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Mike Raicht talkes Infestation 2 with CBR and previews some pages!

The initial run of Infestation was something I wasn’t real sure about.  I know there are plenty of zombie fans out there, but I’m not necessarily one of them, and I was kind of struggling to see how they would fit a zombie story into a more “real world” G.I. Joe element.  Granted, recent figures like Zombie-Viper have opened that door even more, but you get the impression that the Zombie-Viper isn’t a TRUE zombie necessarily, more of a Cobra experiment.

Now, the sequel to Infestation, instead of dealing with zombies, goes even more into the horror/supernatural elements by tackling Lovecraft and the Lovecraftian monsters that seem to have such a following.  Now how in the heck could this possibly tie into the G.I. Joe universe?

Comic Book Resources spoke with Infestation 2 writer Mike Raicht to get some details, and you can check out the interview right here.

It’s a very thorough and illuminating discussion and I found myself actually interested in seeing how this all ties together.  It certainly doesn’t hurt that Raicht throws some cameos to Cobra characters Cesspool and Razorclaw (!!) in the preview pages in the interview.

Definitely curious to see how this ends up.  Click here to read the full interview, and thanks to The Terror Drome for the intel.

Top 100 Toys of all Time – An Ambitious Project with UnderScoopFire

When the folks over at UnderScoopFire asked me to participate in a “Top 100 Toys of All Time” list, I thought it sounded like a fun project to take part in.  That feeling quickly gave way to sense of “oh crap PANIC” when I started digging through the massive list of favorite toys to attempt to narrow things down.  It was simply impossible.

Thankfully all I had to do was submit my own list of 20 and then let Under Scoop Fire put the actual list together (and accept all the hate mail).  I’m free and clear!

Well, not totally free and clear.  One of my main jobs on the participation side of things was to submit thoughts under the G.I. Joe umbrella, and I think I represented that very well…with one glaring ommision.

But don’t take my word for it.  Hit up the UnderScoopFire Top 100 Toys of all Time list to check it out yourself.  First of all, a caveat.  The “Top 100” toys currently only has 90 listed.  You’ll have to check in tomorrow to listen to the Under Scoop Fire Podcast, Episode 21 to hear the top 10, and then the final top 10 will be posted shortly thereafter.

Enjoy!

And remember…all hate mail is addressed to UnderScoopFire.  I’m innocent!

Top 5 Reasons to look forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation toys

I know the prevailing wisdom from the fandom in the days after the G.I. Joe: Retaliation figure reveals is one of doom and gloom.  Reduced articulation on the handful of driver figures automatically means “deth of teh line” right?

I don’t think so.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m plenty annoyed with the articulation reduction in the vehicle drivers as well, but that doesn’t mean the entire line is doomed for failure.  I’m taking this moment to reveal my “Top 5 Reasons to look forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation toys”.  The purpose here isn’t to artificially inflate the coolness of the driver figures, or to gloss over the fact that Hasbro felt it necessary to go in that direction, but instead bring a focus onto the good things that might be hitting shelves this spring.

Click the Read the Rest of this Entry link below to see this Top 5 list.

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GeneralsJoes Reviews IDW’s G.I. Joe #10

Cobra Command continues here!

As mentioned in the Real American Hero #175 review, toy and Super Bowl news overshadowed my focus on the comics universe, but I’m trying to change that this week, especially because the Cobra Command storyline is hitting it on all cylinders.

Click the Read the Rest of this Entry link below for the full review!

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GeneralsJoes Reviews IDW’s G.I. Joe: ARAH #175

I know I’m dragging a little late with this particular review, but with all of the toy news and the intel about the Super Bowl TV spot I hadn’t really had time to make it happen.  Well, I’m rectifying that this morning!

Click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below to check out the full review.

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New image released for G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Among the crazy toy news late last week, a new image was released by Paramount for the upcoming G.I. Joe movie sequel.  Featuring Bruce Willis as Joe Colton, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson as Roadblock, and Adrianne Palicki as Lady Jaye, this image comes right on the heels of the release of the Super Bowl TV spot.

Initial reports of the image courtesy of Entertainment News International, the picture is mirrored below.

Voting has begin for Robert Atkins Cobra Commander custom contest!

I’ve been talking about it for a little while now, and now you can vote in it!

A short while ago, Robert Atkins (artist extraordinaire for IDW’s G.I. Joe and Snake Eyes titles) decided to hold a contest for the best custom version of his updated Cobra Commander design…and the fans have come through!

With a very nice selection of several different figures in many different formats, there are some great choices for the best custom version of this new Cobra Commander!  You can view all of the entries on Robert Atkins page right here.

I’m torn.  A lot of beautiful work here…  but I gotta say I’m pretty partial to Troy’s version, which even included a mock up of the packaging and a Krake head that can be swapped out!  It’s really gorgeous.

Although I absolutely love that Chad and Matt went the o-ring route, and Sidewinder’s 12″ version is truly inspired as well.

Some tough choices here.  Go vote!

What’s on Joe Mind Episode 40 with Matt King is online now!

This episode was a blast.  Being able to spend an hour talking to the mastermind behind Tunnel Rat in G.I. Joe: Renegades was truly educational.  Hearing how he got his start, and who he’s connected with over the years was an amazing experience, and we were all captivated by how easily he fell into Tunnel Rat’s very distinctive voice throughout the interview.

Of course, along with Matt King, we also spoke with Alexx from Alexx’s Shorts, one of the funniest and best G.I. Joe reviewers on the ‘net…at least he was until he turned down my marriage proposal.  Go check out Podbean to listen, or just click on the embedded player below.  Enjoy!

Show notes are after the jump.

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Another barrage of G.I. Joe: Retaliation images deserves another look

Okay this is getting silly.  Next time Hasbro does this, I’m going to give them 24 hours before typing this up so I don’t have to write three separate articles for each series of better images that we get!  Gah.

I’ve seen the images.  I would imagine pretty much everyone has.  I’m certain at this point things are pretty doom and gloom.  Five points of articulation, reused vehicles, deth of teh line, etc…

While I’m staying far away from the whole “Deth of teh line!” crowed, I will admit up front I am a bit punched in the gut by the restricted articulation on the vehicle drivers.  I won’t say it’s completely unexpected.  Anyone who has been listening to the Whats on Joe Mind podcast should remember that I’ve been talking about a scaled back movie line and about the potential for reduced articulation for months now.  So hopefully folks who have been listening to that aren’t taken so far aback.  But I will admit, even though I’ve been saying it, I can’t help but feel a bit of wind knocked out the sails.  There’s just something about seeing that familiar visage of Snake Eyes with only 5 points of articulation that just doesn’t look… right.  That’s NOT how he’s supposed to look.

That being said, I’m not writing this off as doom and gloom.  Aside from the vehicle drivers there are plenty of things to cheer about, and I’m going to bore the hell out of everyone by regurgitating them all right here.  Not only that, but I’m going crazy.  I’m going figure by figure and vehicle by vehicle.  No, I do not have a life.  Let’s do this.

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G.I. Joe: Retaliation Figures and Vehicles – High Resolution Images from Hasbro

Big thanks to the tireless efforts of the folks with Hasbro Public Relations’ firm, who have quickly gotten together the images we saw earlier in nice and crisp high resolution!  These new images should provide some very nice detail…and some not very nice detail.

You’ll notice some articulation changes in some places and some other things that are worthy of concern…  but still plenty to love.  Check out the images below.

3 3/4″ Basic Figures

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Larger Scale Action Battlers

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Battle Sets

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Alpha Vehicles

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Bravo Vehicles

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Delta Vehicles

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SDCC

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More information will be available at Toy Fair on February 11th.  Make sure you’re here!