Around 2013 and 2014, IDW Publishing reprinted the original Marvel G.I. Joe comics in handsome, oversized hardcovers, a series called The Complete Collection. A limited edition run of these, called “Red Label” (available through your local comic retailer), “Blue Label,” and “Black Label” (available only from a special IDW website) included metaphorical bells and whistles. Only released for the first three volumes of The Complete, these “Label” versions were extremely limited, like quantities of 175 or 25 copies. They featured canvas covers, hand-assembled slipcases, and signature pages signed by the likes of Larry Hama, Herb Trimpe, and Russ Heath. Here are the Red Label editions:
(The “001,” “002,” and such on that top green book refers to Volume 1 reprinting issues #1 – 12.)
Additionally, that trio of artists contributed new work to the most limited of these books. As a Leaky Suit Brigade post from 2014 reminds me, for volume 3 in particular, the Black Label books included a Hama sketch, while the Blue Label ones arrived with a sketch by Hama with colors from an IDW inker. While Trimpe and Heath had drawn character shots, Hama specifically recreated splash pages from the Marvel G.I. Joe run. That is, he redrew the page one/title page of dozens of Joe comics. Here’s a rejected sketch — not the artwork that was included with any IDW book — for one of them:
Eagle-eye readers will recognize this scene as the opening to issue #14, cover dated August 1983. And for comparison, here’s the printed version, which Hama did describe in his original plot, but of course did not draw:
Hama rearranges the characters and creates different blocking with Dr. Venom’s arms stretched upward. The additional “camera” depth and more claustrophobic blocking attempt to heighten the tension, but with less of a lean to the flooding bunker and a diminished tension in Snake Eyes’ pose, I have to admit I like the Mike Vosburg/Jon D’Agostino original more. But this comparison is for naught! As I recall, Hama wasn’t satisfied with his ’13 take, and tried again before turning in a final to IDW. For all I know, he came up with something quite different. I have not seen it and can’t present it in this blog post, so weighing the images above is a tad unfair to Hama. But I still enjoy comparing any two takes on the same scene. Of course, Hama is juggling fewer factors, as he doesn’t have to leave open space for title, credits, narration, or dialogue.
If you’re that one person with the Black or Blue Label HC that riffed on issue #14 and you still have Hama’s actual, final sketch, do get in touch!
A Real American Book! 