G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #185
Written by Larry Hama
Pencils by S L Gallant
Inks by Gary Erskine
Colors by J Brown
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Cover by Ron Frenz & Sal Buscema
IDW Publishing
Release Date: December 5, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #185 is the one hundredth and eighty-fifth issue of awesomeness. In a row. That’s a pretty good record, by any standards.

Writer and creator of the G.I. Joe that everyone knows and loves, Larry Hama, manages to do something that no other writer does: makes a completely believable, viable, military comic with soldiers dressed in the most RIDICULOUS outfits ever imagined. OK, so, everyone of my generation thought (and still thinks) that those fatigues are awesome, but, in reality, if any kind of soldier wore those clothes he would be shot and killed immediately. Probably by members of his own team. But, I digress. This issue continues the three main story lines and even introduces a couple more into the mix. PLUS-ZARTAN!!!!!! And, there’s a couple other surprise appearances that I won’t spoil for you. But, this is another solid issue of excitement and adventure that we’ve gotten since 1983 from this writer, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Thank God.

S L Gallant does a perfect job of drawing with a modern, yet old-school style. If that even makes sense. Pick up the book and look at it and you’ll see what I’m talking about. He’s a great storyteller and knows exactly what each Joe and Cobra should look like, and executes each panel with fantastic precision. I want him on this book for a looooong time. He’s a perfect fit for it.

BUY THIS!!! One of the things that I love about this book is that it’s written in the same style that it always has been, and that’s NO TRADE WRITING. It’s such a nice change of pace to read something that doesn’t come to a dead STOP every four to six issues.