G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Marvel Comics)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is a comic book that was published by Marvel Comics from 1982 to 1994. Based on Hasbro's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys, the series has been credited for making G.I. Joe into a pop-culture phenomenon. G.I. Joe was also the first comic book to be advertised on television, in what has been called a "historically crucial moment in media convergence".
The series was written for most of its 155-issue run by comic book writer, artist, and editor Larry Hama, and was notable for its realistic, character-based storytelling style, unusual for a toy comic at the time. Hama wrote the series spontaneously, never knowing how a story would end until it was finished, but worked closely with the artists, giving them sketches of the characters and major scenes. While most stories involved the G.I. Joe Team battling against the forces of Cobra Command, an evil terrorist organization, many also focused on the relationships and background stories of the characters. Hama created most characters in collaboration with Hasbro, and used a system of file cards to keep track of the personalities and fictional histories of his characters, which later became a major selling point for the action figure line.
G.I. Joe was Marvel's top-selling subscription title in 1985, and was receiving 1200 fan letters per week by 1987. The series has been credited with bringing in a new generation of comic book readers, since many children were introduced to the comic book medium through G.I. Joe, and later went on to read other comics. The comic book has been re-printed several times, and also translated in multiple languages. In addition to direct spin-offs of the comic book, several revivals and reboots have been published throughout the 2000s.
Publication history
Background
In the early 1980s, Hasbro noted the success of Kenner Products' Star Wars action figures, and decided to re-launch its long-running G.I. Joe property as G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero with scale action figures rather than the traditional scale. Hasbro also decided that it wanted the new figures to have a back story. In 1981, Hasbro CEO Stephen Hassenfeld and Marvel Comics President Jim Galton met by coincidence at a charity fundraiser and Hassenfeld shared Hasbro's plans for the G.I. Joe relaunch. Galton offered Marvel's services as creative consultants, and Hassenfeld agreed to allow Marvel attempt to design a concept for G.I. Joe.Coincidentally Larry Hama, then an editor at Marvel, had begun to design characters and background for a series concept he was pitching that would be entitled Fury Force, about a team of futuristic super-soldiers affiliated with S.H.I.E.L.D., an existing Marvel Universe property combining military and science fiction genre elements. As Hama tells it, he got the job of writing for the series because Marvel had asked every other available creator to write it and no one else would. Unable to find other writing work, he later said that, "if they had asked me to write Barbie, I would have done that, too".
Soon after this, Hasbro hosted a meeting with Hama, Jim Shooter, Tom DeFalco, Archie Goodwin, and Nelson Yomtov to discuss the future of the property. It was at this meeting that Goodwin suggested the idea of Cobra Command as a recurring enemy for G.I. Joe to fight. Prior to this, Hasbro had not considered giving G.I. Joe an enemy. Based on the results of this meeting, Hasbro contracted Marvel to produce a comic book series featuring the toys.
Early development
The first issue was published in June 1982, containing two stories, both of which were written by Hama. The first story, "Operation: Lady Doomsday", was drawn by Herb Trimpe, who drew most of the early issues and also wrote issue #9, and the second story, "Hot Potato", was drawn by Don Perlin. This issue introduced many basic concepts of the G.I. Joe universe, such as the Joes having a base under a motor pool, and introduced the iconic "original 13" G.I. Joe Team members. The issue also introduced two recurring villains, Cobra Commander and the Baroness. Whereas Cobra Commander and the various Joes already had action figures issued, the Baroness is the earliest example of a G.I. Joe character whose first appearance in the comics predated the conception of its action figure.Most of the early stories were completed in one issue, but multi-part stories began to appear by the middle of the series' first year of publication, and there were hints of the ongoing storylines that would later characterize the series. In May 1983, issue #11 introduced many new characters, including most of the 1983 action figure line and the villain Destro, who would become a frequently recurring character. Many subsequent storylines involved the machinations and power struggles between him, Cobra Commander, and the Baroness. Issue #11 established a pattern for the series in which every so often Marvel would publish an issue introducing a group of characters and vehicles that represented the new year's toy offerings.
An early highlight was 1984's "Snake Eyes: The Origin" Parts I & II, published in issues #26-27. This issue established Snake Eyes' complicated background, and tied his character into many other characters, both G.I. Joe and Cobra. Hama considers it to be his favorite storyline from the Marvel run. In 1986, echoing events portrayed in the TV series, G.I. Joe #49 was published, introducing the character of Serpentor, a genetically created amalgam of history's greatest warriors. Serpentor played a significant role in the Cobra Civil War, which occurred in issues #73-76, a landmark story event that involved nearly every G.I. Joe and Cobra character vying for control of Cobra Island.
Later years and cancellation
When G.I. Joe began, most toy tie-in comics lasted an average of two years, so G.I. Joe, lasting for 12 years, was considered a runaway success. Through the years, the comic book series chronicled the adventures of G.I. Joe and Cobra, using a consistent storyline. In the early 1990s, however, it began to drop in quality, and was canceled by Marvel in 1994 with issue #155 due to low sales. Hasbro canceled the A Real American Hero toy line in the same year. Between the lack of new toys and the cancellation of the second TV series three years earlier, the comic book could not count on the same cross-platform support it had enjoyed in the past. The target demographic had also changed considerably. According to Hama:The final issue featured a stand-alone story titled "A Letter from Snake Eyes". Narrating from his perspective, Snake Eyes tells his story through recollections of his many comrades-in-arms who have died over the years.
Shortly after the final issue, G.I. Joe Special #1 was released in February 1995, containing alternate art for issue #61 by Todd McFarlane. McFarlane was the original penciller for issue #61, but his artwork had been rejected by Larry Hama as unacceptable, and so Marshall Rogers was brought in to pencil the final published version. In the years following, McFarlane became a superstar comic artist, and Marvel eventually decided to print the unpublished work.
Promotion
Hasbro used television advertising to publicize the series, and when the first one aired in 1982 featuring G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #1, it was the first time a commercial had ever been used to promote a comic book. Since the commercials were technically promoting the comic books rather than the toys, they allowed Hasbro to circumvent television regulations mandating that toy commercials could not contain more than ten seconds of animation. By not showcasing any characters and toys outside of the comic book context, they were able to include a full thirty seconds of animation. Marvel was paid $5 million by Hasbro to produce the commercials through its animation division Marvel Productions. Larry Hama relates the genesis of the commercials:Between the toy line, comic books, commercials and subsequent cartoon series, Hasbro's marketing plan was highly successful and eventually became an industry standard, an early example of a practice that would years later be described by Jenkins as a "transmedia narrative". Although the adolescent male demographic was the traditional comic book reader, an unintended result of the TV advertising tie-ins was that they attracted people who were not traditional comic book readers. In an interview, Hama stated:
The comic book's popularity with women has also been attributed to the strong female characters featured in the comic, such as Scarlett and Lady Jaye. Since very few of the G.I. Joe action figures were female, Hama tended to frequently use all of the female characters, including those that were created as recurring characters in the comics.
Writing style
Many readers praised the series for its attention to detail and realism in the area of military tactics and procedures. Much of this was due to Hama's military experience, but he also did a large amount of research in order to be as up-to-date as possible. He frequented Sky Books, a military-oriented bookstore in New York, and read many U.S. Army field manuals and technical manuals, and also credits his friend Lee Russel, a military historian, for helping him with research.In style and plot structure, the comic often made use of overlapping story threads. According to Hama:
The story arcs coincided with each of the new lines of G.I. Joe toys that Hasbro was producing, however the comic book was not directly influenced by the toy products. Of the Hasbro/Marvel relationship, Hama observed that the toy company did not demand the book to be written a certain way:
Hama wrote out page-by-page plots for all of the issues he wrote, with most pages having four to six panels. He worked very closely with the artists in plotting the book, and wrote the series spontaneously, never knowing how an issue would end until he got to the last page.