G.I. Joe Special Missions #24 (August 1989) – “Ladies Day” – Herb Trimpe/Dave Cockrum/Danny Bulanadi
This one starts at a baseball game in New York between the Mites and Dandees (obviously meant to be the Mets and Yankees) which the President is attending. The Joes have a team there (Hawk, Lt. Falcon, Zap, Doc, Tunnel Rat, Hardball, and Heavy Metal) for PR and extra security, including Lady Jaye, Scarlett, Jinx, and Cover Girl undercover (so to speak) as scantily-dressed cheerleaders. The women aren’t too happy about that, but Hawk wants them as a surprise in case someone tries something against the President. Speaking of which,
Cobra Commander and Raptor are closer than the Joes know, inside the Goodyear blimp above the stadium. Zarana is disguised as a ball girl and Firefly as a ho dog vendor and they start tossing gas bombs at the same time one of Raptors trained birds releases gas capsules over the crowd. The Cobra hypnotist (Crystal Ball) uses his talents to mesmerize Hawk and Falcon, ordering them to call off the other Joes. The four female Joes see what’s happening and don gas masks to avoid being knocked out, but Cobra’s plan works and they hoist the 
unconscious President into the blimp. Cover Girl snaps the other Joes out of hypnosis, but it’s too late for them to do much without endangering the President. But Lady Jaye, Scarlett, and Jinx manage to jump from the stadium roof onto the blimp and smash their way inside to attack the Cobras. They’re outnumbered and have a tough fight, with Lady Jaye almost getting tossed overboard. Cover Girl bats a smoke grenade into the blimp from down below and that gives the Joes enough time to get the President back to the ground safely. The President thanks the four women for saving him and Hawk gives them each a month’s leave with double pay. This story is a bit goofy, lacking Larry Hama’s depth of character and nuance in the details; it
seems like it would fit the cartoon show better than the comics. Crystal Ball is very cartoonish and Cobra Commander’s diatribe against the Joes at the end can only be read in Christopher Collins’s voice. I assume Herb Trimpe was trying to write an empowering story about the women saving the day (which they did), but sometimes it comes off as unintentionally sexist anyway. One thing that was funny was how Trimpe used garbled names for real baseball players like Mookie Wilson, Keith Hernandez, and Darryl Strawberry.
G.I. Joe #89 (August 1989) – “Mean Dog” – Larry Hama/M.D. Bright/Randy Emberlin
This one starts in Broca Beach, where the Dreadnoks are enjoying the piles of money they’ve made for Cobra through various scams and get-rich-quick schemes. They’re also disguising a bunch of Cobra vehicles as amusement park rides, hiding their weaponry in plain sight. Broca Beach has replaced Springfield and Cobra Island as a base for ordinary Cobra operatives and Zarana figures they’re living the American dream in their own twisted way. Clutch and Rock n’ Roll show up (in Clutch’s 1974 Cuda) to relive some old memories,
but Clutch is shocked to find the grimy seaside resort he remembers all cleaned up and devoid of local colour (which Rock n’ Roll says is another term for urban blight). The cops hassle them and Clutch is ready to fight, but Rock n’ Roll notices a Cobra signet ring on one cop’s hand, so he tells Clutch they’d better leave. But the Dreadnoks recognize them as Joes and join the cops in chasing them down the expressway. The Joes try to call for help, but Cobra has Tele-Vipers jamming all frequencies so the message comes through all garbled up. Hawk hears enough of it to send Repeater, Wildcard, and Hardball in the Mean Dog to 
help. They show up just as Clutch and Rock n’ Roll are about to get blasted and the Mean Dog blows away a bunch of Cobras. Clutch takes off but runs into the Broca Beach cops and has to do some fancy driving. The Mean Dog runs into more Cobra firepower and takes most of it out, but uses all its ammo and ends up with a busted transmission. They do manage to capture Zanzibar, though. Clutch and Rock n’ Roll figure they’re clear but they run into Road Pig … literally, as he smashes the Cuda with his cinderblock mace and captures them. This is a pretty good issue, with plenty of action and Mark Bright’s art works pretty well with these characters. It’s interesting to have Cobra hide in plain sight
at Broca Beach and to have them make money by exploiting the greed and gullibility of the average American consumer. Their reaction to seeing the two Joes was hardly inconspicuous, but I guess Zarana figured they needed to stop them to keep things secret.