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The X-Men may have been the first superhero series that I followed, but they were not the first comic series I bought regularly. That honor belonged to the 80s marketing juggernaut, “G.I. Joe.” I honestly can’t remember if it was the toys or the cartoon that hooked me first, but I do know that the ongoing animated adventures of my favorite new toy line cemented my love for the characters. When I saw that there was a comic, I had to get that, too.

I quickly realized that the stories that ran through the comic book version of “G.I. Joe” were quite different than those of the cartoon. The episodes of “G.I. Joe” hitting the airwaves grew more and more ridiculous as comedic characters like Bazooka, Quick Kick, and Shipwreck joined the team. The comic, by comparison, dealt in a more serious tone. Instead of a Cobra Commander filled with the comedic incompetence like that on TV, the comic book featured a USA grown terrorist with plans for world domination that was no pushover. The G.I. Joes battles were dangerous and the series melodrama was only as high as its stakes.

The storyline that I remember the most vividly saw a squad of Joes getting captured while on a clandestine op in a faux-Eastern Block country. Outback, the only operative to escape capture, received a cold reception form his fellow soldier who feel like he abandoned his brothers-in-arms. The ninjas associated with the Joe Team (including series headliner Snake Eyes), slip behind enemy lines to break into a prison camp and save their fellow G.I. Joes. That storyline, and many of the others, is pretty heavy for a kids’ comic and was miles away from the sitcom the cartoon had become.

I enjoyed both the cartoon and the comic for their very different tones when I was a kid, but now I think the comic is remember more fondly. This, though, doesn’t have a lot to do with the actual content but with it being the origin of my fondness for comics. If it hadn’t been for the battles between G.I. Joe and Cobra that I picked up at supermarket newsstands and bookstore spinner racks, I doubt I would have been into comics at all.

You can scope out the entire history of G.I. Joe comics at this comic book archive.

-Nick

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