Scans_Daily

In 2001 Devils Due Productions (at the time publishing through Image and later on their own), acquired the license to publish GI Joe comics, and opted to continue where Larry Hama's marvel run left off (in addition to a Ultimates style reboot, and a new Transformers crossover continuity but those came later). Over their 7 year run they introduced a lot of new concepts, and characters.

Inevitably they also touched on some ground that Larry Hama later would with his own version of the post Marvel events, though in very different ways.

Sean Collins in both universes joins the GI Joe team: as Snake-eyes Ninja apprentice Kamakura in DDP, and as Throwdown in IDW, for example.

( And in both universes Snake-eyes dies )

And I swear that'll be my last Joe related post for a while... probably.

GI Joe #21 is arguably Larry Hama's single most influential comic, it did inspire a Marvel theme month ('Nuff Said), which came some 18 years later, and did showcase a style of purely visual storytelling which was seldom found in main stream American comics at the time.

Here's the interesting thing about this issue. It was conceived out of necessity. As the story goes, back then comic pages were mailed around a few times during the process of comic creation, and at one point an issue of GI Joe goes missing in the mail, with no time to do the whole thing over from scratch, Larry comes up with a plan to cut the letterer out of the mix, and to cut down on art production time saving themselves over a week of production. He will draw breakdowns, and Steve Leialoha will do the finishes, there will be no spoken dialogue.


The story introduced several elements that would later become major facets of the Joe universe: The Silent Castle, the Arashikage tattoo, and the Red Ninja clan.

As a story begins, Cobra Ninja Storm Shadow has captured GI Joe Agent Scarlett and Snake-eyes is on his way to extract her... not that she's going to sit around waiting for rescue.

( Read more... )