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One of the lead writers for G.I. Joe Renegades is… holy crap!

by | Jul 22, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: Renegades, SDCC, Show and Convention Coverage

Well, not holy crap because of his name, because it’s pretty likely you’ve never heard of him before.  I know I hadn’t.  But if you’re a self-respecting geek, you’ve no doubt seen some of his work.  His name is Henry Gilroy, and the guys at the Terror Drome confirmed at SDCC that he is one of the lead writers for G.I. Joe: Renegades.
So why is this important?  Why is it a “Holy Crap” moment?  Check out his resume:

  • Star Wars: The Clone Wars Animated Series (Writer)
  • The Secret Saturdays
  • Transformers: Animated (The Sound and the Fury)
  • Bionicle
  • The Tick
  • The Adventures of Batman and Robin
  • Batman: The Animated Series

Uhhh yeah.  I think Renegades is in pretty good hands.  As I’ve already covered in this post, we’ve got some very experienced veterans involved here, and experienced veterans with a great background.  Some of the folks who worked on some of the greatest animated series in the past 15 years now have their hands in G.I. Joe, and I think that can only be a good thing.  I can understand how some of the art and character designs might be a turn off to the adult Joe fan, but I still think we need to give the actual content a try before we prepare to write it off.

GeneralsJoes reviews Wal-Mart Exclusive LAW Battle Station

by | Jul 22, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie, GeneralsJoes Review A Rama

I bet you guys thought I was going to forget my “review of the day” today, didn’t you?  In all of the “Hub” hubbub, it sorta got lost in the shuffle, but I gotta keep up my end of the bargain.  I’ve already covered the Wal-Mart exclusive Heatseeker and Outpost Defender, but in the interest of filling in those holes, here is the Laser Artillery Weapon!
Of course you can find that review and many others linked back to the Rise of Cobra Review Page.
Enjoy.

Information from the Hasbro and Renegades SDCC Panel

by | Jul 22, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: Renegades, SDCC, Show and Convention Coverage

Information was absolutely flying around the ‘net today with the Renegades panel, and I’m endeavoring to gather it all into one sensible location.  Been a bit challenging so far!  I’ve been following the Cover It Live stream over at HissTank, and also following the fantastic coverage at Toy News International…  the tweets coming in from Action Figure Insider have also been terrific.
This is what I’ve gathered together so far:

  • As discussed at JoeCon, Renegades is a “Year One” event.  See things as they began.
  • Cobra is a large, mostly benevolent Pharmaceutical Company
  • “The Joes” start off as grunts mostly, on the run from the law for a crime they did not commit (no word on whether or not they drive a black van or are afraid of flying).
  • The Joes may not even start off with code names.
  • Current cast of characters: Duke, Scarlett, Tunnel Rat, Roadblock, Snake Eyes, Ripcord
  • Yes, ROAD-FREAKING BLOCK.  And no, he is not a “rapping chef”.
  • For the style, they did not want to compete with Resolute, so went back to a more 50’s like “artistic” style.
  • Cobra tech is futuristic, but a familiar “15 minutes into the future” type of style.
  • We will learn about  characters as they learn about themselves.  See the evolutions of characters like Zartan, the Dreadnoks, Cobra Commander, etc…
  • They’ve worked with Joe fans in the industry trying to make sure the spirit and the mythology are alive.
  • Yes, voice actors for Scarlett and Duke will be in the series, but not AS Scarlett or Duke
  • Characters will have a slightly different look and take, but the spirit of the character is intact.
  • Obviously the cartoon will not be as  violent as Resolute, but it will also NOT be dumbed down.  Expect a similar level of action and violence as Batman: The Animated Series (I just squealed).
  • Epic stories that have ramifications throughout future episodes
  • Stories will be very character driven, sometimes focusing on one or two characters at a time
  • Speaking of two characters, expect to see Tomax and Xamot down the line
  • No concrete timeline for toys, but expect some news at Toy Fair, 2011 (I most certainly WILL BE THERE).
  • Renegades will focus on the small core team, but lots of fringe characters will come and go.  Nobody is off limits!
  • Heavy Duty will make an appearance in the show as well.
  • A good balance between fantasy and reality.  There will be some fantasy elements, but they will be grounded in the real world.
  • Lifeline and/or Doc will likely make an appearance

I think that about covers it.  There was a video clip shown, but recording was not allowed.  🙁
Apparently a few folks still had vid cams rolling, so it may show up on YouTube eventually.  Perhaps we’ll get lucky and Hasbro will get it out there somewhere as well.  Apparently the video clip showed Snake Eyes “kicking ass”, Scarlett in a helicopter and various other action shots.  Dying to see it.
Here are some links of interest:

I’ll talk more about the specifics of the character designs in a later post…