From one Convention right into another. Fresh off of our return to normal broadcasting schedule from the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention, the crew from What’s on Joe Mind immediately jumps to the next convention, this time the familiar ComicCon in San Diego.
With not much G.I. Joe news likely there, we bring in Arune Singh to talk about Marvel’s presence there and what we might expect from the House of Ideas. We also bring in Moira Hunger to talk in more detail about the IDW seminar at JoeCon and comic nerdery in general.
But it’s not all about Comics, there is a healthy helping of G.I. Joe talk as well. Check out our latest episode on our Podbean Page, or via the embedded players below. Show notes as always are after the jump.
For G.I. Joe fans in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, the following announcement just came into the inbox, you guys might want to check it out!
Good morning. This is to inform you of the brand new DFW GI Joe and Action Figure Show. We’re extremely pleased to be spear heading our first official show. This show is being hosted by the local DFW GI Joe Collectors club. Our divisions club members have volunteered in the past for another annual local show, but this one is presented by the club.
We currently have 22 table spaces available that will allow vendors a 7×8 foot sales area that includes one 2.5×8 foot table. Table cost will be $25 each before September 1st, and will then be $45 after that date. Multiple tables can be purchased.
For those of you that are interested in reserving table space you might want to do that sooner rather than later as we are already starting to receive requests from individuals who want multiple table space.
As the name of the show states, this show is just not solely about GI Joe but about his action figure brethren as well. So, no matter what your taste in action figures you’ll be able to find it at the show!
As to the specifics;
When – Saturday… October 6, 2012
Where – First Christian Church of Carrollton
1835 Walnut Ave
Carrollton, Texas 75006
Time – 10:00 – 4:00
If you have any questions please feel free to E-mail me at milsteaddfwjoe@yahoo.com.
If you would like to participate in this show as a vendor please contact Keith Holmes, the show organizer, at keithholmestx@yahoo.com.
So, if you happen to be either a GI Joe collector or an action figure collector please come on out and check out our show! This is your chance to find that unique item that you’re missing.
All GI Joe and action figure collectors are welcome and admission is free!
I’ve been lax on the updates throughout the weekend, my apologies. Promised the wife it was going to be a “work on the house” weekend, and it was!
While I certainly kept my eyes on ComicCon to see what exciting new things were slated for the rest of this year and next, there wasn’t a whole lot of new G.I. Joe information. This isn’t surprising, considering JoeCon was such a short time ago.
However, some G.I. Joe sites who had folks at the show spent a few minutes talking to Hasbro, and got some great information. I’ve linked them below:
YoJoe asked some great questions of Mr. DePriest, discovering that yes, Wave 1 G.I. Joe: Retaliation figures would be restocked next year, and they also dug into the whole Ross situation and the Dollar General exclusives. Definitely hit up that link above, some really great information.
The Terror Drome also had reps in attendance who spent a few minutes with Derryl and they asked about the whole SDCC/HTS exclusive situation, but most importantly, the question about articulation on vehicle drivers got a great response:
“DD: Yes. That’s the other thing I’ve heard. I know fans are not happy by far to put it mildly with the articulation that we did on the drivers. I want to look at getting those drivers back out with more articulation and you have my commitment that we won’t be doing these lesser articulated drivers anymore. Whether that means vehicles come with or without drivers, I don’t know that answer yet. But we’re going to try to correct that.”
So it looks like Derryl and Hasbro are going to either try to retrofit some of the drivers with better articulation, or just may end up dropping driver figures from certain vehicles going forward. The fans have spoken… I just hope everyone remembers the outcry here when Hasbro starts selling vehicles without drivers in 2013 (if they do). I’ve seen many fans say that they would rather buy a vehicle with no driver than a vehicle with a driver with restricted articulation, so we’ll have to see what 2013 brings us.
A big thanks to these folks for bringing the news to those of us who couldn’t attend.
The non-Hasbro G.I. Joe intel keeps coming from San Diego, as Mimoco announces a joint partnership with Hasbro to produce G.I. Joe and Transformers themed USB flash drives, each coming bundled with exclusive digital content as well as an awesome vintage character theme.
The news comes courtesy of Toy News International, and you can check out the full press release and image gallery right here. There’s also a nifty video to go along with it, which you can view below. Pretty cool stuff.
Continuing my “Top Ten” countdown of the items we saw last weekend in the Concept Case at the G.I. Joe: Convention. With my number 10 entry, I focused on the G.I. Joe: Renegades Scrap Iron with his melted face and awesomely animated body style.
For my ninth entry, I went back into the archives… generally I’m not a fan of simply re-releasing figures as they appeared two decades ago, with only minor alterations, but the figure I saw in the case made me rethink that idea. Besides, I’m a huge fan of those crazy 1989 army builders, so I couldn’t help myself.
9 – G.I. Joe: 30th Anniversary HEAT Viper
HEAT Viper is just one of those crazy figures you can’t help but love. Bright yellow, purple, and with his trusty missile-boots he has all the earmarks of the wacky Cobra Troopers of the late 1980’s. I was actually pretty amazed at just how well Hasbro translated that crazy design to the modern style.
Using the 30th Anniversary Airtight tooling and what appears to be a resin sculpted HEAT Viper helmet, Hasbro is able to replicate the look and feel almost perfectly. It does appear that some sculpting modification was done to get the purple strip down the front of the figure, but beyond that, this would be a pretty straight forward kit-bash. In talking to Dave, one of the genius sculptors for Hasbro, the HEAT Viper head was sculpted and appeared in his display case at the Convention, but it has not been “tooled” yet. However, he also had sculpted a Crimson Guard head for a tour in Providence a few years back, and that head ended up getting tooled and used.
Anyway, since we have Alley-Viper, and will soon have Night-Viper, it seems only appropriate that we add HEAT-Viper to the growing ’89 trooper ranks. Can Frag-Viper be far behind?
I think most of us figured that San Diego ComicCon might not be chock full of G.I. Joe goodness, and the Hasbro Press Release more or less confirms that. Still, for Joe fans heading to San Diego, they will apparently have the G.I. Joe: Retaliation product there for gazing as well as some movie props!
Do not expect to see the Concept Case, though, we were told at JoeCon that was a JoeCon only event.
Check out the important (IE, the G.I. Joe related) portions of the Press Release below:
“G.I. JOE
From action figures and animated series to movie and video games, the G.I. JOE brand from Hasbro has been an enduring pop culture icon for generations of fans. At Comic-Con, the Hasbro booth will provide G.I. JOE enthusiasts with an up close look at the entire upcoming G.I. JOE: RETALIATION line including newly announced items revealed at the G.I. JOE convention as well as the recently announced G.I. JOE MICRO FORCE line. The Hasbro booth at Comic-Con will be an opportunity for fans to see them in person before they hit shelves in the spring of 2013. The G.I. JOE: RETALIATION movie from Paramount Pictures is scheduled to hit theaters on March 29th, 2013 in 3D and starsDwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, Bruce Willis, Adrianne Palickiand more. As G.I. JOE fans know (and knowing is half the battle), the vehicles and costumes featured in the G.I. JOE vs. COBRA saga are just as important as the characters. As a special opportunity for fans, Hasbro will have props from the movie on display including the FIREFLY character’s motorcycle and the COBRA COMMANDER character’s iconic helmet.
Hasbro and the G.I. JOE publishers at IDW will also be celebrating the ongoing legacy and heritage of G.I. JOE comics by welcoming G.I. JOE comics legend, Larry Hama to its booth for an autograph session on Saturday, July 14 from 1:00-2:00pm. Tickets for the autograph session will be available at the Hasbro booth on Saturday morning beginning at 9:00am and G.I. JOE comics are available for purchase at the IDW booth (#2643).”
The full Press Release can be found right here. Within the text of the Press Release you can also see when the IDW Panel is happening, for the latest comic news. Larry Hama will be present and it’s just about the only G.I. Joe themed panel out there:
“IDW & Hasbro; Thursday, July 12 at 10:00-11:00am in Room 9
Join IDW Senior Editor John Barber (Transformers: Robots in Disguise), editor Carlos Guzman, and Hasbro’s Director of Global Publishing Michael Kelly as they reveal secrets and upcoming plans for Transformers, G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, and more! A new Transformers series will be announced—as will a new license! All this and special guests Larry Hama (G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero), Chris Metzen (Transformers: Autocracy), Flint Dille (Transformers: Autocracy), Livio Ramondelli (Transformers: Autocracy), Andrew Griffith (Transformers: Robots in Disguise), Brendan Cahill (Transformers: Robots in Disguise), Mike Costa (G.I. Joe: Cobra) and surprise guests!”