H is for Hama

"The man is a total mystery, but he's real good at his job, heck, he's the best."

Mr. Larry Hama, that is.

Marvel Comics' G.I. Joe was the first comic book I ever collected.  I had already been playing with my brother's 12" G.I. Joes and my own Eagle-Eye G.I. Joe well before the Real American Hero toys launched.  And of course, they supplanted even Star Wars as my favorite toys.

So when I walked into the local Convenient Store at the end of our neighborhood and saw G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero # 7 on the racks, my world changed completely.

Soon, I found Book World (as it was then known) and completed my run and began reading more and more series each month.  And it was all due to Larry Hama, the writer of G.I. Joe for taking a "kid's comic" and not writing down to us.

I still remember #21, Silent Interlude, that had no dialogue, but Mr. Hama drew himself.  It's not a book that get's included in the seminal works from Marvel in '80's, but it should be.

Larry is a big reason that I shopped at and now work at Comic Book World (it changed names around 1986), that I read comics, and honestly his pacing of a story has a huge impact on how I Game Master.

Thank you, Larry.  Yo Joe!