G.I. Joe - Jungle Raid

I've covered G.I. Joe on a couple of different occasions here at PW, including the comics and the recent short story collection. The books that have alluded me my whole life are the YA Ballantine paperbacks that were published between 1987-1988. I've yet to find one in the wild, but thankfully, someone scanned the series' fifth installment, Jungle Raid (cover by Earl Norem), and posted it to Archive.org. It was written by R.L. Stine of Goosebumps and Fear Street fame.

In the fictitious island country of San Juego, the democratically elected government is in jeopardy of losing its nation to a terrorist leader named Raoul and his army of mercenaries. As the fighting erupts between the two nations, a plea is made to the U.S. government to send in the G.I. Joe force. Their mission is to be a peacekeeping faction to protect the innocent civilians. This brings some bitterness for team members like Law and Falcon, who are itching to get into the fight and stop Raoul.

Hawk meets with the team and announces that COBRA forces might be in San Juego conducting mind control experiments. The mission transforms from peacekeeper to investigative as a three-pronged assignment is unveiled. Chuckles will infiltrate the nearby village disguised as a laborer while searching for some sort of COBRA headquarters. Gung Ho and others will beat the bush searching for any sign of COBRA. Meanwhile, Hawk and his men will be busy defending their mobile command center from Raoul and his mercenaries. As the narrative kicks into high gear, all three parts of the assignment explode into action. 

This book begins like a typical adult men's action-adventure paperback from the likes of Pinnacle or Manor. Chuckles has a barroom run-in with village bullies and has a unique way of dealing with them. He then infiltrates the village workforce and is carted away to a secret lair where COBRA and a certain doctor are conducting experiments on villagers. This part of the book turns into a type of prison-break action formula as Chuckles battles the enemy as a prisoner. The action in the jungle expands to include familiar franchise villains like the Dreadnoks and COBRA Commander. But, there's also a central mystery included with Hawk announcing he is helping his brother in San Juego. Everyone knows Hawk doesn't have a brother, so the intrigue behind this relationship is enticing. 

I had way more fun with this G.I. Joe YA paperback than I ever expected to. Stine's writing is flavorful, and his prose is simple yet effective with plenty of G.I. Joe lore that isn't that different than the animated cartoon. This reads like an episode of the show – over-the-top, totally unbelievable pulpy fun. The good guys win, the bad guys lose, America saves the day. Who can argue with that storytelling flow? Jungle Raid is a fun romp that begs for a repeat performance. Thankfully, Stine wrote one more of these books. Unfortunately, the series is rather expensive in the used retail market. You can check prices HERE.