He was after my time as a Marvel reader so I don't know anything apart from bits and pieces of info I've picked up online. I wasn't impressed by the quote from him that someone posted in the Stan Lee thread but I wouldn't let that stop me from reading one of his comics. Even though I'm not a big war story fan, I might try The Nam sometime, especially since Michael Golden was the artist.

Hama was the second artist to draw Iron Fist, in Marvel Premiere #16-19, which is why I had him sign my Essential Iron Fist when he was tabling at Emerald City years ago. He did a completely credible job, though it's hard to say how much inker Dick Giordano had to do with its polish. That aside, I only know him as an editor.

Cei-U!
I summon the pleasant fella!

Sold! Actually, I thnk I have some of the back issues already, bought on your recommendation a few years ago.

Well, I've been singing his praises; but, he was hardly someone who was a superstar, beyond GI JOE toy fandom. In comics, he was a bit more unsung; but, I think he had notable accomplishments and was a good utility player. He was best as an editor; but, he was a fairly solid and reliable writer and similar as an artist, but better than some of the regular artists working during the Shooter and DeFalco years, who weren't top tier stars.

Back in the day, I read about the first 8 or 9 issues of GI JOE and no more. It was okay, but not up there with Sgt Rock, Willy Schultz or Enemy Ace. It was there to sell toys and the characters were kind of cardboard, the art nondescript but functional and the stories reasonably well done. However, it wasn't realistic enough for me, as somone who read a lot of military history, watched a lot of war movies and read war comics, and had gotten a Navy ROTC scholarship to go to college. So, Hama wasn't a name that made me grab a comic.

In my collecting days, I picked up most of Atlas/Seaboard's line and he did some work there (Planet of the Vampires, I think, though don't quote me) and I had seen at least one Iron Fist that he drew.

Flash forward to later years and I actually read some of the material he shepherded, as an editor and they were either really good, or a good attempt. I discovered A sailor's Story, in college and it was one of the best depictions I saw of Navy life, in any medium. It was Sam Glanzman; but, Hama got him working at Marvel, on Savage Tales, which led to doing the graphic novel, based on his USS Stevens stories, which were semi-autobiographical. He also edited The 'Nam, though it was a long while before I read any of that.

I started doing the GI JOE reviews, as a lark, after some discussion about the toys and looking at some other stuff. Nothing about Hama, specifically, drew me to it, other than the knowledge that he was the main writer and helped develop the back stories for the toy characters. However, in reading the series, it's actually really entertaining and I am surprised by that, as I figured my interest would wane, after I got through the issues I owned. It's far from perfect and some issue are better than others and I like to poke fun at the fantasy world aspect of it; but, even then I have to admit there is a level of craft in the writing and Hama has a nice mix of authentic military and fantasy military heroes. It was perfect for the Reagan 80s and the stories hold up pretty well. I also discovered that he was slowly developing some of the characters, though not all of them, as many were treated as background characters (when does Grunt get his own story, hunh?). Still, he has real story arcs going, real emotions on display, plenty of humor at the center and edges, depending on the story, and a good eye for a decent action plot. I just finished a story that is entirely set in the air, in a dogfight, raging over a city, between two excellent pilots. It isn't quite Aces High or Enemy Ace; but it can fly with something like Top Gun....minus the sex.

The issues where Hama contributes art, especially with Steve Leialoha doing the inking, are really a cut above and that silent issue really works well. It had me wishing he was the regular artist.

Savage Tales was actually a really good anthology of adventure stories, mixing different genres and Hama got a lot of really good people, writers and artists, involved. That led to The Nam, which, especially for Marvel, was really well done (especially the first year, but even later, with Wayne Vansant doing more traditional illustration).

Hama was one of those guys who could do just about anything in comics and do it well, but not at the superstar flashy level. He was more of a good solid team player, who suited up and did his job and let others take the spotlight. He is one of the people at marvel who has defended Shooter, in interviews, which puts him in pretty select company. He also worked at DC, prior to Marvel, was an assistant to Wally Wood (with Ralph Reese) was a Crusty Bunker and, yeah, is in MASH. He also has studied martial arts for years and could probably hurt you, if he was in a mood, but has no need to prove anything. I kind of think that was why he wasn't a superstar in comics, as he didn't seem to need to prove anything. He did his job, did it at a dependable level of quality and did it for a while. Guys like him are the backbone of a successful company or team.

He's also a musician!

I think the "fuss" the people have referred to here and why Hama has been the topic of conversation in some circles revolves around the relaunch of the G.I. Joe books at Image. When it was announced that the books were leaving IDW and going to Image, there was some uproar in the Joe community (something I only know about and hear things from because one of my circle of con friends who owns the vintage toy store here in town built his business selling G.I. Joe toys and is a presence at a lot of the Joe focused conventions in our region and there's almost as many Joe cons as there are comic cons in this region) because they were afraid Hama's run on the comic would come to an end and they were pretty vocal about their desire to see it continue and that many wouldn't jump on to the Image launch if Hama was not a part of it. This was followed by their celebration of the announcement Hama would be a part of it. For the Joe community, Hama is the iconic creator responsible for their beloved characters, similar to how many more casual comic fans view Stan Lee and the Marvel stuff. Outside the Joe community, this thread pretty much summarizes how Hama is viewed, but within the hardcore Joe community that perception is very different.

-M