Customer Reviews

G.I. Joe - Declassified (G. I. Joe (Graphic Novels))

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Larry Hama does it again! The man I would consider the best fictional writer and storyteller in the last 20 years puts out another amazing story. Both the many -- thanks to Hama -- fans of the original 80s comic series will love this story, but so will those who did not grow up with Hama's GI Joe. And by the way, for anyone who is a new fan, keep this in mind: Virtually all of the major characters and story lines were created by Hama, so he really is the Godfather of GI Joe.

I would recommend not only buying this title, but anything GI Joe related with Larry Hama listed as the author. He really is GI Joe as we all know it. For those interested in a new monthly comic, Devil's Due Publishing has a new Storm Shadow series written by Hama. And as usual, it is exceptional. Hama has managed to make me do what I never thought I would do again since the early 90s -- buying comic books!

Yes, Larry Hama is really that good.

but Larry has a writing style that noted Hemingway scholar Mark Bellomo once called an "iceberg theory" approach to the Joe universe. That is to say there is a style of characterization and dialogue here that often hints at a vast subtext of information, floating just beneath the usual panel-to-panel comic book action.

Add to that Mr. Hama's ability to artfully harness the storytelling craft of the late Wally Wood*, and then you start to understand what makes him a true diamond in the rough of modern comic book writing.

This is no exception in G.I. Joe - Declassified! The book delves into the deeper history and personality of the original 13 Joes; even introducing a mysterious 14th Joe, and offering cameos of popular characters that we only thought we knew. It starts from recounting the formation of the Joe team via character flashback, and culminates at the end of the Lady Doomsday storyline from issue #1 (only from a very different POV entirely). In the end you will find the Joe team's roots, their individual backgrounds, and the current challenges they face in the storyline, are all made more real to the reader as a result.

One "new Joe" in particular is so brilliantly retconned into the history that acceptance or rejection on the part of this reader never really comes into question. This new character, and all the others for that matter, seem to drift into and past each other by fate or circumstance. As a result, they end up teaching us an inspiring lesson in courage that rivals literature outside the comic medium. That's what makes Larry Hama so great. He dares to step outside of the rut and reputation of the comic book medium itself.

If there is any one "required reading" for any Joe fan, G.I. Joe - Declassified would be it. It is also highly recommended for anyone who is curious about why these characters (and the toys they personify) have continued to last for more than two decades.

-PJ

*Something few comic book writers even bother to utilize nowadays, making this one of the few truly enjoyable books available from Devil's Due, or any other comic label for that matter.

I was looking in my basement for some tools and stumbled upon a white rectangular cardboard box with a lid. It hadn't been opened in some 10 years or so but the black sticker with the bold words G.I.JOE in red, white and blue told me all i needed to know. This was my collection of Marvel's original G.I.Joe series that lasted from 1982-1994. I grew up in the 1980's which was a golden time for comics and i purchased the usuals: Batman, Spiderman, X-Men, The Avengers, The Punisher and so on but the only comic I had to collect every month was Larry Hama's outstanding G.I.JOE. It was simply one of the biggest sellers of the decade with great writing and art, a fantastic, continuas storyline and deep characters with complex histories and emotions. While kids like myself could certainly enjoy it, it wasn't until i was a little older that i began to realize that the comic was for the older, more mature crowd then the cartoon show was with more realistic violence and themes. I took the lid off the box and browsed some of the covers, flipping through them and pausing when i came across a really cool one. Issue #46 with Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes striking an awesome pose together was still my alltime favorite. I took #13 out of its plastic case and started reading and was floored! 25 years or so had passed and i was still intrigued by my old friends Stalker, Scarlett, Snake Eyes and the rest. I had stopped reading comics around 1991 or so but I suddenly felt the need to check in on my old friends and see what they were up to. Had they finally stopped the diabolical Cobra Commander for good? Had Destro retired from being the world's greatest arms dealer and settled down with the Baroness? And most importantly, what was the great Larry Hama, the creator of the G.I.JOE universe, up to these days? I did a search on Amazon and came up with lots of G.I.JOE comics and graphic novels by Devils Due and IDW. It was good to see that it was still popular today and that the man himself not only had a new G.I.JOE comic out but had recently penned a graphic novel prequel to 1982's G.I.JOE #1! I double clicked on the image for DECLASSIFIED and saw the original JOE's looking back at me. Hawk, Snake Eyes, Steeler, Zap, Stalker, Grand Slam and Short Fuze looking as defiant and determined as ever. The reviews for it were very positive as old fans like myself gave it 5 star reviews and i knew i had to read it and see if the magic was still there. Well, I just finished reading it and i'm gonna read it again! From the first splash page i was back in the familiar jungles of Sierra Gordo doing recon with Stalker, Grunt, Zap and Rock'N Roll. The writing is as fluid and crisp as ever with Hama's trademark humor and military terminology popping up all over and the artwork is spectacular with great penciling and vibrant colors that stay faithful to the original specs while updating them. Fantastic. DECLASSIFIED is a great prequel to the G.I.JOE universe. We are given the back story to how some of the original JOE's were picked for the elite unit, witness Hawk's meeting with a good humored govt. agent who would later join the team, witness the early stages of Cobra and introduced to future team members Airborne and Wild Bill. The debut of an original, highly classified team member is a great addition to the JOE universe. I really liked how the ongoing feud between the motorpool crew (the JOE's) and the chaplain's assistants at Fort Wadsworth was already in gear and how it still had the power to make me laugh. This is an excellant buy if you like G.I.JOE and if you are a newcomer and you're reading this review then pick it up, i highly recommend it! Thank you Mr. Hama for another great story and thanks too for the artists who labored over this i really enjoyed it.

Larry Hamma is the quintesential father of the modern Joes. He single handedly created all the personas & made us believe that our country was really protected by the BEST of the BEST!
this book is another volume in the classic Marvel G.I.Joe series.. if you liked the classic Joes from Marvel, you HAVE to own this book.

If no one but Larry Hamma ever wrote another Joe story, i would be ok with that.

This was one of the best GI Joe reads I ever had. It takes place somewhere within the first couple dozen comic books, before Duke was on the team. Excellent storyline, background, etc!

I've been a fan of GI Joe and the writing of Larry Hama from the very start of the comic, cartoon, and, of course, the line of action figures the two continuities were based on. The comic book was far more thoughtful, grown up, and, usually, a lot less silly than what we would see in the cartoons. Larry Hama has rightfully attained a legendary status among those of us who still enjoy and remain loyal to the GI Joe brand. That said, I was extremely disappointed with Hama's decision to artificially introduce a scenario, supposedly set in the past, which seeks to justify the torturing of a terror suspect in the custody of characters who go on to become GI Joes. Always before, Hama, by way of General Hawk (here still a field commander) has repeated the notion that the characters of Joe are not comic book vigilantes, but rather soldiers who follow orders, no matter how difficult the order may be. Now, perhaps influenced by shows like 24, Hama and his Joes take it upon themselves to use torture in order to save lives. The fault, according to Hawk, is that higher ranking military men just aren't accepting proper responsibility for a necessary means to an end and the American public is too squeamish to accept the measures our military must go to in order to protect us. In effect, Hama is, bravely, one could argue, now using GI Joe as a political mouthpiece to justify the right-wing ideas that lead to water-boarding, extraordinary rendition, illegal wiretaps, Abu Ghraib, and detention without charges at Gitmo (which Hama even chooses to mention in passing as a logistical point). These controversies have not served the brave men and women of our military well and Hama's retroactive injection of politics cheapens the franchise he spent so many years building up. Would it not have been infinitely braver of the Joes to be pressured to torture, but refuse (in the way that Doc suggested using the other explosive rather than nuclear in the creation of Cobra Island)? It would seem that a number of scenes were toned down (Stalker puts a bayonet into his hand at one point, but we never see the hand), but why Hasbro would have allowed this at all is a lapse in judgment by a corporation that has often been too restrictive in the past. There are plot holes as well. Why the rogue general had hired mercenaries to kill Hawk as he was being court-martialed is anyone's guess. What was the point of retroactively adding the character Shooter? Do we really need to see another throw-away character (Mangler, Cool-Breeze, etc) be killed off to understand that war is hell and that some decisions are hard to live with? You may agree with Hama's politics. You may think that a beloved childhood icon is the appropriate forum for the justification of torture. I respectfully disagree and I find this entry, which I so looked forward to reading, to be not only disappointing, but utterly disgusting.