G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #22
“Like Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust…”
Writer: Larry Hama
Breakdowns: Larry Hama
Finishes: Mike Vosburg
Summary
The Joes are repairing a big hole in the ground where the Motor Pool used to be, as the Chaplains Assistants return (the rest of Ft. Wadsworth looks untouched, though). Gung Ho uses his Superhuman Cajun Powers and pounds a beam into place with his bare fists. Wild Bill flies Snake-Eyes to the tip of Long Island, where they give Kwinn’s body a proper eskimo funeral. The next day, the Joes all don their dress fatigues and travel to Arlington for General Flagg’s ceremony. The new Cobra Rattler/Tanksmasher plane makes it first appearance and begins a bombing run on the procession. Suddenly, new Joes Duke and Roadblock appear and blast the Rattler out of the sky (the “Sgt. Granite of Difficult Company” trick).
Over in Switzerland, Major Bludd takes the heavily bandaged Baroness to renowned plastic surgeon Dr. Hundtkindler. In New York’s Potter’s Field, Dr. Venom’s wooden casket is tossed into the ground with a bunch of John Does and bums.
Notes:
- To counteract one of the Rules of Comics, “if you don’t see the body, he ain’t dead”, we’re shown the lifeless corpses of Kwinn, Gen. Flagg and Dr. Venom to let us know that they’re DEAD dead. Good housecleaning issue.
- Snow Job appears with white hair and beard, not his usual red.
- The repair scenes in the Pit are played for laughs, with Short-Fuse telling an awful joke, Tripwire prat-falling and Snow Job trying to hit on Cover Girl. Funny stuff and part of the “frat-house” banter of the team that would slowly be going away.
- Possibly left over from his duties as default hyrdaulic lift operator, Zap is in control of the cargo cables going down into the Pit.
- Hawk shows off a schematic of the new and improved Pit. It would take a year’s worth of issues until it was officially re-opened and operational.
- The old Pit was supposed to survive a direct hit from a nuke. At least the bottom three levels. Makes you wonder how powerful that Cobra sabotuer’s bomb was, huh?
- Cobra Commander is seen with his favorite hobby again: target shooting G.I. Joe placards. But he’s using a more conventional pistol in this issue. He also mentions that last issue’s castle was Destro’s private retreat.
- The Joes all appear in Army dress greens, except for Torpedo who’s decked out in Navy sailor fatiques.
- Gung-Ho appears to be wearing Marine dress blues but, in an apparent coloring error, he’s green.
- Three Joes (Hawk and two others) are wearing “General hats”. Steeler might be one of them. I’d have to check my file cards for ranks to see who the other could be (maybe Ace?). Wild Bill was apparently allowed to wear his cowboy hat.
Stalker and Snake-Eyes are wearing berets, while everyone else is wearing those little “fast food clerk” hats.
- Roadblock and Duke would pretty much operate as a tag-team for the next year or so. Possibly the only role for Duke that I could stomach.
- The Rattler pilot is a generic Cobra guy, but he’s wearing the “Cobra Airborne” logo from issue 14.
- Hama did the breakdowns on the last two issues and they’re night and day. Last issue looked great, but this issue looks like Vosburg’s usual 1970-ish crap.
- In the letters page, it’s announced that Mutt and Junkyard will be debuting in issue 25. Strangely enough, a fan wrote in asking for a Joe with a dog.
- Since the Baroness figure would debut in 1984, she officially moves out of the “comic-only” character list with this issue. For a few years, she would have the distinction of being the only comic character to make the jump to the toys.
Appearances:
Characters (with figures): Entire Joe team up to 1983. Duke, Roadblock, Destro, Cobra Commander, Baroness, Major Bludd
Characters (no action figures, or “comic-only” characters): Kwinn, Dr. Venom, General Flagg (all in boxes or bundled up)
Vehicles and stuff (toys): VAMP, APC, Dragonfly, Cobra Rattler
Vehicles and stuff (not toys): none
Firsties:
Characters: Duke, Roadblock
Vehicles: Cobra Rattler
Rating: 3 Flag Points
