The GeneralsJoes July Review-A-Rama continues on strong thanks to Hasbro’s Public Relations team… A nice surprise package in the mail late last week provided me with the two San Diego ComicCon Exclusive Sgt. Slaughters that are hitting lucky collectors this weekend at ComicCon.
I’ve reviewed them both and for lack of a better place, linked the review on the Pursuit of Cobra page. You can, of course, also check it out here.
So when I kicked off this nearly month-long review fest, I posted a public plea for any guest reviewers who wanted to pitch in…and someone has stepped up in a big way.
Although not a traditional review necessarily, Gyre-Viper took this opportunity to do something very cool. Through his time as a Joe fan, he’s made some connections, and one of those connections was with Bill Merklein. Bill Merklein is probably not a name most folks know, but believe me, you absolutely know his work. This is the man who sculpted somewhere in the neighborhood of 60 2-ups of some of the most treasured figures and characters in the vintage G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line up.
Probably one of his most infamous works, though, was a sculpt that he did for Rocky Balboa, another planned mail away exclusive that never came to pass.
Well, just for GeneralsJoes, Gyre-Viper called up Bill Merklein and spoke with him about his experience with Hasbro, and specifically his experience with the Rocky Balboa project, and he has decided to share this with the audience here. A very, very cool move, and one that I’m happy to be able to spread the word about.
Sometimes I don’t feel like there is enough appreciation of the “time gone by” and the history of G.I. Joe or the people involved. It is so awesome to get a behind the scenes look like this, and I really want to thank Gyre-Viper for making it happen. Click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below to check it all out, YouTube links and all. Just as a note, the YouTube videos are audio only, but still crammed with very cool information.
I could listen to this over and over…a huge thanks to Gyre-Viper and especially to Bill Merklein for not only taking the time here, but for lending his awesome talents to sculpting and designing some legendary toys that have created a devoted following nearly three decades later.
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The San Diego ComicCon has moved into a whole new stratosphere in recent years. Initially merely a large comic convention, it somehow migrated to a Geek Mecca where Hollywood, Comics, and Toy Companies collide to give us glimpses at what cool new things are on the horizon for our nerd pleasure. It is pretty astounding to see just what it has become.
Of course as part of the allure of ComicCon, there are the SDCC Exclusives…toys that are launched at SDCC and for sale initially only at SDCC. This has always created a conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots” which has sometimes generated some hostility not just in the fandom, but directed back at the manufacturers. But Hasbro seems to have found a balance. By offering the items through SDCC, but also at HasbroToyShop, they seem to be able to please everyone, and in recent years there hasn’t been an obvious shortage of opportunities to get what you want.
This is not the case with Mattel, who year after year generates mountains of frustration among their fans with a strange voucher pre-order system that doesn’t even guarantee you a figure if you travel all the way to ComicCon. Not to mention when they post items for sale after the fact, MattyCollector.com gets so hammered that nobody can access the retail store. In general, it seems like a mammoth cluster… you get the idea.
Now not only does Hasbro seem to have the system at least somewhat ironed out, but the numbers of cool exclusives they are getting out there is amazing. Now, most of this is probably because they’re far and away the #1 Boys Toys brand in the market, but it really is incredible just how many cool toys they can get into collectors’ hands through SDCC. Anyone reading this right now already knows about Sgt. Slaughter:
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When Hunter PR rep Joe Moscone reported on his Twitter page last night that Hasbro’s SDCC exclusives would be featured on Attack of the Show, I was hoping the video would show up online since I don’t get G4 with my local cable package. Thankfully g4tv.com came through!
They visited Hasbro’s Rhode Island headquarters and give us the scoop on the wide array of goodies Hasbro will have available at SDCC…and yes, the Sarge is front and center. Check out the embedded video below.
Some enterprising Joefans have jumped on a few eBay sales offering early releases of the Sgt. Slaughter SDCC exclusive, and some pics are starting to emerge. Over on Hisstank.com, both Bionic Commando and Gyre-Viper have posted some images, mint on card and loose both. Old friend of GeneralsJoes cmderinchief has also posted a couple of images on his Facebook page as well. I’ve mirrored the images below.
I know some folks are a bit on the fence, but I dig this figure. He looks cool, old school, but still accurate to Sarge’s physical… prowess. Sure, it would have been cool to have him stacked and jacked like he was in the cartoon, but there’s something humorous about this figure, and appropriately cheesy. Of course the mid-torso joint does disrupt some of the flow, which is an issue. But articulation must always come first, in my opinion.
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Now that the 2010 JoeCon is over, lots of folks have been emailing and asking me what’s up with the 2009 Convention Set review…and honestly, I don’t own it. It’s not over some protest to the 25th Anniversary tooling or anything, it’s just the fact that I missed the Convention last year due to the birth of my child, and I just haven’t been able to scare up the funds to buy these items all at one whack yet. Normally, I make a concerted effort to save money aside for the Convention as it approaches, but this time around, I knew I wasn’t going, so stupidly I didn’t stick to my regiment of cash savings in preparation.
Eventually I’m certain I’ll get my hands on these, especially the International Team 3-Pack and the SAS Copter with Blades, as those two items in particular are impressive, to say the least.
Until I get my hands on them, though, regular GeneralsJoes contributor Mysterious Stranger has stepped up to the plate and delivered a great guest review of this set! I love having guest reviewers send their stuff in, but tackling a review of a massive convention set goes way above and beyond the call of duty. Thanks a lot, Chris!
You can find the review linked in the GI Joe Collectors’ Club Reviews section, or you can also find it right here.