Work : Comics :
G.I. Joe was a big favorite of mine—second favorite cartoon, favorite comic, and favorite toy, so it was natural that I would sooner or later cross it with my interest in drawing. The problem was I couldn’t write stories, G.I. Joe characters and costumes were (and are) difficult to draw, and I couldn’t draw action. “G.I. Bo(Zo)” was the direct precursor to “X-Guys” in that it was a colored pencil satire with an audience of one. I showed it to my brother Kevin, who (in reasonable 15-year old older brother fashion) gave only the most nominal of responses. This discouragement was part of the reason why I didn’t continue the story, and serves as a nice contrast to the unflagging dedication friend Nick Nadel showed to “X-Guys,” my subsequent comics parody.