Welcome to The Comic Box. This is a discussion thread for the GI Joe comics. We start at Marvel’s #1 and move thru the series every week. It’s a chance to give your thoughts, opinions and remarks about the comic in question.


#49. Serpentor



~Short Summary~
The Beginning of the Battle of Springfield. Rip Cord gives the Joe team the location of Cobra Headquarters, which is Springfield, Vermont. Dr. Mindbender and Destro raid the tombs of greatest leaders of all time for their DNA. Dr. Mindbender then uses the Brainwave Scanner to create Serpentor. The Joes engage in a full out attack on the city of Springfield. Serpentor immediately takes command of the Cobra ground forces as Cobra evacuates.

~Notes of Interest~
First Appearance of Lift Ticket, Slip Stream, Leatherneck.
Serpentor is created.
~summary courtesy yojoe.com~

http://www.yojoe.com/comics/joe/joe49.shtml



~image courtesy yojoe.com~


AND



~image courtesy yojoe.com~


http://www.yojoe.com/comics/yb/yb2.shtml


Short Summary
The October Guard has new laser cannon they are testing. Cobra sets up an ambush and steals it from them. Then October Guard steals it back, and takes a train that is rerouted by the GI Joe team. When the train comes to its final destination at the port, the Joes are waiting to take the laser cannon from the October Guard.

Notes of Interest
Table of Contents

GI Joe Triple Play (An Original Story)
In the mountains of Afghanistan, the Joes, the October Guard and Cobra fight for survival...and for a prize that could alter the balance of world power. (First Appearance of October Guard Dragonsky)

The Joes on the Tube
The real story behind the smash GI Joe television show.

Gallery of Covers
A look back at good reading: Every GI Joe cover ever published. Covers #1-#44

An advertisement for the USS Flagg aircraft carrier.

~image courtesy General Scarlett~

The Adventure Continues
Bringing you up to date on everything the Joes have done for the past year. Excepts from issues: #26, #27, #32, #33, #34, #35, #36, #37, #38, #39, #40, #41, #42, #43.

Major Players
Joes: Alpine, Flint, Stalker, Duke, Footloose, Rip Cord, Spirit
Additional Joe Appearances: Airtight, Bazooka, Blowtorch, Breaker, Cutter, Deep Six, Grunt, Gung-Ho, Mutt & Junkyard, Recondo, Roadblock, Rock 'n' Roll, Scarlett, Shipwreck, Snake-Eyes, Torpedo, Zap
Cobra: Baroness, Destro, Firefly,
October Guard: Colonel Brekhov, Horror Show, Diana, Schrage, Stormavik, Dragonsky
~summary courtesy yojoe.com~



Discuss away!

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Non illigitamus carborundum~Vos mos non effrego mihi

Coming soon: 'JoeSpecialOps'

Issue 49 is another of the very first issues I ever read, while Yearbook 2 is one of my most recent Marvel-era Joe comic purchases! Of course, "most recent" still means a couple of years ago.

I'll mention the Yearbook first. The story is pretty fun, but what really sells it for me is the artwork by Michael Golden. The man is a genius, and it's unfortunate that this was his only Joe work. His characters are so animated, you feel like you're reading a moving cartoon rather than a static comic book! I particularly love his depictions of the Cobra characters, and especially of Destro and the Baroness.

I believe Golden and Larry Hama are/were friends in real life. They also collaborated to create Bucky O'Hare. It should also be noted that this Yearbook is (I think) the first appearance of Daina's tank-top, shorts, and aviator cap, which pretty much became her standard uniform from this point on. So thanks to Michael Golden for getting her out of that stuffy Red Army uniform. I just wish Hasbro would make a figure of her dressed like that!

Now, on to issue 49. As was always the case in this era, the Mike Zeck cover knocks your socks off-- Except the colorist added about 30 years to Dr. Mindbender by forgetting to fill in his moustache! As soon as you open the issue, you learn that Destro apparently speaks Arabic. Then, right off the bat, you get some sweet wrist-rocket action, which is always a cool thing.

As the issue progresses, we get some mentions of Dr. Venom and the Brainwave Scanner, then Ripcord makes his daring escape attempt from the Dreadnoks-- Only to be foiled, in one of my all-time favorite scenes from the entire run, by a little girl with a .357 Magnum!

Seeing the breakdown of the Joes into a few groups with defined purposes for the invasion of Springfield was really cool, and fueled my ideas for how to play with Joes for a long time. It's also cool to see Firefly and Scrap-Iron working together (they really didn't do so all that much, but the brief occasions that they did are pretty memorable).

Then there was Serpentor. I know a lot of fans dislike the guy for his fantastical origin, but the fact of the matter is that it happened and he's here-- so deal with it. I think in his early appearances here he serves a pretty cool purpose as an agitator attempting to wrest control of Cobra from its commander. I feel that the problem lies in the fact that he does so way too quickly as we'll see in the next few issues. A power struggle over a year or so's worth of issues would've been a lot cooler (and eventually happened, but with Fred in the role of Cobra Commander).

Wow, I had a lot to say about this one. Hope I didn't ramble too much!

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is on indefinite hiatus...

Not at all m'man!!! I love your passion........don't ever lose it!!!

__________________
Non illigitamus carborundum~Vos mos non effrego mihi

Coming soon: 'JoeSpecialOps'

I don't remember much about this issue other than it was cold and stormy when Serpy came from his test tube. Now, I had no real problem with Serpentor in the comic. It was the cartoon that goofed it all up for me. Like, this comic, it's just the progression of story. Cool with me.

As for Yearbook2, I don't remember anything. Other than it had a cool cover.

Things were starting to get silly in the main comic by issue 49. I remember reading long ago where Larry Hama said that the whole Serpentor thing was forced on him by Hasbro, who wanted to push the figure, and that he did his best to integrate a lame concept into the storyline. Hasbro was always pushing to get the latest toys featured, the effects storyline didn't really concern them.
So thank goodness for the Yearbook. This one is one of my faves, a great story, and the Oktober guard....cool stuff and great memories.

__________________
"The future's uncertain and the end is always near." - The Doors "Roadhouse Blues".

I've never read the yearbook so I can't comment on that, other than loving the cover to death.

Issue 49 was okay by me. A really nice cover, although I doubt a mummy would still have an eye. I liked the concept of Serpentor and thought it added a little more depth to the book because the struggle for leadership of Cobra is always entertaining. Also this featured a lot of shows, rather than just a few here and there. And the guys finally locate Springfeild which was an ongoing idea since issue 9 I think. Next one was even better though.

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You're absolutely right on that point PA. The Serpentor story line that led up to and included the Cobra Civil war was the best of the entire run. I just wish Serpy's origin had have been a little more "normal"!

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"The future's uncertain and the end is always near." - The Doors "Roadhouse Blues".

I enjoyed #49....it had a great 'something BIG is happening' feeling,and I enjoyed Serpentor.I liked the cloning aspect of his origin...this isn't military history..it's a toy line!

Yearbook 2 is one of my all-time Faves in Hama's run of Joe Comics.Fantastic art from the great Michael Golden,the return of the Oktober Guard,and sheer flat-out action and fun!.

Plus...the Joe Team won the day,completed their objective...without shot one fired!

Cheers!

-Dave