Sea Dual
- brahamfiction
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Got myself a birthday present. Issue 47 of Marvel’s GI Joe A Real American Hero (ARAH), slabbed and graded at 9.8. Possibly the highest grade available, at least from what I saw on eBay. It is, without question, one of my favorite covers from the entire 155 issue run. Fortunately, for my wallet, issue 47 is not a key issue and the near mint copy was not expensive.
According to a Google search, "key issues" are individual comic books considered more valuable or collectible than others due to historical significance, character first appearances, origins, iconic covers, or major storyline events. Not that I wanted to pay more, but I propose that issue 47 is a key issue. With the first appearance of Wet-Suit and Beach Head, as it reads on the Certified Collectibles Group (CGC) slab, as well as the first appearance of the GI Joe Devil Fish and Cobra Hydro Sled and the death of Storm Shadow, I believe it qualifies. Multiple first appearances and a major storyline event...and as far as iconic covers, just look at it.
With waves splashing, explosions, gunfire and grit, the cover of issue 47, by artist Mike Zeck, is pure adrenaline. Attacked from multiple directions, the Joes charge full-speed toward danger. Beach Head scowls as he pilots the new, fast-attack vessel at top speed. Wet-Suit, bravely prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for his country, gnashes his teeth as he returns fire. Drawn with his mouth open and fist raised, you can virtually hear General Hawk shouting “Yo Joe!”
Most GI Joe collectors have their favorite wave of action figures. Mine is the 1984 line, that included Baroness, Blowtorch, Duke, Firefly, Scrap Iron, Storm Shadow and more. I feel that the line had moved away from the military dress codes and muted colors of the first two years, and the sculpting on the action figures had significantly improved by the third wave. My second favorite is the 1986 line, that included the Battle Android Trooper (B.A.T.), Beach Head, Dr. Mindbender, General Hawk version 2, Low Light, Sci-Fi, Serpentor, the Cobra Vipers, Wet-Suit and more. Known as the “weird year” GI Joe had fully embraced the futuristic fantasy of robots, mad scientists and genetic clones. The cover of issue 47 ushered in this new line of characters in blazing, action-packed fashion.
Known as “The Silent Issue”, issue 21 of Marvel’s GI Joe ARAH is a rather expensive key issue, for its complete lack of dialog and the first appearance of the Cobra ninja, Storm Shadow. Issue 47 should definitely be considered a key issue for his death. In the lead up to issue 47, Storm Shadow and GI Joe commando, Snake Eyes have set aside their differences to track down Zartan and avenge the murder of the Hard Master, Storm Shadow’s uncle and the leader of the Arishikage ninja clan that the two are members of. For this, and other, perceived betrayals Baroness fires three bullets into Storm Shadow’s chest. He drops dead on the beach of the recently formed Cobra Island.
I don’t want to spoil a 40-year old comic book, but Storm Shadow is resurrected a few months later in issue 50. Perhaps that is what nullifies the significance of his death and the reason issue 47 is not considered a key issue. After all, new characters, vehicles and/or playsets were introduced in nearly every issue of Marvel’s GI Joe ARAH in an effort to sell toys.
Side note: Due to government restrictions in the 1980s there was a limit to how many seconds of animation that could be used in toy commercials. To circumvent this, Hasbro and Marvel made action-packed, animated commercials to advertise the comic book.
Comments