I made it through Yo Joe June! I gotta say it was a little challenging and loads of fun but I really had no plan or idea of how it was all gonna work out. I think it went well and I hope you enjoyed getting to see some new and exciting artwork with a few interesting stories! The one thing I did have planed for Yo Joe June, was this post! The original plan was always to showcase this accomplishment but I didn't realize until about halfway through that it would be our grand finale!
Larry Hama is a legendary comic book creator who's worked as an Editor, Writer, Artist and probably every other job involved in the world of making comic books! We're discussing him here because Larry was the writer of the Marvel Comics run of GI Joe as well as writing the majority of the File Cards for the GI Joe action figures from Hasbro in the 1980s! The relaunch of GI Joe as "A Real American Hero" wouldn't be the same without Larry Hama!
I first met Larry at Joe Con 2010 and it was an experience! I got to attend a dinner he was at and the highlight for me, was listening to him tell stories abut working at Marvel Comics in the 1980s! I got my first sketch from him in my sketchbook, at that convention and years later, I had Larry draw the final sketch in the book. But that's not what we're here to talk about.
In 2019 I realized that Larry Hama would be a guest at 3 different conventions I was planning to attend! I love Larry's sketches and had 3 at this point and had no problem with the idea of getting more. But if I was going to collect several from Larry, I felt like I should have some kind of a plan. I went through a few ideas and realized, if I broke the original GI Joe team of 13 into 6 sketches, I could get them all! I was very excited about this plan, until the pandemic happened and shut the world down. Once conventions started kicking back into gear in 2022 and I got to see Larry again, I made my move! It took 2 years, 3 friends and 4 conventions but I now have sketches of the first 13 GI Joe team members, all by Larry Hama!
Sketch 1: Breaker, Grunt and Flash by Larry Hama!
Why Breaker, Grunt and Flash? These were my first 3 GI Joe figures, all those years ago! Breaker was my first one and I thought he was so cool, with his backpack and hi-tech headset but I was a little bummed he didn't come with a gun. Next came Grunt and Flash, together! Now we had a team and some guns! That was an extremely fun time to be a kid! Larry was very open to my request for 3 characters, once I explained why and this one really makes me happy! Part of me sees the layout for a comic book panel when I look at this and part of me sees 3 action figures coming to life!
Sketch 2: Snake-Eyes and Scarlett by Larry Hama!
After I got those first 3 figures as a kid, the flood gates basically burst open, so it was all kind of a blur. When planning out these sketches, I had to pair everyone up and this was the easiest pair! As I've mentioned, I enjoyed the GI Joe cartoon but it was Larry's comic book stories that brought these characters to life for me. The complicated relationship of Snake-Eyes and Scarlett was pretty intense stuff to young me! Larry was given reference of the version 1 Snake-Eyes and realized as he was handing the sketch over that he had drawn the visor by mistake but I wasn't about to have Larry redraw something for me! So as much as I'm a goggles Snake-Eyes fan over the visor, I can live with this minor mix-up.
Sketch 3: Stalker and Rock 'N' Roll by Larry Hama!
This was a tough combo to decide on. I went back and forth between pairing up Rock N Roll with Clutch and Stalker with Hawk but in the end, this was the team I wanted! Stalker was a pretty central character in the comics and I always enjoyed having him as a leader and a fighter. I think Rock N Roll was cool to everyone and I always loved the cover to issue 13 with Stalker, Rock N Roll and Scarlett in a gun battle from a taxi! Larry put some feeling into this one, it feels like they're in the middle of a firefight!
Sketch 4: Clutch and Steeler by Larry Hama!
Sketch 5: Zap and Short-Fuse by Larry Hama!
Sketch 6: Colonel Hawk and Grand Slam by Larry Hama!
These two were the last two kids to get picked! I never had the MMS that came with the original Hawk figure and by the time General Hawk came out, Duke and Flint were running my team! But Colonel Hawk in the comics was a pretty tough guy and I straight up gave Larry reference for Hawk's early comic book look. He questioned that as well as this team-up! I explained that I really liked Hawk's early look, which he described as "when we drew him like Duke!" And then I explained that this was the last piece I needed to complete my collection of the original 13 from him. Larry basically nodded and agreed. I've always liked Grand Slam, he looked sort of Star Wars and came with 2 different play sets but other than kicking Major Bludd in the face through a bus window, he didn't do much in the comics. All that being said, Larry didn't hold back on this one, either! I'm very pleased with these two charging into action!
I'm no Photoshop wizard but I did take a stab at putting these all together as one giant piece! I didn't try to do anything fancy, there's no need but I think this shot of the entire team, in battle, in Larry's style, works pretty damn well!
Yo Joe June, Day 30: The Original GI Joe Team by Larry Hama!
And I REALLY have to thank my good friends, John Popa, Brandon Franklin and Landon Franklin! Without their help, this wouldn't be a reality, maybe ever! They were all good sports, none of them are big GI Joe fans but they all got a kick out of getting to talk to Larry and get a sketch from him!
As a kid who grew up at just the right time in the 80's to get into GI Joe as a new toy series, comic book and cartoon, it was beyond awesome to be able to interact with Larry and collect these sketches by him of the characters he wrote and helped create that have been such a huge part of my life!
Yo Joe!
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