Larry Hama is an American comic book writer, artist, actor and musician who has worked in the fields of entertainment and publishing since the 1960s. During the 1970s, he was seen in minor roles on the TV shows M*A*S*H and Saturday Night Live, and appeared on Broadway in two roles in the original 1976 production of Stephen Sondheim's Pacific Overtures.
He is best known to American comic book readers as a writer and editor for Marvel Comics, where he wrote the licensed comic book series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, based on the Hasbro toyline. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.
In December 2007 Hasbro revealed 25th Anniversary comic book figure 2-packs that featured original stories by Hama. These new Hasbro-published issues were designed to take place "in-between the panels" of the classic Marvel series.
From 1986-1993, Hama edited the acclaimed comic book The ’Nam, a gritty Marvel series about the Vietnam War. Additionally, he wrote the 16-issue Marvel series Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja (August 1989-September 1990), concerning the adventures of John Doe, an American ninja and Special Forces commando in an alternate reality in which World War III is sparked after the world’s nuclear weapons stockpiles are all destroyed. Hama also edited a relaunch of Marvel’s black-and-white comics magazine Savage Tales, overseeing its change from sword-and-sorcery to men’s adventure.
Other comics Hama has written include Wolverine, Before the Fantastic Four: Ben Grimm and Logan, and the X-Men brand extension Generation X for Marvel; and Batman stories for DC Comics. He wrote filecards for Hasbro’s line of sci-fi/police action figures, C.O.P.S. ’n’ Crooks and contributed to the relaunch of the G.I. Joe toy line and comic book in 2000.
In 2006, Osprey Publishing announced that Hama would write its “Osprey Graphic History” series of comic books about historical battles, including the titles The Bloodiest Day—Battle of Antietam and Surprise Attack—Battle of Shiloh (both with artist Scott Moore) and Island of Terror—Battle of Iwo Jima (with Anthony Williams). That same year, Hama returned to his signature characters with the Devils Due Publishing miniseries G.I. Joe Declassified, which chronicled the recruitment of the squad’s first members by General Hawk. In 2007, the company added the spin-off series Storm Shadow, written by Hama and penciled by Mark A. Robinson.
Larry Hama
