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.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #184
Written by Larry Hama
Art by S L Gallant
Inks by Gary Erskine
Colors by J. Brown
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Covers by Ron Frenz & Larry Hama
IDW Publishing
Release Date: November 14, 2012
Cover Price: $3.99

Don’t get me wrong. I absolutely LOVE IDW’s current G.I. Joe books. And I’m over the moon excited about the relaunch next year. But, once a month, I’m transported back in time and reminded WHY I love this franchise in the first place. And that’s all thanks to this book. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #184 is just another example of that. And c’mon, it’s got Roadpig and Zarana on the cover too!!

How awesome is writer Larry Hama? He’s been writing this book for THIRTY YEARS (OK, the book wasn’t published for a little chunk of that, but still) and he hasn’t lost a beat with these characters and this concept. What impresses me most about his writing is that he’s able to mix the perfect amount of real life military adventure with the right amount of sci-fi to create situations that are both believable and unbelievable at the same time.

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.

Cobra Annual 2012: Origin Of Cobra Commander
Written by Chuck Dixon
Art by S L Gallant
Inks by Gary Erskine
Colors by J Brown
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Covers by menton3 and Robert Atkins
IDW Publishing
Release Date: January 11, 2012
Cover Price: $7.99

I was very nervous about reading Cobra Annual 2012. Wasn’t looking forward to it at all. I’m a big fan of non-origin origins. I liked that in the Marvel Comics’ G.I. Joe series, all you knew about Cobra Commander was that at some point in his life, he was a used car salesman who went off the deep end. Another great non-origin was that of He-Man. All we needed to know about him, he told us in the cartoon’s opening. In the back of my mind, I was really worried that the new Cobra Commander would be a tortured soul who’s mother never loved him, his father beat him, and on and on.

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.