Larry Hama

Larry Hama and friends

Larry Hama is an American Comic Book writer, artist, and editor. He originally studied art at Manhattan's High School of Art and Design, and sold his first comics work at the age of 16. After high school, Hama took a job drawing shoes for catalogs, then served in the Vietnam War with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, where he became a firearms and explosive ordinance expert. Afterward, he worked with Wally Wood, Neal Adams, and Alan Weiss as a penciler and inker, then later migrated to become an editor and writer for DC Comics and Marvel Comics.

He is best known for his work on G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, where he holds the distinction of being the longest-serving writer of the series, along with creating the numerous character profiles for the Joe toys. His other major claim to fame is Wolverine, which he wrote for eight years. Other works created by Larry Hama include Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja and Bucky O Hare and The Toad Wars.

Larry Hama is also an actor and musician; he has appeared in minor roles on television, and was a guitarist for the band K-Otics.

Works created by Larry Hama include:

• G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
• Marvel Premiere: Iron Fist (penciller)
• Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja
• Bucky O Hare and The Toad Wars
• Peter Porker: The Spectacular Spider-Ham (editor)
• Daredevil
• Wolverine
• Batman
• The 'Nam (editor)
• Moon Knight (penciller)
• COPS (character profiles)
• Generation X
• Barack The Barbarian

Larry Hama provides examples of the following tropes:

• Action Girl: Hama's women are almost always strong and independent. His portrayal of female Joes in G.I. Joe helped the comic attract a large female readership.
• Author Appeal: Military warfare and Asian culture appear regularly in his works.
• Battle Couple: Snake-Eyes and Scarlett, Destro and The Baroness, John Doe and Colonel Novikova.
• Combat Pragmatist
• Creator Cameo: The head sculpt for the G.I. Joe action figure "Tunnel Rat" is based on Hama. This was done by the toy developers as a tribute.
• Deuteragonist: Destro being the most famous example.
• Dirty Communists: Always averted.
• Even Evil Has Standards
• Evil Versus Evil
• From Nobody to Nightmare: A recurring theme; Cobra Commander was originally a used-car salesman, and Alfie O'Megan started off as an orphan.
• Glorious Mother Russia: Often played for laughs, especially with the KGB Swallows from Nth Man and the Oktober Guard from G.I. Joe.
• Punny Name: Often done with civilian names, such as an Arctic trooper named Farley Seward or a Hovercraft pilot named Skip A. Stone.
• Ninja
• Noble Savage
• Not So Harmless
• Obligatory War Crime Scene
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right: Often done by both heroes and villains.
• Shown Their Work: Most evident whenever Hama's stories feature military hardware, tactics, and strategy, as he does not hesitate to use accurate jargon and details that may will fly over the readers' heads. Many issues include a glossary to help readers understand the terms used.
• Supernatural Martial Arts
• War Is Hell
• Warrior Poet
• Worthy Opponent