GI Joe #1

Dark Horse Comics brought America's elite special-ops team back to comics in 1996 with this first issue, kicking off the "Red Scream" story arc. The cover by Paul Rivoche crackles with tension — a grim-jawed soldier in green thrusts a weapon forward while a skull-emblazoned Cobra Commander looms menacingly to his left, all set against a roiling wall of fire and smoke. With the tagline "Extreme times call for extreme heroes," this opener sets a propulsive, high-stakes tone for the series.