Seattle-based Brandon Jerwa leads Joe into the comic battlefield

As a child growing up in Kansas and then in Longview, Wash., Brandon Jerwa would stage elaborate battles with his G.I. Joes in his grandmother's home.

"I was the kid who never took his toys outdoors or mistreated them," said Jerwa, 32, who lives in Tukwila with Jessica, his wife of seven years, and their son, Orion, 6.

"My favorite place to play was my grandmother's house in Gallipolis, Ohio. She pretty much let me have the run of the entire upstairs and the staircase itself, which meant three bedrooms, a bathroom, carpeted stairs and plenty of furniture to use as different bases and such. God as my witness, I'd give anything to spend an entire day doing nothing but playing with toys in that house again."

These days, Jerwa is living out his childhood dream, chronicling the adventures of G.I. Joe — and making a living at it. For those who didn't grow up in the 1980s, G.I. Joe is America's highly-trained special missions force determined to take down the terrorist organization Cobra. It had a successful line of toys produced by Hasbro, an animated series produced by Sunbow that aired from 1983-'87, and a Marvel Comics series that spanned 155 issues from 1982-'94.

A boom in nostalgia brought G.I. Joe back in 2001 when Devil's Due Publishing launched a new monthly series, picking up where Marvel left off. Jerwa became the co-writer on "G.I. Joe" with No. 23, before taking over with No. 26. He remained until the final issue, No. 43, which was published this past summer. Devil's Due relaunched G.I. Joe from No. 1 the following month.

Jerwa, who has also written "G.I. Joe: Frontline" and "G.I. Joe: Master & Apprentice," has the ultimate dream assignment of writing the origin of Snake-Eyes, the "G.I. Joe" series' most popular character, in "Snake-Eyes: Declassified." Snake-Eyes is "G.I. Joe's" mute ninja-commando, who is clad in black from head to toe. Little is known about him except that he trained in the martial arts with Storm-Shadow (who has been both a Joe and Cobra), he lost his family in a car accident, he's in love with Scarlett, and he lost his voice and was horribly disfigured in a helicopter crash.

In "Declassified," the fourth issue of which will come out this month, Jerwa hopes to expand on these concepts, as well as put his own spin on Snake-Eyes' mysterious past.

Information

The joe behind the Joe: For information on Brandon Jerwa, his band and his work, see www.brandonjerwa.com, www.sd6online.com, www.voiceboxcomics.com

"I'm taking the material [Snake-Eyes' creator] Larry Hama gave us in the Marvel book and ironing out some of the inconsistencies; some of that ironing-out allows me to bring some new elements to light," said Jerwa. "It's pretty bold to have a famously mute character running around spouting paragraphs of dialogue for the first time, but I feel like I've somehow managed to really connect with the character. Luckily, many of the readers seem to be feeling that, too."

When asked what Snake-Eyes' appeal is, Jerwa replied: "He's a mysterious ninja-commando who can't talk, but he somehow managed to bag the hot redhead [Scarlett] on the team. What's not to like?"

Jerwa said he submitted an entirely different script for "Declassified No. 1," but Hasbro nixed it. In it, Jerwa examined Snake-Eyes from age 6 to when he leaves for Southeast Asia at 18. He even revealed his real name (which won't be revealed in the published version). There were several elements that led Snake-Eyes to question the nature of faith at an early age.

"Hasbro didn't really care to have a 10-year-old running around angry and questioning God, so they put the kibosh on it," explained Jerwa. "I wasn't too terribly surprised, but it was disappointing. I really felt like I had written something great with that issue, but it was very, very dark."

Even though he's having fun writing Snake-Eyes' origin, Jerwa admitted it's also daunting since the character has a loyal fan-base. (Generally "G.I. Joe" titles sell 20,000+ copies apiece, which is considered very strong for an independent — i.e., non-DC or Marvel — title.)

The best part of "Declassified" is "writing the franchise's most popular character and continuing to work in a universe that I love, where I seem to be appreciated by the majority of the readership. That's rewarding to the Nth degree."

Along with fellow artists Dan Jolley and Marie Croall, Jerwa formed Voicebox Comics, which is based both in Seattle and in Macon, Ga., where he is working on "The Last Bastion," about four 20-something magicians who become costumed super-heroes. He also has three other projects in the works.

"I'm starting to see some doors open and opportunities are presenting themselves, so if you see my name on something that doesn't involve toy soldiers fighting snake-themed terrorists, well, I'd appreciate you leaving your preconceptions at the door."

In addition to writing comics, Jerwa is also the lead singer for local band SD6 (named after the top-secret rogue agency Sydney Bristow worked for in the first two seasons of "Alias"), which formed nearly four years ago. He was previously with the band Omnibox.

"[SD6] currently consists of myself, Jessica and Nicole Edmonds, although we're considering expanding our membership as we enter the final sessions of our debut CD."

He hopes SD6's first CD will debut within the next few months. Jerwa is working with producer Tom Shear of Assemblage 23 and engineer Paul Furio of the Seattle band Static Engine.

Jerwa, who never finished high school, considers himself fortunate.

"I think I fit the classic profile of 'smart but bored.' Perhaps it was ADD, which was, of course, not as widely recognized and treated at that time. ... I simply couldn't sustain my focus. My aptitude test scores were outstanding all across the board. I excelled in English and literature-based classes, but became less and less consistent with my assignments and homework.

"I do realize how very lucky I am. Not many people drop out of high school and find themselves doing exactly what they want to do for a living regardless."

Kurt Anthony Krug is a freelance writer based in Michigan: kurt513@core.com