Wizard: Larry Hama will write IDW's new G.I. Joe Comic

LARRY HAMA G.I. JOE Q&A
The scribe for the new IDW relaunch of America's realest heroes dishes on the new series

By Matt Powell
Posted 7/3/2008

Comicdom’s soldier-of-fortune Larry Hama has been enlisted to helm the cult war comic G.I. Joe fresh on the slate from IDW. With countless hours of Joe scripts under his belt, Hama’s way beyond basic training to ground the Joes in their new re-launch. A #0 issue of the series will bow this October with an ongoing to begin next January. With series art by Robert Atkins, you can expect the Joes to look good while skinning Cobra hide.

Recently Wizard caught up with the veteran scribe to get the lowdown on his new tour of duty with the Joe team.

WIZARD: Larry, how does it feel to revisit the characters from G.I. Joe?

HAMA: It feels great to be back in the saddle with characters I care about and with an amazing amount of free rein!

Wizard:Before you got back on the title—given your long history with the characters—did you ever find yourself frequently coming up with new ideas for the series in your spare time or in between other projects with hopes of revisiting the team?

HAMA: I don't really think in terms of plot. Never have. I think that when the companies have to rely on "events" to sell their books, they are admitting bankruptcy of their characters. It should all be character driven. That's the sort of thing that pops into my head when I am doing something else—"Oh, how would Snake-Eyes react to that?"

Wizard:Jumping into the new series, what can you tell us about the #0 issue that will debut in October?

HAMA: It's a total re-boot. But, I'm doing it my way this time.

Wizard:Who's on your roster at the start?

HAMA: Snake-Eyes, Scarlett, Duke, Hawk and Heavy Duty for sure. Others are sort of a surprise; so is the set-up.

Wizard:Aside from the Joes, what are the current states of the Joe villains at the start of the series?

HAMA: It will be before the alliances are cemented. 'Nuff said!

Wizard:Is there a chance we'll see Serpentor or at least a take on him?

HAMA: Could be!

Wizard:What's one thing you definitely won't do while your on tour with the Joes?

HAMA: Cobra La.

Wizard:With the GI Joe movie currently in production, have you been to the set to see filming or helped contribute to screenplay?

HAMA: I was there for the first day of shooting and did a cameo in uniform. I am also on board as a consultant.

Wizard:Have the screenwriter’s adapted any of your past Joe stories for the film?

HAMA: Like I said before, plots and events don't register high in my world-view, but the writer has really nailed the characters, and that's what counts.

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creature4000 said:

Cool... I'll be looking forward to this!


... but unfortunately it looks like it might be similar to the movie. First he's a consulatnt for it... second.. he chose Heavy Duty over Roadblock.

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IrishJedi said:

Yeah, well this time it makes sense because the Devil's Due crap could use a lot of rebooting.

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Khev said:

You mean you don't think this guy is a total badass?

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IDW's Andy Schmidt, the editor for IDW's upcoming G.I. Joe comic books, talks with ComicBookResources.com about the books.

Highlights of this session include:

-Characters will be introduced gradually rather than all at once, in an effort to have a story per character rather than just a page devoted to them. The reboot makes this possible, unlike in Marvel's G.I. Joe #1 where a bunch of characters were introduced right off the bat. This will also help the readers get to know Cobra better.

-Cobra Commander will not be in issue #1, and may not be the top dog in Cobra.

-Cobra has been re-imagined to be relevant in today's audience.

-While the joe team will not be introduced as slowly as Cobra, the initial joe team will be small(a core group of about 4-5 members).

-The creative team is being cautious in not rolling out characters unless they have a role. They want story arcs devoted to each character, not just one panel showing them.

-Snake Eyes will not be the central character all the time! The reason for this is that the team views Snake Eyes as an awesome character when used sparingly, but devalued when he is the focal point of a story line. He won't always be emphasized except for being on the covers.

-Duke, Hawk, & Scarlett will be driving the story lines quite heavily.

-Larry Hama's G.I. Joe:Origins has artwork with a timeless feel. He wanted to focus on character driven story lines that involve relationships, and he will be exploring that with the Origins book. It was Schmidt's suggestion that Hama start at the beginning to show how the relationships were formed. This is one of the reasons for having three distinct books(G.I. Joe:Origins, the main G.I. Joe book, & G.I. Joe:Cobra

-Chuck Dixon's G.I. Joe book is the main stream title with your favorite characters and a fully formed team.

-G.I. Joe:Cobra sheds light on Cobra's origins and stars the fan favorite Chuckles, who goes undercover within Cobra.

-Each title is self contained, but they complement each other. You won't have to read G.I. Joe #4 to find out what happened after G.I. Joe:Cobra #3. If you read all three books, you'll have a better idea of what's going on as a whole, but it is not necessary. They aren't pulling tricks like having a huge story line take place across all three titles.

-G.I. Joe #0, slated for release this month on 10/22 will feature pages from three brand new stories. These are not preview pages, there is actual story content and this is done so that it gives you a taste of what to expect from all three books. This can help you decide which title(s) you decide to read when the line starts next year.

-Guerilla warfare will be the norm here, rather than the huge, epic battles typical of the older comics. Cobra is much more powerful than the joe team, and the joe team realizes this, so it is in their best interest to keep the battles small. The creative team has done this so that Cobra is made into a real threat

-New, non Cobra villains will be introduced, and some may remain.

-While the story lines will be grounded in reality, they will not be overtly political. The stories will reflect what goes on in the real world, but the joe team will not go hunting for Osama Bin Laden.

-It turns out that all three artists for the books are G.I. Joe fans!

Click on the discuss button below to join the ongoing discussion, and head on over to CBR to read the full article! Thanks to CBR for the news, and to HissTank boards member JimmyPSHayes for the heads up!

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https://www.hisstank.com/gi-joe-new...s-about-the-upcoming-gi-joe-comic-books-7709/

Come on SS show us Duke in classic tan/green to lay my fears to rest!

creature4000 said:

Cool... I'll be looking forward to this!


... but unfortunately it looks like it might be similar to the movie. First he's a consulatnt for it... second.. he chose Heavy Duty over Roadblock.

Click to expand...

EVILFACE said:

Notes Khev posted says 10/22

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Khev said:

You mean you don't think this guy is a total badass?

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