G.I. Joe Classic Vol. 1-4
Written by Larry Hama with Herb Trimpe and Steven Grant
Art by Various
IDW Publishing
Available Now

As much as I loved G.I. Joe when I was a kid, I never read too much of the comic series that Marvel released in the 80’s to tie into the phenomenon. And let me tell you, I loved the toys growing up, had a ton of them, and still have great memories of waking up before school to watch the show. Fortunately for me, IDW has set out to reprint the entire comic book series, and has done a great job with them. Having read the first four volumes that are out now, I realize that it’s kind of a shame I didn’t read these as a kid, because these are some damn fine books for readers of all ages.

The first volume is kind of weird, at least to someone more familiar with the G.I. Joe cartoon series than the comics, as these issues have a very different tone from the show. Gone are the goofy costumes (for the most part) and a lot of the classic characters. No, the series actually starts as a more or less straight war comic, with more focus on the regular soldiers than on any crazy technology.

This past Saturday, I had the privilege of getting invited to the National, also known as the New York Big Apple Con. Held over 3 days, The National is one of the biggest comic conventions held in in New York City and one of the few that still even resembles what a comic convention use to be: a place that showcases comic books. Braving the rain and wind, I did my best impersonation of Jimmy Olsen and took some pictures of my day at the convention. I hope you enjoy looking at these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.