IDW Comic Reviews – G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Vol. 25 review

This latest collection of the Larry Hama written Real American Hero saga is a terrific celebration of Joes both new and old.

Collecting issues #276-285, this trade features the fantastic Untold Tales stories and an arc introducing several new Joes to the mix.

Untold Tales gets the title treatment for a good reason. It’s an avenue where Hama is able to craft standalone issues that neatly fit into his decades-long continuity. Additionally, it gives Hama the opportunity to focus on Joes that don’t regularly get featured.

As Hasbro regularly cycled in new Joes and Cobras, some characters only got an introductory issue/arc before being relegated to the background. Untold Tales allows those somewhat forgotten characters to get another shot at being immortalized through Hama’s scripts.

One of the standouts features Scarlett leading Stalker, Snake Eyes, Torpedo and Scoop on a retrieval mission. Hama also is able to create some hindsight foreshadowing regular readers will catch.

Other stories include Law & Order chasing down a cadre of Vipers, an artic battle including Frostbite, Iceberg, Blizzard, Snow-Job, Cover Girl and Lowlight rescuing a Cobra hostage. There are some aerial dogfights as well as teases of early fractures within Cobra.

The Untold Tales artists include Netho Diaz, Brian Shearer, Dan Schoening, Alex Sanchez and Ron Joseph with Jagdish Kumar providing additional inks. J. Brown and Luis Antonio Delgado split coloring duties.

This was some of the strongest run of issues Hama has done simply for the flexibility the arc provided him to tell a one and done story.

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In the second half of the collection, the Joes gain some new recruits including Sherlock, Black Hat, Multo, Caseload and Bottom Line as they journey to Trucial Abysmia to deal with a new threat from the mysterious terrorist Al Kawbra.

It’s always nice to see fresh blood join the Joe ranks and the new recruits fit in well alongside mainstays like Lady Jaye and Roadblock.

Coming up with new specialties is tricky, but Hama was able to craft unique roles in the team without simply replacing some of the older guard.

Andrew Lee Griffith and SL Gallant handle the art for this arc. Some of the character faces get a little rough, but the action is clear and has a true blockbuster feel thanks to the zoomed-out perspectives and thoughtfully mapped out close-ups. J. Brown handles all the colors in the Murder by Assassination arc while Neil Uyetake covers the lettering for the entire collection.

As some creative teams drastically change beloved characters seemingly on a whim, it’s great to be able to pick up a Hama-written collection of G.I. Joe and know it’s exactly like you remembered. G.I. Joe Real American Hero is a comfort read all the way and Hama and his collaborators always make it worth this hopefully endless ride down memory lane.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Photo Credit: IDW

Grab G.I. Joe Real American Hero Vol. 25 – Untold Tales now on Amazon.

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