G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #62

“Transit”

Writer: Larry Hama
Penciler: William Johnson and Arvel Jones

Summary

Back in the US, Outback receives a frosty welcome from the other Joes. Meanwhile, Stalker, Quick Kick and Snow Job are tried before a Borovian court and given 5 consecutive life sentences of “socially corrective hard labor”. They’re all tossed on a prison train and sent to a prison camp. Stalker still has his full capacities and gets several prisoners to maintain their human dignity.

Jinx and Billy leave Denver and head for the Presidio in San Francisco. Raptor trails them and observes the pair entering the Defense Language Center in the Presidio’s army base.

Notes:

• First real appearance of the Pit III. Three quonset huts in the middle of the Utah desert (although we aren’t told until next issue that it’s in Utah). It’s implied that the Joes are all on construction detail, beneath the surface. Crappy job being a Joe.. when you’re not out dodging bullets, you spend a lot of time doing construction. They all spent about a year constructing the Pit II.
• First time we’re shown a famous photograph from 15 years ago. Taken during the glory days of the Arashikage clan, it’s a shot of Snake-Eyes, Storm Shadow, Hard Master, Soft Master, Blind Master, Professor Onihashi, Jinx (age 8) and “Onihashi’s Assistant”– a mysterious fellow whose face is blurred in every known photograph. This photo becomes a key part of the series for the next 6 years or so.
• The blurred guy immediately spawned all sorts of fun theories. My thought was that it was Cobra Commander….or some new ninja who was set to debut in the next year. I was wrong on both accounts.
• Obviously, this sets Jinx’s age at 23.
• Grunt has seen the news of Stalker’s capture on the news. He calls from Georgia Tech, but gets the bad news about no possibility of a rescue mission.
• Leatherneck has a rough confrontation with Outback. In his only two substantial appearances (this issue and SM #4), he’s already developed a reputation for being an ornery hothead.
• Raptor uses his loony catchphrase of “Yes! Yes! Yes!” again. As somebody “commented” on Raptor: he’s probably an homage to the character of Dean Moriarty from Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road”. Dean used that phrase frequently.
• Raptor has a novelty sign on the back of his car. “Caution: Baby Hawks on Board”.
• In another of those wacky Hama conicedences, we’re shown that the Blind Master’s dojo is right across the alley from Fred VII’s garage.
• Funny scene as Jinx and Billy hop into the Blind Master’s car (a GT40 Mark V sportscar).
  Billy: “These your tapes? Beastie Boys, Kill Me and the Thugs?”
  Jinx: “Those are the Blind Master’s. I only listen to Bach and Coltrane”
  Billy: “He drives this thing?”
  Jinx: “Only at night….”

• Spurred by the recent GI Joe/Transformers mini-series, there’s a mild debate in the letters column about other Marvel heroes crossing over into GI Joe.

Appearances:

Characters (figures):Outback, Stalker, Quick Kick, Snow Job, Jinx, Roadblock, Leatherneck, Spirit Iron-Knife, Mutt, Junkyard, Lift-ticket, Grunt, Beachhead, Gung Ho, Crankcase (cameo), Dusty (cameo), Raptor

Characters (“comic-only”): Blind Master, Billy, Fred VII, Borovian Deputy Information Minister Grodsky, Unnamed American TV journalist (blonde hair and NOT Hector Ramirez).

Vehicles and stuff (toys): APC, AWE Striker, Tomahawk

Vehicles and stuff (not toys): Pit III (quonset huts)

Firsties:
Characters: Grodsky

Vehicles and stuff: Pit III

Rating: 3 Flag Points