G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #74

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“Alliance of Convenience”

★ 1st appearance — Muskrat

About this Issue

Issue #74, 'Alliance of Convenience,' is the second chapter of the Cobra Civil War — the four-part arc (issues #73–76) that writer Larry Hama himself considered one of the most ambitious storytelling undertakings of the Marvel run, mobilizing nearly every Joe and Cobra character simultaneously on Cobra Island. The arc's central dramatic twist — the U.S. government secretly ordering the Joe team to fight alongside the terrorist Serpentor against the impostor Cobra Commander — was a pointed inversion of the series' moral framework that distinguished the comic from its toy-commercial origins. As the issue in which Destro's Iron Grenadiers land in full force and the three-way conflict between Serpentor, Fred VII (the false Cobra Commander), and Destro reaches its most chaotic pitch, #74 is the narrative engine at the center of what Wikipedia describes as 'a landmark story event that involved nearly every G.I. Joe and Cobra character vying for control of Cobra Island.'

In "Alliance of Convenience," the escalating chaos of the Cobra Island Civil War pulls the G.I. Joes deeper into the fray, thanks to Mindbender’s unpredictable moves. With Destro launching a full-scale invasion and Hawk captured by Fred and the Dreadnoks during a tense airport showdown, the Joes must navigate shifting loyalties—especially with Minh now firmly on their side. Written by Larry Hama and illustrated by Ron Wagner, with inks by Randy Emberlin and colors by Bob Sharen, the issue’s cover by Ron Wagner and Bob McLeod captures the storm brewing on the island.

writer Larry Hama · artist Ron Wagner · inker Randy Emberlin · colorist Bob Sharen · letterer Rick Parker · cover Ron Wagner, Bob McLeod

ComicBooks.com Value

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Raw (NM) $7

CGC 9.8 $72

CGC 9.6 $46*

CGC 9.4 $30*

CGC 9.2 $27*

CGC 9.0 $23*

CGC 8.5 $20*

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History

Larry Hama scripted the issue as part of a continuous creative momentum he maintained throughout the entire Marvel run, working spontaneously page by page and never fully mapping out endings in advance — a process documented in multiple interviews. Ron Wagner provided pencils and Randy Emberlin inked, with Bob Harras serving as editor, a team that kept the arc's enormous cast of characters visually legible across four dense, battle-heavy issues. The Cobra Civil War arc grew organically out of the tension between Serpentor (introduced in issue #49) and the impostor Cobra Commander (Fred VII), a power struggle Hama had been seeding for years without a fixed destination, consistent with his spontaneous writing style.

Trivia · 8 facts

Published August 1988 by Marvel Comics as part of the licensed Hasbro G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero toy property.
Story title: 'Alliance of Convenience.' Written by Larry Hama; penciled by Ron Wagner; inked by Randy Emberlin; edited by Bob Harras.
Issue #74 is the second installment of the four-part Cobra Civil War arc (issues #73–76), one of the longest and most character-dense sustained battle sequences in the series' 155-issue Marvel run.
The plot centers on the Joe team — including the entirety of Battle Force 2000 — being secretly tasked by the U.S. government to support Serpentor's Cobra faction against the impostor Cobra Commander (Fred VII) in exchange for the return of a stolen military black box.
Destro's Iron Grenadiers (introduced one issue earlier in #73) arrive on Cobra Island in force in this issue aboard a cruise ship, establishing a third faction in the three-way conflict alongside Serpentor's and Fred VII's Cobra.
The Cobra Civil War arc culminates two issues later in #76 with Zartan assassinating Serpentor, ending the civil war and reshaping Cobra's power structure for years of subsequent stories.
Falcon leads the Joe recon team in a covert assault on the Cobra Island airport tower, with Captain Minh — a recurring secondary character across the arc — guiding them through the island's sewer system.
The issue features one of the largest assembled casts in a single issue of the series, spanning well over thirty named characters across Joe, Cobra Commander, Serpentor, and Iron Grenadier factions.