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.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #171
Written by Larry Hama
Art by S L Gallant
Inks by Gary Erskine
Colors by J. Brown
Letters by Neil UyeTake
Covers by Larry Hama, S L Gallant, Gary Erskine, Herb Trimpe
IDW Publishing
Release Date: October 19, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

Rest easy, GI Joe fans, you CAN go home again. At least, as far as the GI Joe comics are concerned. I really believe IDW should get some kind of special recognition for bringing BACK 20-year-old continuity in a time in comics where continuity barely holds up from one issue to the next.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #171 might frustrate some newer or younger comics readers, simply for the fact that this IS a continuation of a 20-year-old series and it’s written like it. Storytelling in comics is a lot different now than it was then. What I love about this comic is that it IS written as an old school comic. You get a brief recap within the first few story pages, but other than that, author Larry Hama assumes that you’ve read previous issues and know what’s going on, and it doesn’t hurt the book one bit.

G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe Volume 1
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by Robert Atkins

G.I. JOE: COBRA
Written by Christos Gage and Mike Costa
Art by Antonio Fuso

G.I. JOE: Origins Volume 1
Written by Larry Hama
Art by Mike Hawthorne

I had not really cared about any of the G.I. Joe comics being produced by Devil’s Due Comics for the last few years, which is not to say they were good or bad, just that I couldn’t be bothered to actually buy them. However, when I heard that IDW had picked up the license and was going to be making a new series, I was intrigued. I was further intrigued when I heard of their plan to release three series, all focusing on different aspects of the G.I. Joe mythos. Then they suckered me in with G.I. Joe #0, which came out last year, and gave a preview of all three series. Since they’ve started, I’ve been eagerly waiting for each new issue, mostly because each series has its own place in the story, but also because each has its own unique feel.