VOLUME5 e t e l p m o C e h T n o i t c e l l o C

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1. EDITORS 2. DESIGNER Justin Eisinger & Alonzo Simon Shawn Lee

Special thanks to Hasbro’s Mike Ballog, Ed Lane, Joe Furfaro, Heather Hopkins, and Michael Kelly for their invaluable assistance. ISBN: 978-1-61377-956-9 17 16 15 14 1 2 3 4 Ted Adams, CEO & Publisher Facebook: facebook.com/idwpublishing Greg Goldstein, President & COO Robbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic Artist Twitter: @idwpublishing Chris Ryall, Chief Creative Officer/Editor-in-Chief YouTube: youtube.com/idwpublishing Matthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial Officer Alan Payne, VP of Sales Instagram: instagram.com/idwpublishing Dirk Wood, VP of Marketing deviantART: idwpublishing.deviantart.com www.IDWPUBLISHING.com Lorelei Bunjes, VP of Digital Services IDW founded by Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko, and Robbie Robbins Jeff Webber, VP of Digital Publishing & Business Development Pinterest: pinterest.com/idwpublishing/idw-staff-faves G.I. JOE: THE COMPLETE COLLECTION, VOLUME 5. MAY 2014. FIRST PRINTING. HASBRO and its logo, G.I. JOE, and all related characters are trademarks of Hasbro and are used with permission. © 2014 Hasbro. All Rights Reserved. The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial offices: 5080 Santa Fe St., San Diego, CA 92109. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Printed in Korea. IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.

Originally published by Marvel Comics as G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO issues #46–53, G.I. JOE: SPECIAL MISSIONS issues #1–2, and G.I. JOE YEARBOOK #2. TABLE OF CONTENTS

PG. 4 INTRODUCTION Written by Mark W. Bellomo

PG. 11 YEARBOOK #2, MARCH 1986: "TRIPLE PLAY" Written by Larry Hama - Art and Cover by Michael Golden

PG. 46 ISSUE #46, APRIL 1986: "WHO'S WHO ON COBRA ISLAND" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Dennis O'Neil - Cover by Mike Zeck

PG. 71 ISSUE #47, MAY 1986: "SEA DUEL" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Dennis O'Neil - Cover by Mike Zeck

PG. 95 ISSUE #48, JUNE 1986: "SLAUGHTER" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Bob Harras - Cover by Mike Zeck

PG. 120 ISSUE #49, JULY 1986: "SERPENTOR" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Bob Harras - Cover by Mike Zeck

PG. 145 ISSUE #50, AUGUST 1986: "THE BATTLE OF SPRINGFIELD" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Bob Harras Cover by Mike Zeck and John Beatty

PG. 169 ISSUE #50, AUGUST 1986: "BEST DEFENSE" Written by Larry Hama - Art by Herb Trimpe - Colors by Bob Sharen - Letters by Phil Felix Edits by Don Daley and Bob Harras - Cover by Mike Zeck and John Beatty

PG. 191 ISSUE #51, SEPTEMBER 1986: "THUNDER MACHINE" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Bob Harras - Cover by John Byrne

PG. 216 SPECIAL MISSIONS #1, OCTOBER 1986: "THAT SINKING FEELING" Written by Larry Hama - Art by Herb Trimpe - Colors by Bob Sharen - Letters by Phil Felix Edits by Don Daley and Bob Harras - Cover by Mike Zeck and John Beatty *The narrative in this issue of Special Missions took place not too long after G.I. Joe Yearbook #2: “Triple Play.”

PG. 241 ISSUE #52, OCTOBER 1986: "SNAP DECISIONS" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Bob Harras - Cover by Mike Zeck

PG. 265 ISSUE #53, NOVEMBER 1986: "PIT-FALL" Written by Larry Hama - Pencils by Rod Whigham - Inks by Andy Mushynsky Colors by George Roussos - Letters by Joe Rosen - Edits by Bob Harras Cover by Mike Zeck and Josef Rubinstein

PG. 289 SPECIAL MISSIONS #2, DECEMBER 1986: "WORDS OF HONOR" Written by Larry Hama - Art by Herb Trimpe - Colors by Bob Sharen - Letters by Phil Felix Edits by Bob Harras - Cover by Mike Zeck and Dennis Janke INTRODUCTION SAVE THIS FORM. IT WILL NOT BE REPLACED IF LOST.

As an introverted, undersized adolescent dreamer with a voracious appetite for fantasy, science fiction, and military-themed toys and comic books, in the mid-1980s I was a passionate collector of all things G.I. Joe. Each day following my after school job, I arrived home to read issues of the Marvel Comic repeatedly—until the pages appeared dog-eared and their covers faded. Although I didn’t enjoy the Sunbow animated program nearly as much as the comic, I still managed to view my VHS-taped episodes of the cartoon until the tape warped from overuse. Most importantly, I collected all of the “clip and save” Combat Command File Card dossiers from the backs of Hasbro’s G.I. Joe action figure packages and took great pleasure in appreciating and understanding the intricate, nuanced facts contained therein—details about every gallant G.I. Joe team member and malevolent agent of Cobra Command. After cutting these chipboard file card biographies from their toy packages, I organized these dossiers together by year, with each series separated from the other with a different colored rubber band. I then gently placed all of the secured file cards I owned into one of my mother’s discarded metal recipe boxes. When the spirit moved me—and it did so a few times a week—I’d crack open the lid to the recipe box and carefully take out one series of file cards, remove the colored elastic surrounding the dossiers from that year (placing the band around my wrist so I wouldn’t lose it), and then I would devour the information: every bit of data and colorful anecdote these cards would provide. I memorized each character’s occupation/vocation, File Name (the character’s real name), Primary Military Specialty (“PMS”), Secondary Military Specialty (“SMS”), Birthplace, Grade (the soldier’s rank), background and military training (schooling, etc.), weapon proficiencies, and lengthy psychological profile or peer personality assessment: I remembered it all. Studying this bevy of information a few times each week would transport me into a fantastical fictional world; these cards helped to suspend my disbelief, triggered my imaginative drive, and afforded me the ability to fully invest in the larger narrative created by Mr. Hama within the pages of the Marvel Comic. I suppose my memorization of the information on a G.I. Joe file card was similar in fashion to how other kids might review and recall the statistics on a baseball card. Height. Weight. The side the player hits from. What team drafted said player. The number of games played. Number of at bats. Batting average. Et cetera. However, as a kid I never understood the hobby of collecting sports cards. They seemed a facile manner of transmitting a meaningless jumble of statistics that held no higher purpose: To what end did this serve? Idol worship? Most importantly, sports cards possessed no narrative; they didn’t convey meaning—they were a bloodless, two-dimensional conveyance of cold statistics and empirical facts. A G.I. Joe file card was different: these paper biographies, although brief, delivered dynamic heroes and villains to the reader as magnificently-rendered, three-dimensional characters that walked upright and spoke aloud. Due to the quality of Larry Hama’s writing on these Combat Command File Cards, I was heavily invested in these fictional characters; characters who became my friends. Additionally, often before Mr. Hama introduced a new character within the pages of the Marvel Comic (or before they ever premiered on the Sunbow cartoon), the author had first drafted these file cards for the character’s production as a Hasbro action figure, and so these compact dossiers frequently introduced— premiered, really—a new character to the national fan base. This first impression therefore, had to be a lasting one. And it often was. So then, whenever a new assortment of action figures hit the retail pegs of my local Ames department store (a discount chain located in the Northeast popular during the 1980s), I hopped onto my ten-speed and raced the three-and-a-half miles on a dangerous road and a dicey bridge or two to plunk my hard-earned cash down and snatch up the latest wave of fabulous Hasbro offerings. On one occasion—and I remember it well—I was confronted with a Footloose action figure hanging on my hometown Ames’ retail pegs, and I was thrilled: I had finally acquired a G.I. Joe team member that included: an M16 rifle with strap, another weapon in the form of a LAW rocket, a decent-looking field pack, and a uniquely-camouflaged helmet. Of course, I appreciated the character’s body construction as well: Ron Rudat (the Lead Designer of the G.I. Joe brand) and his team at Hasbro were peerless in their delivery of 3 ¾” military action figures. With fabulous poseability and dressed smartly in a set of fatigues that expertly captured a soldierly aesthetic (one that Rudat consistently conveyed throughout his tenure), I knew that this new Joe had the potential to be utterly spectacular. I flipped over the package to read his file card and bask in the happiness that accompanied the first figure I’d found from a new wave of characters. Hello, Corporal Andrew D. Meyers, with a PMS of Infantry and an SMS of Special Services… who was a part-time basketball coach. Cool. Born in Gary, Indiana. Welcome to my toy collection! I couldn’t wait to get Footloose home. Until I saw the character’s Military Occupation Specialty, that is.

Footloose’s MOS—his area of specialization—was Infantry Trooper. Hold on a second here, Hasbro. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the G.I. Joe team already had an Infantry Trooper in their ranks. One Mister Robert W. Graves, code-named Grunt. What the heck is going on here? For the past few years as a dedicated reader of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, I had been utterly devoted to these characters, particularly the “Original Thirteen”: those thirteen G.I. Joe team members who were on the first roster and who comprised the initial assortment of action figures in 1982: Breaker (Communications Officer), Clutch (VAMP Driver), Flash (Laser Rifle Trooper), Grand Slam (Laser Artillery Soldier), Grunt (Infantry Trooper), Hawk (Missile Commander), Rock ‘N Roll (Machine Gunner), Scarlett (Counter Intelligence), Short-Fuze (Mortar Soldier), Snake Eyes (Commando), Stalker (Ranger), Steeler (Tank Commander), and Zap (Bazooka Soldier). However, at that moment, it occurred to me that I hadn’t seen these Joes (with the exception of Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and Stalker [and occasionally Hawk]) for a good long while… Could this new Infantry Trooper introduced by Hasbro for their Series Four (1985) assortment of toys essentially (or even possibly [?]) function as a replacement for Grunt, their original Infantry Trooper introduced in Series One (1982)? You may recall that in much of the brand’s early promotional material, Grunt was utilized quite often as a character template and a promotional image. Was Hasbro so impulsive that they’d throw away past team members as casually as last year’s fashions? I must admit that initially, this transitional concept bothered me quite a bit—this wholesale changeover that took place in 1985 (Series Four) and particularly in 1986 (Series Five): In 1986, the team’s current Ranger was Beach Head, not Stalker.

The MOS (Military Occupation Specialty) of Communications was performed by Dial-Tone in 1986, who appeared to replace Breaker. Iceberg (Series Five) became the up-and-coming Snow Trooper, as Hasbro eschewed Snow Job (Arctic Trooper, 1983 [Series Two]).

In 1986, Leatherneck was the resident Marine, and Gung-Ho was altogether avoided (Marine, 1983 [Series Two]).

Lifeline became the Joes’ brand new pacifistic Rescue Trooper (Series Five), replacing the Harvard-educated Doc (Medic, 1983 [Series Two]).

1986 saw the rise of Sci-Fi as the team’s resident Laser Trooper, supplanting Flash.

Wet-Suit (Series Five) took over the SEALS mantle, trumping Torpedo (SEAL [Sea, Air, and Land], 1983 [Season Two]).

Even Lady Jaye from Series Four (1985) was offered as a replacement for Scarlett, at least on retail pegs, if not within the pages of the Marvel Comic.

Lift-Ticket (Series Five) took charge as the Joes’ new Helicopter [Tomahawk] Pilot, ousting Wild Bill (Helicopter Pilot, 1983 [Series Two]).

In 1986, Slip-Stream evolved as the team’s new Fighter [Conquest X-30] Pilot, while Ace was relegated to a background role (Fighter Pilot, 1983 [Series Two]).

Heavy Metal was introduced as the Joes’ [Mauler M.B.T.] Tank Driver in 1985 (Series Four), supplanting the team’s original Tank Commander, Steeler.

Bazooka—also from Series Four—also was a replacement; he bumped Zap from performing a more active role.

Even Cobra Command got into the spirit of renewing their ranks: the original Cobra Soldier (Code Name: The Enemy [1982]) was phased out in favor of the redesigned ground trooper, 1986’s Cobra Viper.

Series Five’s Dr. Mindbender—as Cobra’s new Master of Mind Control—succeeded the organization’s deceased scientist Dr. Venom, originator of the nefarious Brainwave Scanner.

For Series Five, Zartan’s close-knit contingent of Cobra agents also experienced tumult: two replacement Dreadnoks in the form of Dreadnok Monkeywrench and the Thunder Machine Driver, Thrasher, were added to the mix, while the popular shape-changer’s brother and sister— Zandar and Zarana—entered the Joe universe as prominent players. At the outset, I suppose these “replacements” ruffled my sensibilities so much, that—years later as a professional—I scoured the many boxes of information I possessed which had been given to me by Hasbro and Hama for any hint to the reason why this sea-change occurred. Upon rifling through a box marked “Hasbro Letters & Missives,” I found what I was searching for: apparently in 1985 even Larry Hama voiced his concern when reviewing his initial draft for Hasbro’s new Infantry Trooper, Footloose. What follows is the iconoclastic message as it appeared in Hama’s original letter to Hasbro, with his handwritten notation indicated:

G.I. Joe Dossiers 1985 Series Larry Hama Infantryman Code Name: Action (alt names: Bravo, Grunt*)

Isn’t this guy [the new Infantryman, Footloose] just a do-over of Grunt? If Grunt is being phased out or to be more precise, the Grunt figure is being phased out, then why can’t the character remain the same and acquire a new wardrobe just like Snake Eyes? This could give a more concrete reality to this universe. In the comic book continuity it is possible to send the characters that are being phased out as dolls… somewhere off-panel to be re-trained and have them come back in a subsequent issue with a new costume and a New Code Name. Their File Name and pertinent data would remain the same [serial number, place of birth, etc.] and their file cards would be updated to reflect the new training and skills. This would solve two major problems:

1) Explaining the disappearance of the phased-out Joes in a logical continuity. 2) Reduce the number of actual characters the audience has to keep tabs on.

Snake-Eyes is already being re-outfitted [in 1985]. The Desert Trooper, the Fireman and the Hostile Environment Trooper could all be re- trained and re-outfitted Joes from the first run… There is a precedent for this. The Luke Skywalker figure in the Star Wars universe was released in different configurations to match the costume variations between the various sequels. [Handwritten note] “If I can get a decision on this a.s.a.p. I can either update the old dossiers or come up with new ones—in either case, we need a list of all phased-out Joes.”

Even the man who spearheaded the G.I. Joe license at Hasbro from the brand’s beginning, H. Kirk Bozigian (revolutionary marketing executive, former head of Hasbro’s Boys Toys and current president of HKB !deas) shared Hama’s concerns. For according to Bozigian, “In 1986, I was no longer working directly on G.I. Joe. I was running the Hasbro Direct division handling the fan club and flag point promotions [mail-away redemptions]. The people running the G.I. Joe brand at the time felt that introducing more new characters made sense. [However,] I agreed with Larry’s position. We had way too many characters for both the toy line and the comic books. In my mind things would only get more confusing.”

However, Hasbro did not heed the veteran writer’s warning or accede to Bozigian’s request. Moreover, Hama’s suggestion for the company to approach the manufacture of G.I. Joe action figures in a manner similar to Kenner’s production of Star Wars characters was ingenious. Kenner constructed six different iterations of everybody’s favorite farm boy, Luke Skywalker, over the course of nine years: (original) Luke Skywalker (1978), Luke Skywalker as X-Wing Pilot (1978), Luke Skywalker in Bespin Fatigues (1980), Luke Skywalker in Hoth Battle Gear (1980), Luke Skywalker in Jedi Knight Outfit (1983), and finally Luke Skywalker in Imperial Stormtrooper Outfit (1984). Kenner made sure that these various interpretations of Luke Skywalker were available from the moment they were each introduced at retail until the minute Star Wars went belly-up in 1985; they refreshed pegs with new product based upon the same popular character, while keeping older versions of the character available at retail in lower numbers. If there were multiple versions of Luke Skywalker always hanging on retail pegs throughout the duration of the original Star Wars film trilogy, then what was stopping the G.I. Joe brand managers from doing the same with popular characters such as Cobra Commander, Destro, Duke, Stalker, Scarlett, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow, and Zartan? Didn’t it make sense to keep the well-received older styles of favorite characters in production to allow new collectors to play catch up, while also introducing new, updated versions of these fan-favorites every year or two to appease the die-hard fans? Evidentially, Hama expressed that he was willing to put in the due diligence to make this system work: his advocating to update older G.I. Joe characters with new uniforms and innovative MOSs and injecting them into new assortments could have succeeded with enough attention to detail—one of Hama’s well-known skills. When I presented Mr. Hama with the previously reproduced letter and asked, “What was Hasbro’s response to your impassioned petition?” Hama replied: “I wrote lots of letters like this… If I got a reply, I don’t know where it is… I was trying to have it all make sense, and keep the universe consistent. I tried to tell [Hasbro] that if they gave me enough lead time, I could retcon stuff and make it work.” The fact that Hama was willing to retcon the narrative of the comic and reconstruct canonical information in order to make the book’s ongoing continuity comprehensible is testament to the author’s dedication to the characters he created. But Hasbro wouldn’t bite. “Those running the brand obviously chose not to think this way and the brand kept growing with new characters introduced each year,” stated Bozigian. “Maybe they were right,” he suggested, “but I still think we could have kept core characters and put them in new uniforms with new military specialties…” Nevertheless, we received a SLEW of new characters in 1985 and 1986—and every year thereafter. Perhaps the marketing folks joined with the powers-that-be and determined that introducing new characters would be providential to the line’s success. In certain cases, they were correct: many of my current longtime friends who are G.I. Joe fans remember the characters from 1986 fondly: a college pal venerates the combative Beach Head above all others, while another buddy worships the ground that Lifeline walks on (as do I…). Many of my other friends consider Low-Light to be one of the franchise’s crowning achievements in terms of both characterization and design. At times, it’s difficult to disagree with them, because it’s not that the characters introduced in 1986 and afterward were poorly conceived; with Hama’s characterization, it was quite the opposite. It simply would have been nice to thrill to the adventures of those original thirteen team members had they all been included in the blueprint for the fourteen-year duration of the line. Imagine if Stalker was given Beach Head’s green balaclava and XM-7 (experimental) Wasp submachine gun as a manner of uniform and equipment update? What about if bubble-blowing Breaker was rewarded with Dial- Tone’s upgraded equipment—the all-new “Anti-Scrambler Communications Backpack with Microphone”—since Alvin R. Kibbey was “familiar with all NATO and Warsaw Pact communication gear as well as most world export devices?” If Steeler were the driver of the Mauler M.B.T. and was allowed to actually function as the Joes’ Tank Commander—now that the team had a few different tracked vehicles in their motor pool? If Flash, who was “working on his Master’s degree in electronic engineering (nights)” was awarded his M.S. and donned Sci-Fi’s flashy suit as an updated Directed Energy Expert? If Zap, the Joes’ Bazooka Soldier and “…team specialist in armor-piercing and anti-tank weapons… [who] also functions as [a] demolitions man” finally received the appropriate title of Missile Specialist, since the term bazooka (designated by the military as a “man- portable anti-armor rocket launcher”) had been rendered obsolete since its widespread use in WWII and Korea.

Imagine how the G.I. Joe canon would have been different.

–Mark W. Bellomo

For the past fifteen years, Mark W. Bellomo has written hundreds of articles and a number of bestselling books on the topic of action figures, where he has cemented his reputation as one of the world’s foremost experts. Most recently, Bellomo provided forewords to IDW Publishing's Transformers: Classics and G.I. JOE: Special Missions trades, and he is currently presiding over the fifteen-volume hardcover project, G.I. JOE: The Complete Collection. Readers may view him as the subject of the 18-part YouTube documentary The Collectable Spectacle, or witness the fruits of his labors as a consultant for Syfy’s Collection Intervention. His latest books, are IDW’s The Art of Transformers: Fall of Cybertron, and Krause Publications’ Toys & Prices: The World’s Best Toy Guide.

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