G.I. Joe’s Silent Interlude Gets a 30th Anniversary Hardcover Reissue, Writer Hama Speaks

Featuring Snake Eyes in a totally silent issue (no word balloons or sound effects), the issue is frequently cited as one of the best and most influential single issues of a mainstream comic book ever published.

It also, apparently, came to pass as the result of an editorial problem that gave the team significantly less time than normal to complete the issue — writer Larry Hama responded by realizing that a silent issue would prevent the need to have the comic lettered, cutting time out of production.

“They needed the issue done in three weeks. Not having any lettering cut a week off the schedule,” Hama told Comic Book Resources. “Three weeks was less than half the time usually allotted. I forgot how the thing happened, but we needed an issue right away. I told Denny [O’Neil, the book’s editor] if I wrote and drew at the same time we could cut out a lot of time. And then I had the idea to do a silent issue and eliminate the week it would take to get it lettered.”

The hardcover collection will contain not only a reprint of G.I. Joe #21 – remastered from the original art and recolored to contemporary standards, but an unprecedented glimpse of Larry Hama’s original layouts and Steve Leialoha’s finishes, and a look behind the scenes of the comic’s creation – and at its enduring legacy. The edition also features an all-new commentary by Hama. It will be available on July 1.