Operation Star Fight (1987 Storybook)
GI Joe not only dominated the boys toys aisle in the early 80s, but also assaulted all fronts of the market with a barrage of ancillary merchandise meant to raise the visibility of the brand. Much like the pioneering Star Wars sales juggernaut, the GI Joe characters were plastered on everything from puzzles to plates to bedroom decor. Books were a low price point alternative, and in an age before portable entertainment on demand, were one of the only ways to take the adventures of GI Joe on the go. Since a coloring book has already made its way to the blog, I thought I’d dig up another type of book–a storybook published by Marvel Books. It’s less interactive, but no less fun. It’s also more intense action than you may remember more from the comics than the animated series.
The art in this book is nothing short of wonderful. It’s fully painted throughout by the amazing Earl Norem. Mr. Norem worked on many of the brands that kids of the 80s remember, from Marvel Comics to Masters of the Universe to the Transformers. His work has great dimensionality and he always lights his figures dramatically. Sure, the paintings in this book are over the top, but that’s the point. His compositions are always full of action, and with this particular storybook, the captions are hardly necessary, as Norem is a master of conveying an entire scene of action with just one panel.
The paintings in this book may be rendered a bit looser than some of Norem’s work for the Masters of the Universe and Conan properties, but I think the style fits this more battle hardened GI Joe world well. That’s right, there’s quite a bit of actual combat going on in the book, with several Cobra troopers taking what look to be lethal hits. Troopers get clocked with rifles, and Roadblock even tosses one out of the rocket, presumably hundreds of feet to his death–no parachuting to safety here. Pretty intense stuff for a kids’ book. It’s all actually really awesome, and Norem’s background in mens’ adventure magazine art served the book well. But don’t just take my word for it, see and read it for yourself.
Beautiful art! Terrible proofing! I spotted typos on pages 5 and 6 and I’m reading on a tiny iPhone screen.
I like how the US Army showed up to even the odds.
Thanks for posting!
The typos are actually mine. The original pages have text on the left side, and I attempted to transribe. Guess I was a bit hasty in getting this one up. My bad.
Oops! Didn’t mean to call you out. You work way to hard on this stuff for me to give you flak! Keep up the great work!
That’s cool, I never knew it existed.
On page 13 Airtight looks as though he’s bashing that blueshirts face in
That artwork is stunning. Without the text you would think it belonged to something for a far older audiance
I used to have a Gobots picture book when i was young. During the battle, a generic Renegade got shot in the face
@Carson@3djoes
I spotted them too
For what its worth [regaruding typos in kids books] one of my freinds showed me an old Transformers stroybook he had since he was an infant. In it, Devastator and Swoop have their names switched
Very cool, Rob. That art is really impressive and I appreciate your willingness to scan all the pages in. Definitely a bit of cartoon influence, but also clearly influenced by the more mature stories in the comic too.
Thanks for scanning the pages, Rob. There’s a companion storybook in this series called Operation Raging River which also features Earl Norem’s work. In addition, Earl did the covers for two smaller storybooks (Operation:Disappearance and The Spy Eye) along with a reprint volume of issues #3, 6, and 7 of the comic, titled The Trojan Gambit. All three were published by Marvel Books.
The thing about Earl’s art is that he could provide a gritty atmosphere while still delivering a style which suited children’s books. Just look at the contrast between Mainframe and Airtight getting nicked or the Cobras apparently dying with that kid-friendly group shot at the end, smiling faces on everybody. Earl’s background in illustrating men’s adventure mags gives the art a nice, “pulp” feel while still delivering quality family material. Wish we had more guys like him nowadays, although there are guys like Dave Dorman which come close to matching Earl’s stuff.
Stunning. Absolutely a piece I must track down for my personal collection.Thanks for the scans,page 8 is already my new desktop wallpaper as soon as I seen it. This book puts the nostalgia factor for me into overdrive.
Oh, man, this is AWESOME! Was it cost-cutting that diminished spectacular art like this involved in Joe? These guys look intense! I’m not sure how they got Cobra Commander’s helmet off without blowing the whole station up, but hey, it’s just a book, right?
Man, that has some outright beautiful artwork for the time.
Excellent artwork!
Awesome artwork, some of the scenes have the feel of old trading cards (Mars Attacks without the gore). Interesting, the use of 1982 Hawk, Cobra Commander and Cobra Troopers (as Vipers) with 1986 characters, including Roadblock’s updated look. Mainframe’s inclusion seems random, his primary skills go unused, and arguably the same goes for Airtight and Low-Light.
Thanks for sharing these images with us.
It’s not the same for Low-Light, it’s even worse. The narration never even mentions him, and says there’s four GI Joe members, when Low-Light makes it five.
Of course, it may say something for him as a sniper if not even the omniscient narrator knows he’s there.
Dude, that is amazingly awesome. Thanks for scanning and sharing those pictures! The art is fantastic!
Interesting choice to use the red-masked troopers. Very weird that the 1986 Hawk wasn’t used. I wonder if the artist started work on this while the 1986 line was being developed and reference art for the new Hawk wasn’t available yet? Or if it was just a colossal miscommunication. It’d be cool to see what white-haloed Cobra symbol used on some figures.
I own the original paintings for Star fight and raging river..I would like to post them if I may? thanks. Ray/RI