Writer: Erik Burnham
Art: Dan Schoening and Luis Antonio Delgado
Letterer: Neil Uyetake
Publisher: IDW Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: February 16th, 2022
G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Saturday Morning Adventures #1 is here, and brilliantly captures the look and feel of the animated show from the 1980s. Even though technically I never saw it on Saturday mornings (more like weekday afternoons), this book packs all the thrills and fun of the original show into 34 pages.
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Thoughts
G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Saturday Morning Adventures #1’s plot could easily be an episode of the 1980’s animated show, as Cobra Commander devises a new plot to take over the world. This time, his plan involves using a genie, and this genie’s not your friendly Robin Williams Aladdin type.
The story moves along at a great pace, and interestingly makes things nearly as tough for Cobra Commander as for the Joes. It’s fun to watch Cobra Commander frustratingly try to get what he needs from the genie, who has his own rules that Cobra Commander has to abide by. It’s a logical way to prevent Cobra Commander from becoming Thanos-like in power, but still, be a huge threat to the world.
We get to see several Joes in action as they fight against what Cobra Commander throws at them. Most of the action involves jet fighter combat, and some of the lesser-seen Joes like Mainframe and Sci-Fi are highlighted, which is great, but honestly, would it have killed the writer to have Scarlet get a slice of the action? Sure, she’s there in the background, but good old Scarlet should always be front and center.
Despite that, the characters’ dialogue is written so well, I could hear the voice actors from the original show speaking the lines while reading the book. One of the fun things about the G.I. Joe animated show was that each of the characters had their own unique personalities, and that’s fully in effect here.
Art
On the art side, artist Dan Schoening draws the book to look exactly like the animated show, so much so that the panels look like cels pulled from the show. It makes the book feel so nostalgic and fun, like discovering a lost episode of the show, and sets this book apart from the other G.I. Joe comics.
Final Thoughts
G.I. Joe A Real American Hero: Saturday Morning Adventures #1 amazingly captures the feel of those crazy fun G.I. Joe episodes from the 1980s, right down to having a last page with a “Knowing is half the battle” lecture from Mainframe. I believe this book will be a 4-issue mini-series, but if the book stays this good and continues giving me those fuzzy nostalgic feelings, I’ll be rooting for it to flip over to ongoing series status.