I did have (and still do have) most of the first few 80s series of the GI Joe toys. I bought more of those than say Transformers mainly because of the cost. I faithfully watched the show but even as a kid also found it silly that no one ever died. I guess I was spoiled by Robotech, a series in which even major characters could kick off at any time.
The GI Joe comic series from Marvel was, IMHO, superior to the show in many ways and I followed it for quite some time after I stopped watching the show. Anyone else read the comic?