G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Volume 1

Title: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Volume 1



ISBN: 9781600108648

Price: $19.99

Publisher/Year: IDW, 2011

Artist: Agustin Padilla

Writer: Larry Hama

Collects: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #155½-160

Rating: 4/5

For Free Comic Book Day 2010, IDW published the continuation of where Marvel left off. Included in this restart of the original series happens to be the one and only Larry Hama. IDW including Hama in their original interpretation of G.I. Joe, and now the continuation of his previous series, added real legitimacy to their work… not that they needed it. I think this is what really separates IDW’s work from the former imaginations from Devil’s Due.

While Larry Hama has not missed a single step with his writing, they paired him with Agustin Padilla for the artwork. This is a far cry from the art that accompanied Hama’s writing while he was with Marvel. This combination makes for a hard to put down trade.

Unfortunately, I never got a chance to read the entire original series, so I was a little fuzzy on where things left off when issue 155½ starts. The good thing is that I was able to pick-up on things really easily and there was no problems understanding what probably happened from ending to new beginning. Just another accolade to lay at the feet of Master Hama.

There have only been a few G.I. Joe titles that I have felt IDW should not have done, this is definitely not one of those. You have all the great elements that combine to make a great G.I. Joe story. You have Cobra trying to regain its former glory, G.I. Joe getting back together to stop them and ninjas. Due to some unforeseen circumstances, it looks as though Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow have traded places with one another.

Add this one to your collection and look forward to the next volume. This is going to be a great series.