehow manages to make Raptor a somewhat interesting character). Destro's return home was always a favorite of mine, though, and "Pit-Fall" is a good all-out action issue that also sets in motion the ongoing romance between Flint and Jaye that has been used for various "dramatic" reasons in modern Joe books...

I'm glad that IDW has continued the reprints where Marvel left off, but the quality does leave something to be desired. The colors are not nearly as clean as they were before (specifically noticeable in the aforementioned Destro issue as there was some amazing line work that disappears completely under the heavy-handed coloring here.) and there are several spelling errors - probably from using a computer program to scan in the old issues (and therefore bad editing).

I have heard that these problems are very bad in the next volume and that is why it is out of print. Disappointing that IDW has not fixed volume 7 rather than just plunging ahead with the series. I hope it sees a re-release with all of the problems fixed.

Reread in June 2020. Still enjoyable. Would be nice if Marvel were to someday omnibus this series with better quality than IDW managed.

[Don · Rating 5 out of 5]

G.I. Joe issues 50 - 59. This was around where I stopped reading the series as a kid, so it was cool to see more of the on going story. There was some great unexpected moments like when the Pit was destroyed. So compelling and great story writing. There were some cheesy moments with Cobra Commander, but I guess that's who he is. The only annoying thing is that they keep introducing new characters and vehicles at a rate of 3 or 4 per issue and it just gets in the way of the actual story. You really got to know the original Joes and you barely get introduced to the new ones before they're cycling in some more. Looking forward to going into complete uncharted waters with the next one.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weakest collection so far. Some of the characters that get introduced in this 10 comic set show how hard it is to continue to come up with new action figures year after year. I mean Raptor? Really? And it seems like each issue had new Joes in it as well. Sometimes you just wanted the comic to stay with the original team and not grow along with the toys.

[Reepacheep · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this out loud to my boys. We all enjoyed it. "Ratatatatat!!" Sometimes the amount of turnover the Joe team experiences is a bit disturbing—I miss some of the older, more familiar characters. However, it's also nice to meet the new Joes.

[Matt Sabonis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another decent volume. The internecine warfare in Cobra drags a little bit, but stuff like the rogue GI Joe unit and helping Destro reclaim his throne more than makes up for it.

[Brent · Rating 5 out of 5]

See my review of Classic G.I. Joe Volume 1

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Joe team under government scrutiny, diplomatic recognition of Cobra Island, Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes as a third force...what's not to like?

[Jdetrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still good, but the craziness that would soon take over the title is starting to creep in with these issues.