Big Lick Comic Con

 

On May 14, 2022, I loaded up my backpack, and headed off to the Dulles Expo Center to be part of the scene that was, Big Lick Comic Con. Unfortunately, I also made an error in my time of arrival.

Weekend ticket holders had the ability to get into the show an hour early, and somehow, I got it in my mind that it was 9:00 AM that doors opened for early access. This turned out to not be correct. Doors actually opened at 11:00 AM for general admission, and early access was at 10:00 AM. This meant I was two hours early for the show. While I was first in line, I was also out in the drizzle of rain for two hours.

When the doors opened, I immediately made a right turn upon entering, and made a "B" line for what I had come for. But more on that after a quick tour of the show. I didn't honestly take as many photos as I could have. I focused my shots on wall racks, and even then the pictures I got didn't even scratch the surface of what was there.

While I had a small list of books I was looking for, my main goal for the show was to get some autographs.

First stop for me, without question, was the drill instructor of the Joes. You know who I'm talking about.

The Sarge not only hooked me up with three autographs, but also put me in a Cobra Clutch for a series of photos.

In addition to the poster, I also got a few other items autographed. However, since I got more than his signature on these things, I'll share them further below.

My next stop was to the savior of the universe, Flash Gordon, Mr. Sam Jones.

Not only was I super excited to meet him, but so to was my girl's son. He of course was excited to meet the guy from Ted 2...pfft...kids.

Sam was incredibly nice.He talked with everyone who wanted an autograph at length, and even prayed with my girl's son, who is going through a bit of a rough patch. We must has spent thirty minutes with him talking and getting a ton of autographs. Between the two of us we got about eight things. I even picked up something for George of G.I. Jigsaw. The photos below are just the stuff I got for myself.

From there, it was all the way to the back of the convention hall to meet the father of 80's G.I. Joe.

Seriously, I may as well have just signed my paycheck over to Larry Hama with how much stuff I got signed.

This book was intended to be a convention exclusive for a different show, but ended up being brought to Big Lick. It's a variant cover edition of issue 289, and features a cover by Hama. The book is apparently limited to 1,200 copies. I got three, and also opted to have them signed.

I then got two 11 X 17 prints which were signed in advance by artist, Michael Zeck. I opted to have Larry Hama sign these as well.

I then went for broke, having Larry sign my first prints of G.I. Joe number one and twenty-one. I stopped at Michaels on the way home and picked up all the frames that you see all the photos displayed in. I had an extra one left over that worked perfectly for the two books.

Then there were a couple more items thrown on the pile, and these I got signed by both Larry Hama and Sgt. Slaughter.

Yeah, buddy! I got my G.I. Joe The Movie and complete first series signed. For as much as I love having the above comics signed, THIS is what I came to Big Lick to get autographed. Well, that and my Flash Gordon soundtrack.

The last table I stopped at for autographs was one I was tossing back and forth in my mind since buying my tickets.

Jim Shooter is a legend of Marvel Comics (and more), yet I didn't honestly know if I had anything that was, well, worth getting signed. At the last minute this morning, I grabbed my entire run of Secret Wars and Secret Wars II, telling myself that if I did get anything signed out of the pile of twenty (plus) books, that I would figure out which ones those would be later.

I was really surprised to find that in general the autograph lines were non-existent at Big Lick. Well, except for Sam Jones who always seemed to be at least ten people deep at any given time. This was no different for Mr. Shooter, who only had one person there getting a few comics autographed.

The driving force behind getting any books signed was going to come down to price, and as I stepped up to his table, I asked very politely, "Could I ask if you had the time to sign my entire run of Secret Wars, how much would that cost?" Mr. Shooter responded, "Yeah, sure. I'll sign those for you, and there is no charge."

What?!?!?!! Well, if that's the case, then yes please, and thank you!

My collection of number one's feature the original error printing, the fixed printing, and formal second printing. What was really awesome was that he knew what each one was just by looking at the cover, and immediately launched into the story of how the error printing came to be, going into detail on the printing process that led to it's existence.

Jim Shooter was so awesome to meet! He was so kind, and shared so many stories about Marvel, other artists, and more. Say what you will about his "reputation" in the industry, the man was truly nice, and very happy to talk to fans.

I was kicking myself when it dawned on me that I could have brought my Marvel Age issue that had the announcement of Secret Wars, as well as the first appearance of black suit Spider-Man.

With things autographed, it was time to actually walk the floor and see what was out there to be had. I had a small list of McFarlane based comics that I was looking for...and quickly found that I had left this at home.

Working from memory, I ran forward with the only title I remembered the issues from. Incredible Hulk 330 through 346. I really didn't expect this to be as challenging as it was. I thought from the various tables that I could easily put together a run of these books. Boy, was I wrong.

Out of all the tables, only one had the majority that I found, and another had a single issue that the other table didn't. I came up five books short when it was all said and done. Oh well. Next time.

While chatting with Joe, the dealer who helped me dive headlong into my vintage G.I. Joe collection, I had an outburst moment when I looked up from the boxes on the table, saw someone, and shouted, "Hey, it's the guy from YouTube!"

For those of you who don't follow comic book collector's on YouTube, this dude is Long Box Love Affair. I don't know that he's ever shared his real name on his videos, and considering I was asking for his photo randomly, I didn't want to look all the more weirder than I did by imposing a request for his true credentials.

I really hope I didn't make myself look like a dope.

The last item I picked up was one I really didn't need, but figured, my chances of finding one in the wild were pretty slim.

Yes, it's yet another copy of Todd McFarlane's Spider-Man number one, but this one is signed on the polybag.

I think the selling point on this was that the signature was on the polybag itself, which isn't common. The dealer that was selling it ALWAYS over charges, and I definitely paid more than it was worth. But, at that point in the day, I had already more than blown the budget I intended to spend.

Overall, it was a great way to spend the day. We got to meet some celebrities, get autographs, and enjoy something new and exciting.

Though I could have gone back on Sunday to get a few more autographs from Jim Shooter, I opted to instead find other ways to spend my last day of the weekend, which included hanging all the stuff I got on the walls.

I also rebagged and boarded my Incredible Hulk books.

I know that issue 335 isn't a McFarlane issue, but it would have driven my OCD nuts to be missing this issue in consecutive order of 330 through 346. I just need 331, 333, 341, 344, and 346 to complete the run.

And with that, as well as a few other errands and stuff, that wrapped up my weekend.

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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Marvel Comics)

G.I. Joe has been the title of comic strips and comic books in every decade since 1942. As a licensed property by Hasbro, comics were released from 1967 up to this day, with only two interruptions longer than a year (1977-1981, 1997-2000). As a team fighting Cobra since 1982, the comic book history of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero has seen three separate publishers and four main-title series, all of which have been based on the Hasbro toy line of the same name. The first series was produced by Marvel Comics between 1982 and 1994, running for 155 issues and spawning several spin-off titles throughout the course of its run; the second and third series, published by Devil's Due Productions from 2001 to 2008, totaled 80 issues and included several spin-off titles as well. The fourth series is being published by IDW Publishing since October 2008, and various spin-off titles were launched as well. Another series, based on the G.I. Joe Extreme line of toys, was a short-lived run published by Dark Horse Comics in 1995-1996.

Today, we're going to take a look at the Marvel Comics run.

 A Real American Hero (Main series)

Hasbro re-launched their G.I. Joe franchise with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. It was supported by a Marvel Comics series. It was unique at the time in that it was a comic book series that was promoted on television commercials which also supported the toy line. This 155-issue series is considered to be one of the longest-running comic book tie-ins to a toy line. Much of its success is to be credited to Larry Hama, who wrote the entire series save for a few issues with guest writers. Rather than treating the stories as a mere promotion for the toys, Hama wrote the series with seriousness and infused it with doses of realism, humor, and drama. Other than Transformers, no other series was able to duplicate its success. Notable artists include Herb Trimpe, Ron Wagner, Rod Whigham, and Marshall Rogers.

Issue #21 became a fan-favorite, not only because the Cobra ninja Storm Shadow was introduced, but that issue also became a prime example of comics' visual storytelling power, having no dialogue, only pictures.

A number of differences existed between the comic book and the animated TV series. Certain characters who were very prominent in the comic book, such as Stalker, were featured very little in the cartoon, while characters who were less prominent in the comic book, such as Shipwreck, were very prominent in the cartoon series. Another difference was that in the comic book featured a romance between Scarlett and Snake-Eyes, whereas in the cartoon, a romance between Scarlett and Duke was hinted at instead (most likely due to the differences between writing for a comic book audience and writing for an animated series). The most notable difference between the comic and the cartoon, however, is in its handling of combat. While the cartoon showed that nearly every soldier in every battle survived (for example, many shots of different aircraft being shot down were shown to have its pilot escape in a parachute), the comic did not shy away from mass character deaths; for example, issue #109 included the deaths of a large number of Joes, including fan-favorites like Doc, Breaker, and Quick-Kick.

In 2001, with the success of Devil's Due Comics run of G.I. Joe, Marvel Comics collected the first 50 issues in five trade paperbacks, with ten issues in each book. All covers for the trade paperbacks were drawn by J. Scott Campbell. Marvel will not publish the rest of the series, because Hasbro has purchased the rights to the comics. Hasbro has since released reprints of some issues with some of their action figures.

G.I. Joe Yearbooks

The four Yearbooks (1985-1988) collected some previous stories, summarized events, etc. and, aside from the first Yearbook (which re-printed the seminal first issue), published new stories that tied into current events in the main title.

G.I. Joe: Special Missions

The success of the main title led Marvel Comics to produce a secondary title, G.I. Joe: Special Missions which lasted 28 issues, with Herb Trimpe as the artist for nearly the entire run, with Dave Cockrum providing pencils on several issues. Spinning out of issue #50 of a story in the main title, the series featured more intense violence and a more ambiguous morality than the main title, while the enemies were conventional terrorists as well as Cobra itself. The first four issues, as well as the backup story from issue #50 of the main title, were later republished as a trade paperback.

G.I. Joe: Order of Battle

Order of Battle was a four-issue comic series that reprinted the data found on the action figures' file cards with some edits and all-new artwork of G.I. Joe characters by Herb Trimpe. Published in 1987, the first two issues featured G.I. Joe members while the third issue focused on the Cobra Organization, and the fourth featured various vehicles and equipment used by both organizations. The second issue caused some controversy when it erroneously listed Sylvester Stallone's Rocky Balboa character as a member of G.I. Joe. While negotiations had taken place, concerning the character's membership on the team, the deal had fallen through. The third and fourth issues contained a retraction stating that Rocky Balboa was not and had never been a member of G.I. Joe. The trade paperback edition of the series removed mention of the Rocky character entirely.

G.I. Joe Special

Shortly after the final issue (which was released in December 1994), a G.I. Joe Special #1 was released, with alternate art for issue #61 by Todd McFarlane.

G.I. Joe Comic Magazine

The first 37 issues of the main series were republished in the thirteen digests known as G.I. Joe Comic Magazine.

Tales of G.I. Joe

Tales of G.I. Joe reprinted the first fifteen issues of G.I. Joe on a higher quality paper stock than that used for the main comic.

G.I. Joe and the Transformers

A four issue limited series that teamed-up the Joes with the other popular property of the 1980s, Transformers. The Joes and the Autobots must join forces to stop the Decepticons and Cobra from destroying the world. The story suffered from the need to have the events of the limited series reflect the events of the main G.I. Joe and Transformers titles published by Marvel Comics at the time. However, while there were references in the Transformers ongoing series to the events of the limited series, the G.I. Joe ignored it completely, as writer Larry Hama didn't consider it to be canon, though towards the end of the ongoing G.I. Joe series several Transformers characters appeared in the G.I. Joe title as a prequel for the upcoming Transformers: Generation Two comic. The issues made reference to the limited series. A trade paperback later collected all four issues.

That’s a whole lot o' Joes

And there you have it - The Marvel run of G.I. Joe.

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