by generalsjoes | May 25, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comic Reviews, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Reviews, IDW
Tomorrow, IDW releases the first issue of their latest G.I. Joe series, Hearts and Minds. Written by nationally acclaimed author Max Brooks (best selling author of World War Z) and using Howard Chaykin (Major Bludd) and Antonio Fuso (Spirit) on the art duties, IDW promises a more introspective look at the characters deeply rooted in the G.I. Joe mythology.
Brooks eschews action for a more solemn, personal look at Major Bludd and Spirit, really digging into their personalities and character.
In all fairness, I can see some readers getting at least a bit irked at this premise. In the first issue, we get a lot of text, a lot of detail, and not a whole lot of action to speak of. But the great thing is, the dialog and plot are so seamless and fun to read the lack of action does not seem glaring at all.
Brooks draws some very interesting perspective on Spirit especially, likening his heightened senses to a genetic disorder (sensory integration dysfunction) which gives him extremely sensitive senses and makes him a perfect tracker. It’s amazing, with only about twelve pages to tell a story, Brooks weaves a fascinating history of G.I. Joe’s infamous Native American character.
With a few neat twists and turns, even in a non-action packed story, Max Brooks has told an in depth and amazing tale with a very small canvas to work with. It makes me very excited to see what else Mr. Brooks has planned for us.
by generalsjoes | May 25, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Pursuit of COBRA
The Toys “R” Us exclusive figures have been somewhat hit or miss over the past twelve months. While opinion was generally quite favorable over Firefly, Bench Press and the Snow Serpent Officer, I don’t think the fans were exactly wild about Barbecue, Doc, or Arctic Shipwreck. However, with the upcoming Pursuit of Cobra line, I think Hasbro really took out the stops, and we’re getting a pair of exclusives that are awesome homages to not only the vintage characters, but also plenty of other 80’s themes!
Spirit is pulled straight from the movie classic Predator, while Quick Kick is infused with a combination of Bruce Lee and the Karate Kid. As he usually does, HissTank forum member Gyre-Viper showcases both figures in a unique way. Check them in this thread, or mirrored below.
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by generalsjoes | May 25, 2010 | 5 Page Previews, Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comics, IDW
On the eve of the next upcoming IDW G.I. Joe limited series, G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds, a couple of sites have posted various previews for pages of the upcoming book. iFanboy has posted a very in depth preview featuring many pages of the Major Bludd side of the story, while Newsarama has posted a very nice five-page preview featuring pages from the Spirit side of the story.
Check them out mirrored below. This great looking limited series will hit comic stores tomorrow.
iFanboy
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Newsarama
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G.I. Joe: Hearts and Minds is written by best selling author Max Brooks and drawn by comics legend Howard Chaykin, and hits comic stores tomorrow! I’m looking forward to it.
by generalsjoes | May 24, 2010 | G.I. Joe, Web Stuff
I’ve had my own personal Facebook page for a while now, and have been toying with getting the site on it’s own page as well, but didn’t want to do it until I could do it right.
And in light of recent security worries about Facebook, I figured this was the perfect time to reveal even more about myself than ever before. Whatever you do, don’t click on the link called “Bank Account Information” in my profile. Trust me, it’s nothing important. :shifty:
I’ve created a GeneralsJoes “Fanpage” which will automatically feed all of my WordPress blog posts straight into it, and it appears to work fairly seamlessly. Eagle eyed readers probably saw me tearing my hair out tonight while I tested it. I’m using a pretty cool plug in, but you can only test it by actually publishing a post. D’oh.
Anyway. Check out the GeneralsJoes Fan Page right here, and there should now be all sorts of funky little Facebook buttons all over the site, so you can tell me how awesome I am. You can also click the spiffy page badge below.
GeneralsJoes
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by generalsjoes | May 24, 2010 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary
I haven’t really talked about it much over the past few months, even as we knew Outrider, from JoeDios.com, was sick with cancer. A ravenous fan of the o-ring style, Outrider could do more things with a camera and cinematography than I could even think about. He never did any elaborate dio-stories, sticking mostly with single shot images, but he had an incredible eye for perspective, and just had a frustratingly incredible natural talent for photography.
I say frustrating because I would see an image that it probably took him 10 minutes to take, and would try many, many times to replicate the cinema-like “feel”, only to come up empty. Yet, it just seemed to come naturally to him.
I didn’t deal with him much on a personal basis, but he was a real spirit behind JoeDios.com, and did some amazing things there, and when news came through that he passed away, I felt compelled to write a little something.
He wasn’t the most vocal guy on the ‘net, and if you didn’t frequent JoeDios.com, you probably didn’t even know who he was, but he contributed more to this hobby than many other people out there, and for that he’ll always be remembered.
Mirrored below are a few of his images that I’m especially fond of, but do the crew at JoeDios a favor, and head over there to pay your condolences. His images can all be found right here (all 125 pages worth!). After 10 years of taking pictures, I still can’t capture the spirit and perspective that Craig did in a single shot, and I will always simultaneously love him and hate him for that.
Rest in Peace, Craig. You earned it.
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by generalsjoes | May 23, 2010 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe: Renegades
Wow, it’s apparently been an eventful weekend in the comments section of the page over here. Yikes. Moving on to other subjects… while folks are still oohing and aahing over G.I. Joe: The Pursuit of Cobra (myself absolutely included!) those who crave the mythos as well as the toys are already looking ahead to G.I. Joe: Renegades. Granted, Renegades as an animated series will debut long before the PoC toys transform into a slightly more animated aesthetic on retail pegs.
But I have read throughout the ‘net lots of kneejerk reaction saying “if it’s not Resolute, it sucks”, or “if it’s a kid show, it sucks” and I’m definitely not ready to write it off that quickly.
Granted, Hasbro and its various licensors have been totally unable to produce a decent G.I. Joe animated series for kids within the last two decades, but here’s hoping that’s changed this time around. One of the reasons why I’m maintaining a large level of confidence is because of Jeff Kline.
Jeff Kline was at JoeCon this past year in Providence, and said all of the right things during the Hasbro round table. I gathered all of the notes together in my Renegades Quick Hits already. Now, Jeff Kline probably isn’t a name most folks have heard of, but he’s worked on many features you’ve seen. One of the lead producers and writers behind the Jackie Chan Adventures, Men in Black (the series), Max Steel, and Extreme Ghostbusters he has an impressive resume. Max Steel is a series that I feel gets a serious bum rap and was one of the better animated adventures of the 90’s, in my mind.
But perhaps the biggest notch in Mr. Kline’s belt for me is Roughnecks: The Starship Trooper Chronicles. Yes, Mr. Kline was the lead producer behind that series, which was a fantastic look into the world of the Starship Troopers, and many would say represented that universe even better than the films did. It pulled no punches and presented a complex, intricate story woven throughout episodes.
Now, Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman are also getting behind him, as he apparently is one of the writers for Transformers: Prime, the series they are front-running for the Hub to air alongside Renegades. In this article on TFormers.com, they talk about Mr. Kline’s resume and how lucky they are to be working with a man of his talent and background.
Considering what he said about Renegades at the round table, that certainly leaves me with some level of optimism. Time will tell.
Tomorrow, IDW releases the first issue of their latest G.I. Joe series, Hearts and Minds. Written by nationally acclaimed author Max Brooks (best selling author of World War Z) and using Howard Chaykin (Major Bludd) and Antonio Fuso (Spirit) on the art duties, IDW promises a more introspective look at the characters deeply rooted in the G.I. Joe mythology.