So did you think 2012 was a slow year for G.I. Joe? While the fine folks behind the What’s on Joe Mind Podcast did drop down their recording schedule a bit to accommodate a slow trickle of Joe news, there were still many exciting G.I. Joe events to talk about.
From animated voice actors to movie news and toy reports, What’s on Joe Mind covered the gamut of G.I. Joe news and events for the year.
Even with a much slower recording schedule in the back half of 2012, it was tough to pick out 12 isolated episodes, but with Gary and Mike’s help, somehow I made due.
Click the Read the Rest of the Story link below for the full list!
12. Special Edition #8 – Ladies Night
I’ll admit, I wasn’t real sure how this was going to come out when I first listened to it, considering I wasn’t a part of the recording, but holy crap was it hilarious. From the ladies’ no-nonsense attitude about toy collecting, to their instant camaraderie, and of course, who could forget about Stump The Chuck!
If you haven’t listened to this one yet, you’re not doing yourselves any favors. Hit the link above, or listen via the embedded links below.
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11. Special Edition #19 – Live from Coil Con!
There are a few different reasons why this is on the list, but most importantly, I think it represents what was a great surge of fan-based events in 2012. From Roll Out Roll Call to the Canadian JoeCon, to Assembly Required, to NJCC, and yes, Coil Con, there was a drastic upswing of regional gatherings which really helps bring a community together, especially in a year that seemed somewhat negative for the G.I. Joe brand in general.
Gary and Mike were “on the ground” and gave us some great reports straight from the event, which made for a great 60+ minutes of podcast listening.
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10. Episode #66 – Interview with Andrew and Trina, Hasbro G.I. Joe designers
How often do we get to interact directly with the guys and girls behind the development of our favorite toyline? How often can we do that outside of JoeCon, especially with the folks in the trenches? Andrew and Trina have both had direct influence on some of your favorite G.I. Joe items over the past several years, and we get some terrific insight straight from the horses mouths. Not only that, but some great detail on the Dollar General figures, the Skystriker, and some old school 25th Anniversary stuff.
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9. Special Edition #7 – Three words: LARRY EFFING HAMA.
What kind of G.I. Joe podcast would we be if we didn’t put our crosshairs on the Godfather of G.I. Joe himself, Larry Hama? Larry gave birth to some of the most timeless and important characters in the entire Real American Hero mythology, and took what would have been a cast-off licensed book and made it a best-seller throughout much of the 80’s. Whether you love Marvel Comics or Sunbow, Mr. Hama’s influence in the property cannot be over-estimated.
This was a really nice, private, introspective conversation with one of the most important people in G.I. Joe history. How can that not make the list?
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8. Episode #69 – Fred Van Lente gives the inside scoop on 2013 G.I. Joe plans
With thanks abound to Marvel Comics Director of Communications Arune Singh, we were able to get Fred Van Lente on board months before his run on IDW’s G.I. Joe title in 2013 begins. We tried to ask the hard questions, and got some fantastic and insightful responses in return. Really great G.I. Joe themed conversation, and up-to-the-minute reports from our news desk on the election results. Timely!
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7. Episode #65 – Interview with SL Gallant and the debut of SAC POSTAL!
As one of the biggest SL Gallant fans on the planet, I had to make sure we got IDW’s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero artist on the show, even if only to make him somewhat uncomfortable with my fanboyness for 60 minutes or so. We got some great insight into his artistic process, some of the great influences on his artistic style, and even learned what the most important holiday is to Larry Hama.
Celebrate Arbor Day with another listen to this great episode!
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6. Episode #63 – Wayne and Tucker from Dynamo Development – the fathers of Sigma 6!
I might be the only one in the G.I. Joe community who would celebrate talking to the founders of Sigma 6, but whether or not you are a fan of that particular iteration of G.I. Joe, this interview provided some great insight into the minds of toy designers, and a look into what really is involved in creating an action figure brand. Wayne and Tucker also delved a bit into the later years of developing the 3 3/4″ line, prior to the modern era design format, so I consider this a must listen no matter what scale you prefer.
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5. Episode #48 – Kevin Michael Richardson and Kevin Watts – two great tastes that taste great together!
When the interviewee talks about the size of his… well… you know… less than 10 minutes into the interview, you know it’s probably going to be a good one. This did not disappoint. The fantastic Kevin Michael Richardson (known to Joe fans as Roadblock from G.I. Joe: Renegades) gave us an open, honest, and thoroughly entertaining 60 minutes of his life, in what was clearly one of the highlights of the 2012 podcast season.
Outside of the interview, we spent some time talking to Kevin Watts, which is always entertaining in its own regard as well. This is simply a MUST LISTEN EPISODE.
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4. Episode #50 – Arune Singh, Brandon Jerwa and a special introduction!
A milestone event, our 50th episode was celebrated with Marvel Director of Communications Arune Singh and speaking very candidly with the always awesome Brandon Jerwa, former G.I. Joe writer for Devil’s Due, and established G.I. Joe fanboy. It was a terrific, hilarious conversation that has really defined what we try to do with the What’s on Joe Mind podcast.
This episode was also kicked off by a 30 second introduction that literally left us all floored. A truly meaningful moment.
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3. Episode #52 – One Year Anniversary and Call in Show and interview with the immortal Michael Bell
Two episodes after #50, we celebrated our one year anniversary with a call-in MARATHON. Callers from all over the globe phoned into our What’s on Joe Mind hotline, as we ran down three hours of podcast gold! We managed to fit in a little interview with someone you may have heard of, too… Mr. Michael Bell, voice of Duke (among others) from the Sunbow animated series. An action-packed and funny, massive amount of podcast gold, all crammed into one episode.
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2. Special Edition #13 – The Fandom in Crisis! G.I. Joe: Retaliation delay reaction
This news hit all of us like a punch in the gut, and we all felt like we needed to react. But none of us really wanted to react. It took a social media infused influx of fellow G.I. Joe fans and admins to convince us that we simply had to react to this significant event.
The G.I. Joe: Retaliation film was delayed, a mere month before release, and What’s on Joe Mind teamed with a whole crew of fellow industry professionals, fellow website admins, and scores of Joe fans to give our immediate and intense reaction to the move. A surprisingly raw and emotional hour gave many of us the venting we needed as we began our long road to recovery, destined to finally end next March.
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1. Special Edition #16 – Roundtable with the Hasbro G.I. Joe Design team
How could any other episode score the top spot in our 2012 moments? We were privileged enough to be allowed a direct round table communications with nearly the entire G.I. Joe design team present in New Orleans at JoeCon last year. A terrific hour talking G.I. Joe design with some of the masterminds of current and past toys was the highlight of the 2012 JoeCon, and one of our proudest moments on this G.I. Joe themed podcast. Insight straight from the source, we cannot thank Hasbro and Justin from Hunter PR enough for arranging the sit-down and giving us all 60 minutes to remember.
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There are certainly many other events throughout the year that could have made this list. The G.I. Joe: Retaliation 10 minute footage discussion with Dave Tree was huge, and did great things for our listenership… Episode 58 with Chuck and Family Feud… so many great events, and one hell of an awesome year for What’s on Joe Mind. I’ve been very proud to be a part of it, and I cannot wait to see what’s in store for 2013!
Slowed down!? You can say that again. Until the Indy convention special episode happened I thought WOJM podfaded!