if you could have had only one?
 

Gotta go with the cartoon.
 

I watched the cartoon as a kid and it brought the figures and world to life for me in a way the comic book never did. I didn't read the comic much as a kid and to this day I still haven't read the whole series. The comic's obsession with Snake-eyes and Storm Shadow to me seems stupid. It completely departs from what GI Joe is all about. At least for me anyway. I like the cartoon because it brings to life the world of GI Joe without saddling me with limitations like dead characters, love interests, and ongoing storylines.

It seems like most people forget that the comic and cartoon were invented to sell toys. Its not like a movie franchise like star wars where figures were sold to cash in on the movie's success. In GI Joe the cartoon and comics the story lines were designed to showcase the figures and toys that were on the shelves at the time. Hasbro is not limited, or driven in its product design by the mythos created by the comics. With that in mind I don't understand how people can expect Hasbro to make figures of obscure characters from past comics. That's totally backwards. People are wondering if Hasbro will make 25th Anniv. style figures of "dead characters." Hasbro doesn't care if Lady Jaye or Quick Kick died in a comic book 15 years ago. If they can make money selling the figures, they will.

For me,I had the comics before I even found the toys.Now,don't get me wrong,I love the Sunbow cartoon,but the Marvel comic IS the Joe-Verse for me.

What amazed me most about the comic is I first got them when I was 8-9 years old,and they are exciting,gritty stories.But then,as I continue to re-read them as I get older,I find Larry Hama's put a TON of political and social subtext in the stories,just waiting to be found.In the comic we discover that the GI Joe team are sent to do 'Cold War' dirty work by people who don't care about them,and that Cobra is a parody of certain aspects of the USA's miliary/industrial policies.

To answer the second question,while Storm Shadow had a great 'presense' in the cartoon,I prefer the conflicted comic version.

Comic. Considering the advertisement it got before the cartoon came about it would've still been big, and considering it carried the line through its first year, and for two years where the only cartoon presence were five-part mini-series, I'd say it had the momentum to keep it going.
A clear lack of that stupid "Yo Joe!" battle cry (except on a rare occasion), a heavy amount of good characterization and some awesome stories made the comic so much superior to the cartoon, even in the later "GIJoe featuring SNAKE-EYES and NINJA FORCE" era.

Comics all the way for me. So much more depth to the characters, all the Joes fit in with the concept of an elite military unit (no cartoon Shipwreck-types or guys that just "tag along" who they meet on a mission, like Quick-Kick and, er, Shipwreck...). Larry Hama kept a consistent "voice" to the book, the continuing storylines let you care about the characters and what would happen to them next more, and it didn't resort to wacky sci-fi like Fatal Fluffies and Cobra-La.

The cartoon may have been able to reach more people and get more kids into it but it was the comic that gave the line its identity (without Marvel there wouldn't have been things like the well-thought-out bios on the filecards, and Hasbro hadn't even thought up Cobra at the time they were looking to get a comic tie-in) and kept that identity strong long after the cartoon had descended into DIC crappiness and got canned.

these characters were what got me into G.I Joe. if not for them and the comic relief i would probably still be collecting star wars. although not realistic shipwreck was one of the most loved characters and even now one of the most sought after figures. i also liked cobra-la, i know most dont. i guess everyone was growing up faster then me and wanted to see realism. it was a cartoon and a comic book and we were kids. will there ever be bravewave scanners and sepentors in real life. and the YOOooo JOE! although kinda stupid, its something everyone knows, the best battle cry ever. now you know, and knowing is half the battle,lol.

"Autobots, transform and roll out!" has "Yo joe!" beat by a VERY long shot.

Jay,it's more like:"AUTOBOTS,transform AND ROLLOUT!!!" :p

The comics 100%. Like the original Looney Toons, they weren't made with little kids in mind. To me the cartoon was Lame. No one got killed, everyone shot lasers and the VOICES!! ARG!!!

I still see Cobra Commander and shiver hearing his shrill voice from the cartoon. I think his voice would sound more like Clive Owen or Colm Feore. Destro's voice was cool, but I would think he would have had a scottish accent.

Storm Shadow and Snake eyes were cool until the whole ninja force thing...blah!!I liked the Storm Shadow from "Reloaded". But that was the only thing I liked from that series!

Definitely prefer the comics, at least the first 115 issues. The cartoon did a great job characterizing a lot of people overlooked in the comic, Beachhead, Leatherneck, and Wetsuit come to mind, but overall I prefer the stories from the comic.