Larry Hama

Here we have IDW's collection of the original Marvel Comics G.I. Joe series. I remember the first time I read some of these comics growing up and realizing how much better the writing was. The Joe team was much more clearly defined, their base was secret instead of some giant armored compound in the middle of a giant open space, and the missions were much more grounded in reality than most of the cartoon stories. Not to say that I didn't enjoy the cartoon as well, but these comic stories show more were worlds better.

This first volume collects the first ten issues of the Marvel series. We meet the Joe team (a much smaller and more manageable group than would eventually become standard in the cartoon and toy lines); we see the Joes take on Cobra in the early days when it was just Cobra Commander and the Baroness in charge of everything; we are introduced to regular antagonists (and some time comrades) the October Guard; and we even get our fist look at the Cobra recruitment town of Springfield, USA.

This is G.I. Joe at its best, with minds like Larry Hama, Denny O'Neil, and Jim Shooter running the show. If you have ever enjoyed any version of G.I. Joe through the years, this comic collection is worth checking out. show less

4 stars out of 5 for personal fun but qualitywise its very much the DCEU of X-Men comics.
So little plot so many plot holes. A complete garbage fire of continuity errors, poor motivations and confusing ill-explained story turns.
Even the artwork seems sporadic in quality even during a single issue.

A lot of good ideas in the theoretical sense but little made it onto the page in one piece.

That really was fun. I so hate those Marvel and DC crapshots, where you have to buy a series and dozens of singles from other series to follow a whole story.

But this omnibus was fun.

The Cobra Civil War, which takes up the majority of this trade, is my favorite GI Joe story. It's a wonderful build up that pays off with great action and appearances by a ton of characters.