Comics We’re Thankful For: Igniting A Lifelong Fandom With ‘G.I. Joe’

Good morning and happy Thanksgiving! This year for every American’s favorite gluttonous holiday, the Comicon team wanted to take a look at some of the comics that made us the geeks we are. They might be single issues, graphic novels, full series, or even something off the beaten path. This is the Comics We’re Thankful For.

I think I was doomed to be a geek early on. 

I remember mostly reading my grandma’s Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge comics. I remember getting the occasional issue of Batman or Spider-Man when I got to spend my days with my dad picking up milk from dairies across the Wasatch Front. But the one that sticks out the most in my head, the one that I still cherish, is G.I. Joe.

I don’t remember for sure how my love for G.I. Joe started. Was it the action figures? The cartoon? Or something more obscure like the trading cards? But I was obsessed.

I had an aunt who regularly read Wonder Woman. Without her, I would have had to settle for occasionally picking up an issue at 7-11 or the grocery store. Instead, she added G.I. Joe at issue #121 to her pull list for me, and dropped the issues to my parents every couple months. Even better, she found me an issue I treasure to this day — Tales of G.I. Joe #1, a reprint of the series’ debut issue.

These two early issues in my collection couldn’t have been more different, but they both cemented my love for G.I. Joe.

In G.I. Joe #1, Larry Hama, Herb Trimpe and Don Perlin introduce the Joes and Cobra, some of the key elements of the franchise, and told a tight action story. Cobra Commander and the Baroness kidnap a key nuclear scientist. The Joes have to spring into action to save her, and do as much damage to Cobra as they can.

The issue is a tight action story. Hama gives the characters a surprising amount of depth in such a short space, and Trimpe draws solid action (even if the designs are extremely plain). Even if some of the individual elements are a little rough, the series starts fully formed.

Meanwhile, in G.I. Joe #121, Hama and Andrew Wildman were in the midst of introducing Ninja Force, while Destro and the Baroness rebelled against Cobra Commander. It’s a wild action story, juggling four different storylines, and a far cry from the more straightforward special missions of the debut.

With the thrilling action, and wild twists and turns, I was in love. It showed me what comics could be. And the series as a whole does that the entire time. It’s a master class in what comics could be.

I never though to back issue dive for more of G.I. Joe until earlier this year. I’m so glad to do it and have these comics. It’s what really established my fandom. Outside of a few short periods, I’ve been reading comics ever since. It’s firmed up a lifelong love of the genre, the characters and so much more.

And for that, I’m thankful.