Agreed. The cartoon was always aimed at a younger audience than the comics, and that put me off right from the start. As for Storm Shadow, he is only a minor background character in my Joeverse, so I don't have a preference.

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

This is a very hard question for me. The comics are my preferred universe, because of the ongoing continuity, the convoluted soap opera antics, and the realistic depictions of war. However, a lot of characters were under-characterized in the comics, or seemed very similar (I find Flint, Duke and Stalker to be virtually interchangeable in the comics. Hawk too, to a lesser extent). I think the TV show's characterization of the Joe characters was a lot better than the comics', but I feel the comics captured the Cobra characters far, far more effectively. In my world, it tends to be TV show Joes vs. comic book Cobras.

On the other hand, I love the cartoon because everyone looked consistent (ie, they had character models that the animators followed in every episode), and while the comic tended to do a better job of fleshing out the characters, the TV show let me know what they sounded like, and that was worth quite a bit. Even when I read the comics, I hear Chris Latta, Arthur Burghardt, Morgan Lofting, Michael Bell, Bill Ratner, and all the others speaking the words Larry Hama wrote for their characters. Also, I can't read a Joe comic without hearing Johnny Douglas's and Robert Walsh's background music in my head. Plus, Duke had a way bigger part on the show, so that counts for a lot in my mind.

Really, I think both the comics and show did a lot to shape G.I. Joe in my mind and I really can't see either of them existing without the other. However, I will say this-- When I was younger, I loved the comics (not to say I don't still), but in my old age (so to speak), for whatever reasons, I find myself appreciating the cartoon a lot more than I ever did before.

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is on indefinite hiatus...

Because of the wording here, I must choose the cartoon. I watched the cartoon long before I discovered the comic, and honestly at that young age I probably would have been confused by the comic as it was a little more mature. Now if we change the wording to what would I rather have as an teenager or adult it would be the comic all the way. When it comes down to it I love them both for different reasons and I couldn't imagine Joe without both of their great influences. The toon for the fun characterizations and voices, and the comic for the great stories and realism.

I was five years old in 1983 when the first mini-series came out. I didn't play with G.I. Joes back then. I was all about He-Man and (the following year) Transformers. As I've said many times before, I didn't really get into G.I. Joe until I was 12 or 13 in 1990/91.

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is on indefinite hiatus...

This pretty much captures it for more as well. Well wrtiten, Red Sox.

As a child I remember the show being on alternately before school or after. I would get up at 6 AM to watch the show and eat cereal, when I could have slept until 6:30 and still been on time for the school bus. I was happy when it shifted to the afternoon and I could watch it after I got home.

As I grew older, the cartoon still interested me, but the comics satisfied other portions of my mind that the cartoon didn't. Also, I helped my brother learn how to read by reading the comic to him. He had reading issues but would follow along (because of his interest in G.I.Joe). Eventually I made him read to me, and he progressed with his problems. The cartoon really wouldn't help with that...but it is what got HIM interested in the comic. (Well, that, and hanging out with his big brother... )

Now that I am "older", I still pick up and re-read Marvel issues. It is far more rare that I will re-watch the cartoon, although occasionally my 6 year old wants to see it.

Both the comic and cartoon greatly influenced me, or otherwise I wouldn't be typing this early in the morning. I suspect Hasbro recognized that potential sales demographic might have susceptability to variant marketing venues, and decided to use both mediums to widen and saturate the appeal for their products. In retrospect, that is quite impressive, all things being considered.

Remember Hasbro went to Marvel to establish the comic tie-in before they'd even finished designing the toy line, as it was the creative-types there who came up with the characters' personalities, Cobra, etc... I do wonder if they would have done a cartoon just as early if the law hadn't been so strict at the time with regards to cartoon series based on toys. That was why they made such a big deal out of the animated commercials for the comics, which were created before the book had even been written but just happened to feature action-packed footage of new toys and vehicles Hasbro wanted to give a particular push to...

To answer lesreh's earlier question; the cartoon was never broadcast on UK TV but we did have quite a few videos released, starting in 1987 or so when I would have been 7 (Hasbro only started marketing the Action Force toys with GI Joe-style packaging and continuity in the latter half of 1986). At least in my experience, the cartoons took on a more mythic status, since it was rare that any kid could find or afford all the videos. It became more of an event when you got to see them, like when you went to a schoolfriend's house who didn't live close enough for you to just hang out with every day.

I'd been reading comics (British kids' humor anthologies, Marvel super-heroes and various toy/TV tie-in titles) since about the age of 3, and while I didn't collect GI Joe (or Action Force) comics until the late 80s I did have a few and always had more innate respect for their depth & complexity. I was also used to seeing comics as the "real" continuity, probably due to the Marvel Universe being from the comics before any cartoons, and also because of the UK Transformers comic which had its letters pages answered by "actual Transformers" (Soundwave, Grimlock, Dreadwind & Hi-Test, Blaster, and Ratchet once...). They would often take letters asking about contradictions between the cartoons and the comics, with the explanation that the comics chronicled the "true" account of the TF's adventures and the people who made the cartoons didn't tend to have the full information...

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Come check out my Flickr account for more pics of my collection and additional shots from my JoeDios photoshoots. Includes my "Class Reunion" and "Foes Of The Joes" sets, exclusive to Flickr!

Last updated 2/5/10.

Didn't they do that with Action Force comics as well? I have three issues of 'GI Joe European Missions' which are reprints of Action Force monthly.Very cool,well written-in some cases by people that write sci-fi novels now(I have a couple of those novels,set in the Warhammer 40K universe).

Anyhoo,I seem to recall Super Trooper answering the letters in one issue.Also,the Filecards and Technical Data they printed is VERY 'Mil-Tech.....

It wasn't a standard thing; the letters page, "Mail Call," wasn't answered entirely by one character (which is a shame) although I think with certain character-specific questions they'd answer "So-and-so says: '...' " Would that be Dan Abnett? I know he wrote for Marvel UK and has written some 40K stories. He's also still writing comics (often with Andy Lanning,) such as Marvel's current Nova series and other Annihilation tie-ins (dealing with intergalactic war, funnily enough...).

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Come check out my Flickr account for more pics of my collection and additional shots from my JoeDios photoshoots. Includes my "Class Reunion" and "Foes Of The Joes" sets, exclusive to Flickr!

Last updated 2/5/10.