Larry Hama

--DocThompson1 (talk) 20:31, November 13, 2018 (UTC) This guy is no Stan Lee.

Chickenshit A North-American vulgar slang for a cowardly and timid person. Also an alternative to describing a person as a chicken. Bob: Why won't James play a prank on the teacher? Jack: Meh, he's just a little chickenshit.

Bucky O'Hare Wolverine }}
 * image = Loz larryhama 20151124.png
 * caption = Hama in 2015
 * birth_date = June 7, 1949
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 * nationality = American
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 * notable works = G.I. Joe
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 * subcat = American

Larry Hama (born June 7, 1949) 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 has also written for the series Wolverine, Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja, and Elektra. He created the character Bucky O'Hare, which was developed into a comic book, a toy line and television cartoon.

Early life
Hama was born June 7, 1949. Growing up, Hama studied Kodokan Judo and later studied Kyūdō (Japanese archery) and Iaido (Japanese martial art swordsmanship). Planning to become a painter, Hama attended Manhattan's High School of Art and Design, where one instructor was former EC Comics artist Bernard Krigstein. He was in the same graduating class as Frank Brunner and Ralph Reese.

Acting
Hama had a brief acting career in the mid-1970s, despite never having pursued the field. The casting director for the musical Pacific Overtures, Joanna Merlin, called Hama because an actor friend of his gave her his name when asked if he knew any other Asian actors. He told her that he had never acted before and could neither sing nor dance, but Merlin was persistent, and when informed that casting was less than a minute away from his workplace at Continuity Comics, he agreed to audition and was ultimately cast in three roles.

He also played a role in the 1976 M*A*S*H episode "The Korean Surgeon" and a Saturday Night Live spoof of Apocalypse Now. However, though he had made a living as an actor for roughly a year, Hama ultimately discarded his acting career, explaining, "I always basically saw myself as an artist, not as anything else."

G.I. Joe chicken shot comics


Hama is best known as writer of the Marvel Comics licensed series G.I. Joe, based on the Hasbro line of military action figures. Hama said in a 2006 interview that he was given the job by then editor-in-chief Jim Shooter after every other writer at Marvel had turned it down. Hama at the time had recently pitched a Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. spin-off series, Fury Force, about a special mission force. Hama used this concept as the back-story for G.I. Joe. He included military terms and strategies, Eastern philosophy, martial arts and historical references from his own background. The comic ran 155 issues (February 1982-October 1994).

Hama also wrote the majority of the G.I. Joe action figures' file cards&mdash;short biographical sketches designed to be clipped from the G.I. Joe and Cobra cardboard packaging. In 2007 these filecards were reprinted in the retro packaging for the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 25th Anniversary line.

Hama said in 1986 that G.I. Joe had an unexpected female following due to such strong female characters as Cover Girl, Lady Jaye, and Scarlett. (Scarlett's personality was actually based upon his wife)

"Most of the girls that write in [with letters to the comic] say that the reason they like the comic is that the women characters are simply part of the team. They’re not treated as any different from the other team members. They don't go around with their palms nailed to their foreheads. They’re competent, straightforward, and they go ahead and get the job done. They also participate emotionally. They have their likes and dislikes. They’re not ill-treated and they're not running around being worrywarts."

Hasbro sculptors sometimes used real people's likenesses when designing its action figures. In 1987, Hasbro released the Tunnel Rat action figure. The character is an explosive ordnance disposal specialist, whose likeness was based on Hama.

In 2006, 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, which ceased publication with issue 7.

In December 2007, Hasbro released 25th-anniversary comic-book figure two-packs that featured original stories by Hama. These new Hasbro-published issues were designed to take place between the panels of the Marvel series.

In September 2008, IDW announced a new line of G.I. Joe comics with one series, G.I. Joe Origins, to be primarily written by Hama. He wrote the first five issues, as the series was originally intended to be a miniseries, and returned to write four more issues (including #19, which was a Snake Eyes "silent issue") over the course of the book's 21-issue run. IDW later revived the Marvel Comics continuity with Hama taking the helm of a new ongoing series, picking up where the Marvel series left off with issue #155 1/2.

Hama said in August 2009 that he had never watched an entire episode of any of the various G.I. Joe cartoon series.

Other work
At Marvel in the early 1980s, Hama edited the humor magazine Crazy and the Conan titles, and from 1986–1993, he edited the acclaimed comic book The 'Nam, a gritty Marvel series about the Vietnam War.

Hama wrote the 16-issue Marvel series Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja (Aug. 1989 - Sept. 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, The Punisher War Zone, 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.

While working at Neal Adams' Continuity Associates, Hama developed a series he first created in 1978, Bucky O'Hare, the story of a green anthropomorphic rabbit and his mutant mammal sidekicks in an intergalactic war against space amphibians. Bucky O'Hare went on to become a comic, cartoon, video game, and toy line. In 2006, Osprey Publishing announced that Hama had been commissioned to write for their "Osprey Graphic History" series of comic books about historical battles, including the titles The Bloodiest Day&mdash;Battle of Antietam, and Surprise Attack&mdash;Battle of Shiloh (both with artist Scott Moore) and Fight to the Death: Battle of Guadalcanal and Island of Terror&mdash;Battle of Iwo Jima (with artist Anthony Williams).

In February 2008, Devil's Due Publishing published Spooks, a comic book about a U.S. government antiparanormal investigator/task force. Hama created the military characters and R.A. Salvatore the monster characters. He was also the writer of DDP's Barack the Barbarian series, a Conan the Barbarian parody starring U. S. President Barack Obama.

On September 19, 2012, Hama released his three-part vampire novel entitled The Stranger.

On December 17, 2012, Hama portrayed himself in a Christmas-themed episode of the Adult Swim series Robot Chicken. As of Jan 2014, he is collaborating with award-winning filmmaker Mark Cheng on an original film project, called Ghost Source Zero.

In August 2014, Red Giant Entertainment announced that Larry Hama is writing the company's new Monster Isle monthly series debuting in November.

Other work
At Marvel in the early 1980s, Hama edited the humor magazine Crazy and the Conan titles, and from 1986–1993, he edited the acclaimed comic book The 'Nam, a gritty Marvel series about the Vietnam War.

Hama wrote the 16-issue Marvel series Nth Man: The Ultimate Ninja (Aug. 1989 - Sept. 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, The Punisher War Zone, 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.

While working at Neal Adams' Continuity Associates, Hama developed a series he first created in 1978, Bucky O'Hare, the story of a green anthropomorphic rabbit and his mutant mammal sidekicks in an intergalactic war against space amphibians. Bucky O'Hare went on to become a comic, cartoon, video game, and toy line. In 2006, Osprey Publishing announced that Hama had been commissioned to write for their "Osprey Graphic History" series of comic books about historical battles, including the titles The Bloodiest Day&mdash;Battle of Antietam, and Surprise Attack&mdash;Battle of Shiloh (both with artist Scott Moore) and Fight to the Death: Battle of Guadalcanal and Island of Terror&mdash;Battle of Iwo Jima (with artist Anthony Williams).

In February 2008, Devil's Due Publishing published Spooks, a comic book about a U.S. government antiparanormal investigator/task force. Hama created the military characters and R.A. Salvatore the monster characters. He was also the writer of DDP's Barack the Barbarian series, a Conan the Barbarian parody starring U. S. President Barack Obama.

On September 19, 2012, Hama released his three-part vampire novel entitled The Stranger.

On December 17, 2012, Hama portrayed himself in a Christmas-themed episode of the Adult Swim series Robot Chicken. As of Jan 2014, he is collaborating with award-winning filmmaker Mark Cheng on an original film project, called Ghost Source Zero.

In August 2014, Red Giant Entertainment announced that Larry Hama is writing the company's new Monster Isle monthly series debuting in November.