An interesting series from author Jim Beard (Sgt Janus and others) is D.C. Jones and Adventure Command International.
So far there is a collection of short, short stories, and two volumes of longer stories with a third planned. Whether you start with the collection or volume 1, you will be introduced to D.C. Jones and the rest of the Adventure Command: Marcus, Greg, Glenn, Sarge, Red, and Kent. Each has a unique skill like pilot, sailor, astronaut, techie, etc. You’ll also meet their recruits that hope to be new members of AC.
If these characters seem similar, to those of a certain age, there is a reason. These stories were originally written as G.I. Joe stories, in particular inspired by the “Adventure Team” era of the action figures of the 1970s and thus set in that time. But they have been brought back under a new name, fully owned by Beard.
I had a G.I. Joe at the time, and also recall some of the later additions to the Adventure Team, like Mike Powers, Atomic Man and Bullet Man, though I didn’t get them, or Mattel’s competing toy Big Jim and his PACK. And if you want to learn more about G.I. Joe, Beard had done a book on him: The Joy of Joe: Memories of America’s Movable Fighting Man From Today’s Grown-Up Kids.
First up is Action Accessories, which is a recent collection of six short, short stories set in 1973. The first five are done as TV interviews of different team members in action, which gives you a good intro to them. The last is more focused on a group of young fans of AC in Titusville, Fla., who go after something strange in the area.
The first big collection is Secret of the Sunken Tomb. It has a novella and two short stories set in 1973. The title novella finds D.C. Jones looking for a missing missile off the coast of California when he finds something strange: a sunken tomb that appears to be Egyptian!
He calls in most of the rest of the team, along with recruit Mike to investigate further. There are strange goings on — not just how there is an Egyptian tomb in America and why is it sunken? — when they have a bizarre interaction with some of the locals. The locals don’t want them around. And they have a hurricane bearing down on their location and deadly sharks (tiger and great white) in the water. Can they handle the hurricane, sharks, and more, figure out what the tomb is about, and deal with the strange townsfolk? What is in the tomb that’s so important? And what will happen to Mike?
Then we have a short story set later in 1973 with a trio of the team in Indonesia, where they crash due to someone shooting them down, having one deal with a deadly komodo dragon, and find something that may tie to the prior story.
Finally, in a short story set in early 1974, several of the team are in Gibraltar after a stolen mummy: a girl pharoah. Along is a female recruit, Dixie. Is what they find also tied to that sunken tomb? And will Dixie become a full member? What will be next for the team?
As noted, there is a second volume, Rescue at the Arctic Outpost, and a third one planned. I will be getting both at some point and recommend these to others, especially if you grew up with the original G.I. Joe.
