The BATS from this issue were the first figures that I wanted to make for this project. I always planned to make two. As I was piecing together my figures, I decided to make them different. One custom represents the BATS appearance for the first half of the issue when the reader believes that the terrorists are human Cobra agents. My second custom incorporates a few parts from the Zombie Viper and represents the BATS once they are exposed as robots by the Joes.

Special Mission #17 was one of the only original comics that I had as a kid. I still remember how I got it. I had a neighbor that worked as a magazine distributor. Every Halloween, instead of candy, he handed out extra copies of comics. I was older at the time and almost at the point of not dressing up for Halloween anymore, but that year, I went out trick-or-treating and came back with three copies of SM17 as well as a bunch of Spider-Man comics (It was during McFarlane's run). I still have all of them in my collection.

I have since collected the rest of the Special Missions run. This issue has remained my favorite. The story is simple, but awesome. The new Joes - Hit & Run, Shockwave, Muskrat and Hardball - all have their moments and the action is fun.

Up to now, Hit & Run has been represented by his 25th version in my collection. That figure is now showing its age and was due to be replaced. Since I don't have the Club's version, I made my own. As such, I cheated a bit with the colors for this custom. In the comic, Hit & Run is shown without his face and arms camouflage paint. I decided to include it for my custom as it will be taking the place as my default Hit & Run and I wanted it to be as close to vintage as possible.

Special Mission #17 was one of the only original comics that I had as a kid. I still remember how I got it. I had a neighbor that worked as a magazine distributor. Every Halloween, instead of candy, he handed out extra copies of comics. I was older at the time and almost at the point of not dressing up for Halloween anymore, but that year, I went out trick-or-treating and came back with three copies of SM17 as well as a bunch of Spider-Man comics (It was during McFarlane's run). I still have all of them in my collection.

I have since collected the rest of the Special Missions run. This issue has remained my favorite. The story is simple, but awesome. The new Joes - Hit & Run, Shockwave, Muskrat and Hardball - all have their moments and the action is fun.