G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #179
Written by Larry Hama
Art by SL Gallant
Inks by Gary Erskine
Colors by J. Brown
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Covers by SL Gallant, Herb Trimpe & Larry Hama
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 6, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Very few comics can pick up right where they left off 20 years ago and still maintain the level of creative goodness that G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #179 does. I believe that’s due in part to the creative team, but also to the minds of the audience. All it takes is opening the cover and you’re right back where you were a couple of decades ago. Sure, you might have a kid or two, a family, a house of your own. But inside we’re all the same 10 or 12 year old kids that loved reading this book. The book hasn’t changed. We have. A little.

Every G.I. Joe fan needs to buy Larry Hama a drink. If for nothing else, for the fact that he’s just awesome. This issue is action from cover to cover. I’ll be honest with you, there’s not much Joe action here, it’s a Cobra-centric issue as the forces of Cobra take on the Blue Ninja Clan, with the help of a Joe or two.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #177
Written by Larry Hama
Pencils by Ron Frenz
Inks by Sal Buscema
Colors by J. Brown
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Covers by Ron Frenz & Sal Buscema, Herb Trimpe, and Larry Hama
IDW Publishing
Release Date: April 18, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Reading G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #177 made me feel like a kid again. And it’ll do the same for you. Yes, comics have come a VERY long way since the days when the G.I. Joe comics were first being published, but the creative team has realized that and updated their execution to make the perfect blend of past and present.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #174
Written by Larry Hama
Art by S L Gallant
Inks by Gary Erskine
Colors by J Brown
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Covers by S L Gallant and Gary Erskine, Herb Trimpe, and Larry Hama
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 11, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

I gotta tell you, once a month when I read G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, I feel like I’m a kid watching the G.I. Joe cartoon after school. And nothing is as fun as that! I’m really surprised that sales on this title don’t eclipse the sales on the other G.I. Joe books, because this is what Joe fans have always wanted.

I almost wish there were two books set in writer Larry Hama‘s Real American Hero universe. I would LOVE a Larry Hama Snake Eyes solo book. I mean, who wouldn’t? The best bits in this comics come from the Snake Eyes story and also from the Cobra Commander story.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #173
Written by Larry Hama
Art by Ron Wagner, Wil Rosado, S L Gallant
Inks by Brian Shearer
Colors by Priscilla Tramontano
Letters by Shawn Lee
Covers by Herb Trimpe, John Haynes, and Larry Hama
IDW Publishing
Release Date: December 21, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

This book is amazing! Every month when I read G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero it makes me feel like I’m reading a back issue of Marvel‘s G.I. Joe that I hadn’t read before except without the occasional appearance of a Spider-Man parade balloon or a guy dressed up in a Hulk costume.

Author Larry Hama tells three seperate stories going on in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #173. One, I found REALLY interesting, the next entertaining, and the third, honestly, I didn’t care for very much. And unfortunately, the third story gets the most pages. But, the other two stories make up for it in spades.

G.I. Joe A Real American Hero #172
Written by Larry Hama
Art by S L Gallant
Inks by Gary Erskine
Colors by J. Brown
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Covers by S L Gallant & Gary Erskine, Herb Trimpe & Larry Hama
IDW Publishing
Release Date: November 16th, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Every month, G.I. Joe A Real American Hero makes me feel like I’m 10 years old again. And I mean that in a good way. Back in the early 2000s, Devil’s Due Publishing got Larry Hama to write a G.I. Joe title and it was met with…let’s just say, less than enthusiastic reviews and sales. So, what happened in the last 10 years to change everything? I’m guessing Larry Hama went and trained with the Arashakage Clan. It was either that, or IDW & Hasbro said, “Hey, you’re Larry Hama! Write whatever you want!” And now, we get to enjoy the results every month.