G.I. Joe and the Transformers [Comics]

When it comes to pop culture, my first love was G.I. Joe. Not only did I turn my closet into G.I. Joe headquarters (complete with string-and-box elevator) and quit the Boy Scouts because it conflicted with my afternoon G.I. Joe cartoons, my first ever comic book--the one that started a (so far) lifelong obsession--was an issue of G.I. Joe (# 51, to be exact).

The 1987 four issue G.I. Joe and the Transformers limited series was thus a natural purchase for me as a kid. Unfortunately, the third and fourth issues managed to elude me for over 20 years!

The series throws everybody into the mix: the Joes, Cobra (both Cobra Commander's and Serpentor's factions), the Decepticons, and the Autobots. It all has to do with "Power Station Alpha", a massive mobile power station designed by the U.S. government. The Joes, of course, are supposed to protect it, but Cobra and the Decepticons have other plans and form a limited partnership to steal it. The Decepticons predictably betray Cobra, and then use Power Station Alpha to start a series of global catastrophes. This leads to a fun, if crowded, fourth issue which sees Cobra, the Joes, and the Autobots all teaming up in a massive invasion of the Decepticons' base. Like I said, it's busy with so many characters, but the writers actually work hard to keep the book in continuity with the main G.I. Joe and Transformers title, footnoting all sorts of stuff (a practice I miss!). With everything going on, the writers probably should've ditched a subplot featuring General Hawk's romantic liason with a Senator, and that of a little boy whose brain gets taken over by a Decepticon device.

Anyway, I don't think it was probably worth a 23 year wait to read the whole series, but if you're nostalgic for either the Joes or the Transformers, it's a fun little crossover.