It’s fascinating to realize how an impending deadline unintentionally created an indelible part of comics history. Take a look at how G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 came to life.
As the story goes, in the fall of 1983 Larry Hama’s script for the upcoming G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 went mysteriously missing from the desk of then Marvel Comics editor (and acclaimed writer) Denny O’Neil. Writing in the back page of IDW Publishing’s 40th anniversary facsimile reprint, Hama recalls telling O’Neil that with only a two week turnaround to complete the entire issue, the best course of action was for Hama to both rewrite the story and pencil the breakdown art himself.
Hama’s pragmatism inadvertently created a pop culture sensation for what has become known as the silent issue (officially titled Silent Interlude) starring fan-favorite character Snake-Eyes. Hama plotted the story and provided the rough pencil art for the issue which included no dialogue, sound effects or narration as a time saver (the only printed text in the entire issue is shown on Destro’s monitor screen in two panels).
As a non-speaking character, the enigmatic Snake-Eyes was an ideal choice, and also allowed Hama to introduce ninja mythology into the series. As for the setting, there could only be one: Cobra’s “Silent Castle” in the fictional country of Trans-Carpathia.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 featured several popular mainstays from the Marvel Comics series including Cobra Commander, Destro and Scarlett, while also introducing Tommy Arashikage AKA “Storm Shadow”, who readers would learn was Snake-Eyes’ former army buddy from the Vietnam War and his eventual sword brother (as part of Tommy’s ninja clan).
Hama’s first few pages of Silent Interlude introduce the plot, setting and key players as readers are brought up to speed and taken along on an action-packed rescue mission with only artistic storytelling as a guide. The remarkable effectiveness of sequential art in comics comes to the fore with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21, where readers can draw information from the artwork alone.
Hama’s knack for facial expressions, body language and panel composition captured the various characters’ emotions (even the masked Snake-Eyes). Storm Shadow’s brief but telling exchange with the imprisoned Scarlett is a standout sequence, (even before realizing that the two closest people left in Snake-Eyes’ life were finally introduced to each other, (even though the pair weren’t aware of this fact just yet).
At the conclusion of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21, readers are clued into a unique connection between Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow (the distinct Arashikage Clan arm tattoo) thanks to Hama’s well-placed visual clues. Hama would further explore the Arashikage clan at length, starting in the Snake-Eyes’ origin story in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #26 and #27.
Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow’s fraught but enduring friendship unfolded over the course of many years during Hama’s original Marvel run, revealing secrets and surprises as the series progressed. Snake-Eyes experienced an unthinkable tragedy upon returning home from Vietnam, and his acceptance into Tommy’s clan provided much needed human connection, but unfortunately Tommy grew envious of his sword brother’s success within the clan, which drove a wedge between the pair for years.
The Snake-Eyes/Storm Shadow dynamic was largely ignored in both the 1980s animated series and Hasbro’s toy line (at least at first). When writing the character file card for the first Storm Shadow
action figure in 1984, Hama hinted at the long history of the Arashikage ninja clan, but made no mention of a link to G.I. Joe’s fan-favorite silent hero.
Hama also has a particular knack for finding depth and dimension in even the most absurd characters from the expanded G.I. Joe toy line, but he once admitted that he was glad to not have to deal with the Cobra-La storyline introduced in the 1987 G.I. Joe animated movie and toy line.
In G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 the rescue mission plot is just setup for some cool silent action as Scarlett is no mere damsel in distress, and was easily able to free herself from her underground cell, overpowering first Storm Shadow and later two Cobra guards as she escapes via Storm Shadow’s rocket powered hang glider.
Scarlett’s devotion to Snake-Eyes (there’s a story there too) is depicted by Hama’s art in both her facial expression and in her willingness to shield Snake-Eyes from a thrown sword as the story concludes, but luckily Snake-Eyes returns the favor by catching the sword, and the pair rocket to freedom leaving behind a confused Storm Shadow.
While G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 is widely remembered as Larry Hama’s project, he was ably assisted by acclaimed inker Steve Leialoha (embellishing Hama’s pencils) and colorist George Roussos, adding depth and visual cues (such as showing that the Red Ninjas were indeed red, along with the red Arashikage tattoo). Celebrated artist Ed Hannigan (Spectacular Spider-Man) provided the iconic cover.
In December 1983, responses were mixed after the release of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21, as some readers wondered whether the lack of text was a mistake. Comics writer Chad Bowers (X-Men ’92) recently mused in a 2022 essay that despite some initial confusion, orders for G.I. Joe actually increased after the silent issue hit the stands.
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 also marked a slight shift in tone and direction for the G.I. Joe comic book series, expanding on the darker elements from the ninja mythology as well as the identities of the recon team from Vietnam.
With G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21, Hama and Leialoha’s grittier art style and Hama’s script provided a road map for a more grounded approach (within the comics code) especially for a series based on a popular kid’s toy line. Up to that point, the series’ clean artwork and bright colors reflected the original toy line.
As Hama noted in the 40th anniversary reprint, in the decades since Silent Interlude was first released, he has been asked to autograph countless well-worn, taped-up copies of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 that had been reread over the years. The issue provided both a curiosity and an entry point into the world of G.I. Joe, Marvel and comic books in general.
Editor’s Note: Essays from Chad Bowers and Larry Hama in IDW’s and Skybound/Image’s facsimilie editions of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #21 were used as references in this piece.
