G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #332 REVIEW: DEEP SIX GOES DEEP AND LARRY HAMA STILL KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT MAKES G.I. JOE WORK

At issue freaking #332, you would forgive a comic for occasionally feeling like it is running on muscle memory. Larry Hama apparently did not get that memo. G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #332 drops the Joes underwater, gives Deep Six a recovery mission that goes sideways immediately, unleashes Cobra Eels and then lets military hardware, tactics and old-school Joe personality do the heavy lifting. No unnecessary reinvention. No apology for what the book is. Just G.I. Joe doing G.I. Joe shit, and when Hama gets that machinery humming it is still ridiculously fun.

The mission begins with Deep Six operating beneath the surface while support crews track the situation above. Naturally, Cobra is not going to let anybody enjoy a peaceful afternoon at sea, and the confrontation keeps expanding from underwater infiltration into aircraft, missiles, divers and competing operations happening across multiple levels of the battlefield. It is exactly the kind of layered military action Hama has been making look easy for decades.

What Hama still does better than most is make military procedure entertaining. Characters talk about equipment, positioning and mission objectives without every conversation turning into Wikipedia wearing a helmet. The details matter because Hama understands these people as professionals. When something fails, the characters adapt. When the battlefield changes, somebody is already thinking about the next move. That competence has always been part of the secret sauce of A Real American Hero.

Pat Olliffe feels completely comfortable inside this sandbox. The underwater work in particular is strong because movement has a different weight beneath the surface, and the layouts communicate where everybody is without turning all that machinery and equipment into visual soup. Then the action moves into the air and Olliffe adjusts the scale beautifully. Aircraft streak across wide panels, weapons fire cuts through compositions, and the book maintains geography even while shit is exploding everywhere.

Francesco Segala’s blues dominate much of the underwater material without flattening the characters into one giant monochromatic blob. Different depths, interiors and environmental conditions remain readable, while Sabrina Del Grosso’s flats give that palette a solid base. Pat Brosseau has a ridiculous amount of technical dialogue, radio chatter and sound effects to manage in several sequences, yet the page never feels like the lettering is trying to choke the artwork to death.

Is this the issue I would hand somebody who has never encountered G.I. Joe before? Maybe not. Hama assumes you can follow military jargon, recognizable characters and existing relationships without stopping the story every two pages for a history lesson. But I actually respect that. This is issue #332. A veteran reader should occasionally be rewarded for knowing who these people are instead of watching every monthly installment pretend it is somebody’s first comic.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #332 is a confident action comic built by people who understand that clarity makes spectacle better. The toys may have started this whole crazy ride decades ago, but Hama has long since proven these characters can support legitimate military adventure storytelling. Deep Six getting the spotlight makes this issue even more fun, and Olliffe delivers exactly the kind of controlled chaos the mission needs. Yo Joe, baby. Still going strong.

CRUSADERS SCORE:
4.5/5

Writer: Larry Hama
Artist: Pat Olliffe
Colorist: Francesco Segala
Flatter: Sabrina Del Grosso
Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Editor: Alex Antone
Assistant Editor: Caitlin Chappell
Publisher: Skybound / Image Comics

On Sale:
9/9/2026