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Classic G.I. Joe #7
Classic G.I. Joe, Volume 7
Join the G.I. JOE team as they battle COBRA around the globe in this action-packed seventh collection of classic G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero stories, including "Beginnings and Endings," "Manuevering for Position," and "Into the Beach." Collects G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero issues #61-70, collected together for the first time ever!
232 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2010
11 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Larry Hama
1,949 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 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 28, 2022
Volume #7 collects GI Joe issues from #61-70.
This volume finishes the Borovian POW story arc. It also has some new directions for the story- Billy is found to be alive and Cobra Commander chooses to change his ways and gets shot by a Crimson Guardsman, Fred VII, who takes over the persona of Cobra Commander with the Baronness' help.
Destro revamps his company and parts ways with Cobra due to the death of Cobra Commander. Finally more information about Snake/Eye's and Storm Shadow's ninja clan connection, which also helps in the POW rescue mission from Borovia.
A nice volume with some memorable story arcs from the Classic GI Joe series.
This volume finishes the Borovian POW story arc. It also has some new directions for the story- Billy is found to be alive and Cobra Commander chooses to change his ways and gets shot by a Crimson Guardsman, Fred VII, who takes over the persona of Cobra Commander with the Baronness' help.
Destro revamps his company and parts ways with Cobra due to the death of Cobra Commander. Finally more information about Snake/Eye's and Storm Shadow's ninja clan connection, which also helps in the POW rescue mission from Borovia.
A nice volume with some memorable story arcs from the Classic GI Joe series.
May 19, 2020
This may have been my favorite volume yet, specifically for the gulag storyline which is the majority of the book. Joes go on a classified mention and get caught, and then the government burns them and leaves them to rot. Of course the Joes won't stand for that, so Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow and others mount their own rescue mission. The villains are more evil than usual, and the Joes respond in kind. This may have been the most violent Joe storyline so far as the villains are murderers and the Joes don't pull any punches.
There's more in the volume as well, but that's the strongest part by far. The funny thing is when I was younger I stopped reading the GI Joe comic because I thought it was for kids, but now that I'm reading as an adult I see that the comic was actually the exact opposite and aimed more at older readers than you'd think.
There's more in the volume as well, but that's the strongest part by far. The funny thing is when I was younger I stopped reading the GI Joe comic because I thought it was for kids, but now that I'm reading as an adult I see that the comic was actually the exact opposite and aimed more at older readers than you'd think.
August 5, 2023
"Let's reconnoiter, Snake Eyes, and try not to attract attention. Sure. Who'd notice a wet sailor with a parrot and a silent, masked man with a timber wolf? I think we're in major trouble!"
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.
February 26, 2021
This volume includes the memorable Borovian gulag storyline, in which Stalker, Snow-Job, and Quick Kick are all captured during a mission gone awry in the eastern European country of Borovia, and then end up in a brutal prison camp. They've been disavowed by the US government and therefore no rescue mission is planned--but Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, and Storm Shadow have other ideas about that. I remember this storyline well from when I was a kid, and while there's certainly some silliness going back and revisiting it as an adult (the three captured Joes are never out of their "uniforms"--costumes, really--during their entire imprisonment, so Snow Job is still in his cold weather gear, Quick Kick shirtless and barefoot in nothing more than karate pants, and Stalker in his military camo even while being sent out on a logging work detail--yes, I'm sure the guards would have no problem sending this prisoner into the wilderness dressed this way), but on the whole the story holds up well. Seeing these heroes do what their government asks of them only to be abandoned when things go south is all too real, and it's nice to see Snake-Eyes risk it all to defy orders and go help his longtime friend Stalker.
If this were the only story arc in the volume, I'd have rated it much higher, but unfortunately it's not. We also have a pretty silly story about the Scandinavian country of Frusenland (what a name!) being the center of Cobra's plot to use ultra-low sonic frequencies from their Terror-Dromes to stir up paranoia and unrest in the populace, all so they can sell more armaments to the local government. This all culminates in a battle that features a bunch of bland new vehicles and characters, with names like Blocker, Blaster, Dodger, and Knockdown, who are all a part of the utterly forgettable Battle Force 2000, which already seemed stupid enough to me in 1987 and seems even more ludicrous now, 21 years deep into the far-flung future of their namesake. Too many characters are all introduced at the same time, and there's just not enough personality or distinction between them for me to keep any of them straight. I simply don't care about them or this storyline they're a part of.
The final two issues of the volume see us return to the central American country of Sierra Gordo where we see the aftermath of what's happened there after G.I.JOE and Cobra's previous involvement in their affairs. Destro in his capacity as a freelance arms dealer tries to play both sides by selling weapons to both the corrupt government and the counter-revolutionaries working against it, which all may have been far more interesting if we hadn't literally just been through a boring story arc about Cobra also concocting schemes in a fictional country just to sell more weapons. It's too much of the same thing, too soon, and on top of that the art by Tony Salmons in the first issue of the arc is among the absolute worst art I have ever witnessed in a funny book. It is appallingly awful to look at. Even though it's not the most interesting story arc, I still feel badly for writer Larry Hama getting saddled with such a horrendous artist for one issue.
So in a volume comprised of half quite good stories and half not-good stories, I'm going to be generous and give it a 3 out of 5 because of the quality of the Borovian story arc, and how much that one really stayed with me from my childhood.
If this were the only story arc in the volume, I'd have rated it much higher, but unfortunately it's not. We also have a pretty silly story about the Scandinavian country of Frusenland (what a name!) being the center of Cobra's plot to use ultra-low sonic frequencies from their Terror-Dromes to stir up paranoia and unrest in the populace, all so they can sell more armaments to the local government. This all culminates in a battle that features a bunch of bland new vehicles and characters, with names like Blocker, Blaster, Dodger, and Knockdown, who are all a part of the utterly forgettable Battle Force 2000, which already seemed stupid enough to me in 1987 and seems even more ludicrous now, 21 years deep into the far-flung future of their namesake. Too many characters are all introduced at the same time, and there's just not enough personality or distinction between them for me to keep any of them straight. I simply don't care about them or this storyline they're a part of.
The final two issues of the volume see us return to the central American country of Sierra Gordo where we see the aftermath of what's happened there after G.I.JOE and Cobra's previous involvement in their affairs. Destro in his capacity as a freelance arms dealer tries to play both sides by selling weapons to both the corrupt government and the counter-revolutionaries working against it, which all may have been far more interesting if we hadn't literally just been through a boring story arc about Cobra also concocting schemes in a fictional country just to sell more weapons. It's too much of the same thing, too soon, and on top of that the art by Tony Salmons in the first issue of the arc is among the absolute worst art I have ever witnessed in a funny book. It is appallingly awful to look at. Even though it's not the most interesting story arc, I still feel badly for writer Larry Hama getting saddled with such a horrendous artist for one issue.
So in a volume comprised of half quite good stories and half not-good stories, I'm going to be generous and give it a 3 out of 5 because of the quality of the Borovian story arc, and how much that one really stayed with me from my childhood.
July 5, 2024
Like the issues contained in Volume 6 of this series of trade paperbacks, I bought each and every issue off of the stands the day that they came out. And like Volume 6, this has restoration issues, although not as bad as Volume 6. A little more time and TLC in the handling and scanning of this material would be greatly appreciated. Also like Volume 6 is the fun factor involved in these stories. These are just terrific reads, all warm and fuzzy with the glow of nostalgia. Another problem is that when they restored some of the lettering, they put the wrong letters in place, messing up the words as they were originally published (i.e. P instead of F).
July 9, 2022
I appreciate the grittiness of the stories and the plot threads that are more complex than the cartoon I grew up with. Some of these storylines aren't great, like the "young ninja" story (no spoilers here). My biggest complaint about this compilation is that IDW didn't bother to clean up any of the text. There are spelling errors and missing letters in the dialog that could have been easily updated in these volumes.
January 22, 2024
Un repunte en los guiones que pasa por atender menos las necesidades de la vitrina, con aciertos como apuntar al perfil psicológico de algunos personajes (Outback), darle sentido a subtramas desatentidas (particularmente en el número 2 de la colección) y mostrar el juego político al que finalmente se subordinan las acciones militares.
September 18, 2021
I've been enjoying rereading the classic 80s series. The only downside is you can tell when Hasbro made Mr. Hama put in new characters and vehicles for the toy line. I never noticed it as a kid, but as an adult it's very easy to see. Still a very fun read!
March 16, 2022
The Borovia storyline is a favorite. Issue 63 was always a favorite of mine.
July 19, 2016
G.I. Joe - A Real American Hero, issues #60 - 69. Great story arcs with several plot twists you never saw coming. Cobra Commander shot by one of the Fred clones and Fred puts on CCs armor and takes his place. It's funny watching him bumble through and nearly get caught. Really nice four issue arc about some joes being taken prisoner and how they get busted out. And then finally the secret is revealed about the Cobra terror dromes. The old trick about starting a war and then selling arms to both sides. Obviously Larry Hama is a smart guy, I think he was pointing the finger at Uncle Sam on that one. Great ten issues. The only down side for me was the constant pushing in of over a dozen new people and vehicles per issue. If I remember right, this is almost done as the toys stopped selling about a year after I stopped reading the comic. Really looking forward to that.
February 28, 2010
There's some goofiness here (most of the ninja stuff, the midget/clown helping with the break-out, Hama's always on-the-nose right wing stuff about flag-burning) but the long-term story of three Joes in a Gulag is pretty good, Ron Wagner's art surprisingly solid for the Joe book (which usually didn't get much beyond "meh" in terms of art) and the big reveal of the Terror Drome plot was a payoff long in coming.
Also, it gets an extra star for mentioning Kwinn so often, and tying into the classic G.I. Joe #2. What can I say? I love machine-gun totin' Eskimos.
Also, it gets an extra star for mentioning Kwinn so often, and tying into the classic G.I. Joe #2. What can I say? I love machine-gun totin' Eskimos.
July 2, 2020
Reread in June/July 2020.
There are hints here of where the Joe stories will eventually go (space shuttles, lots of ninjas, Battleforce 2000) but this volume is probably more grounded overall than even some of the earlier issues. There are some interesting world politics at play and Hama continually put out a book that was more than just about toys.
There are hints here of where the Joe stories will eventually go (space shuttles, lots of ninjas, Battleforce 2000) but this volume is probably more grounded overall than even some of the earlier issues. There are some interesting world politics at play and Hama continually put out a book that was more than just about toys.
Read
October 10, 2013Cobra Commander is dead? Really? Why do I expect Hama will dredge him up from that swamp somehow? The emergence of Destro as a third force and the imposture of Fred the Crimson Guardsman are noteworthy features of this volume. Meanwhile the Joes are headquartered here in Utah for a while. Yo Joe!
October 2, 2011
This sure brings back memories... of the TV series and Hasbro toys, that is. This is my first encounter with the comic book series. I started with volume seven just because that's what the library had on the shelf--now I'm heading for volume one and looking forward to reading through them.
April 3, 2022
Some really great stuff again. The whole Borovia arc is great, and the beginning of MARS attempting to play Red Harvest with the entire world is awesome. Some really good stuff.
March 27, 2013
See my review of Classic G.I. Joe Volume 1
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews