Andy Kubert | OiNK Blog

(This post was due yesterday but Storm Éowyn had other
ideas and knocked out my electricity and internet!)

In May 2024 I told you all about a fantastic new Kickstarter project from Skybound Entertainment and Image Comics. With the rights to produce G.I. Joe (and Transformers) comics now in their more than capable hands they were not only carrying on the G.I. Joe A Real American Hero comic from #301 onwards, still written by Larry Hama no less, they’d also be reprinting ALL of the original Marvel run in what promised to be a quite awesome compendium box set.

You can check out the blog post from last year to read about how I became a fan of the comics, about my pledge and the Kickstarter campaign itself. It went on to break all records to become the most funded comics Kickstarter ever, raising over $3.7million (almost £3million). It was a thrill to be a part of that! They promised they’d start delivering the sets to American customers in December and the rest of the world in “early 2025”, so I naturally assumed anytime up until the spring.

You can imagine my surprise when I received word on New Year’s Eve that mine had arrived in the UK, and how ecstatic I was when I got a knock on my door and was handed a (very) heavy parcel on 3rd January! After the awful year 2024 had been it was like 2025 was telling me things were going to be okay after all. In this post I’m going to show you all of the cool things that came in that parcel so be prepared to feel jealous. (I can’t even say I’m sorry about that, it’s just that awesome.)

The box itself is huge and has a lovely glossy finish, with artwork on either side drawn by Andy Kubert (Batman, X-Men, Thor) and coloured by Brad Anderson (Action Comics, Batman Three Jokers, Ghost Machine). The gatefold lid opens up to reveal the huge spines of four hardback volumes inside. I mean, I knew these were going to be big but it still surprised me just how huge they were when I first opened it.

Reading about their design and seeing mock ups of them on Kickstarter never prepared me for how gorgeous they’d look and feel in real life. I love how they’re embossed and that the star on the front and spine matches each volume’s fancy gilded-edged pages. Aren’t they glorious? At over 620 pages each there’s plenty to get stuck into as well. In fact, inside the four tomes are 155 issues of the original comic, three Yearbooks, 28 issues of Special Missions, four issues of the Transformers crossover, four issues of Order of Battle and one G.I. Joe Special.

In total that’s 195 issues! So even though I spent £235 on this and that may sound like a lot (it was), it’s really only £1.20 per issue, which in itself is a bargain considering how much they can go for on eBay, never mind the fact they’re wrapped up in such high quality presentation! While I’d have preferred the original dotted colouring just for that extra retro feel, the strips do look lovely. It’s a sympathetic updating, each colour and tone replicated perfectly as solid blocks of colour. There’s no gaudy updating or errors and the linework remains crystal clear and detailed, unlike some collections I’ve had in the past (I’m looking at you, Batman: The Golden Age).

Also included inside the books are lots of extras I never saw in the few IDW collections I had, such as profiles and even extra stories. Oh, and the option I went for includes a bookplate signed by Larry himself. On top of all that reading there are also physical copies of the Special, #21 (the famous silent issue) and the first Yearbook, the latter of which isn’t in the hardbacks because it was all reprint material.

But that isn’t all. As the Kickstarter rocketed past stretch goals a whole bunch of extras were added, all of which are included here. There’s a pack of G.I. Joe trading cards, then nine more cards exclusive to this set, an additional exclusive Storm Shadow card, a double-sided bookmark, a sticker, pin badge, patch, prints and four posters showing the sides of both the G.I. Joe set and the red Cobra set that was also available.

Phew!

Having a flick through the first book I think I’ll be reading new stories for me by the end of that volume alone! I’d previously read some in the pages of Transformers and tried collecting the earlier stories when IDW had the licence but I failed miserably (more on that here), so to finally have the full set and be able to read the whole story in order for the first time is incredibly exciting.

I’ve begun collecting Skybound/Images continuation but they’ll be sitting on the shelf for now. With the phenomenal success of this set (originally they only aimed to raise $50,000) I’m hoping for a similar box for IDW’s 145 issues and specials to bring me fully up to date before I begin reading the new stories. Yes, that means the new monthlies will be on my shelf for a while but I’m used to collecting comics and waiting a long time to read them with this blog. Besides, this set is going to take a minute to get through and if they do a second set it’ll be worth the wait to avoid spoilers.

Okay, I’m off to make a massive pot of coffee, cut several slices of Christmas cake, put on some appropriate background music (I’m thinking James Horner’s Aliens and Steve Jablonsky’s Transformers scores) and I might even slip into my comedy shark onesie a friend got me for Christmas and get stuck into this. You might hear back from me by the summer…