Rejoice! Volumes 2 and 3 of James Kavanaugh, Jr’s excellent Rank & File G.I. Joe guides are now LIVE on Kickstarter and ready for funding! Volume 2 has been sold out for a while and Volume 3 is dangerously close, so here is a perfect opportunity to get them both in production again.
Sitting at just over $1,500 already there’s a ton of great content crammed within these guides and you’re not going to want to miss out. Check out the press release below and help get these great guides funded!
Press Release
I am pleased to announce that, after a successful Rank & File volume 1 reprint campaign, the Kickstarter for volumes 2 and 3 is live! These resource guides are really picking up steam and now selling out inside of a year.
The Rank & File series archives the history of 4″ G.I. Joe and currently has three volumes produced with at least three more in the works. Volume 4 is coming this summer! This reprint was also updated to account for some carry forward action figures produced after the guide’s initial print run, as well as some additional information and error correction. Below is the description for Rank & File volumes 2 and 3:
After a brief hiatus in 2006, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero went in a new stylistic direction that is still predominately used today! Fans revisited some of their most cherished icons within the G.I. Joe mythos and were introduced to new characters that are now known and loved. Rank & File volume 1 captured these action figures in a resource guide and is currently on its second reprint. Rank & File volum3 2 is sold out and volume 3 is days away from selling out!
The Rank & File Guide volumes 2 and 3 archive the remaining mass produced G.I. Joe product by fully displaying every G.I. Joe action figure produced between theThe Rise of Cobra, The Pursuit of Cobra, 30th Anniversary/Renegades, Retaliation, 50, and G.I. Joe Basic Asst. series; complete with every accessory and variation produced. Not only are the accessories shown alongside the action figures, they have been carefully cataloged in an upcoming volume to guarantee the proper shade of accessory goes to the appropriate action figure. To top it off, every vehicle and play set released in the 4″ era has been documented and every easily removable piece has been individually photographed, ensuring collector completion. Theses full color, 52 page and 48 page (respectably) resource manuals beautifully illustrate the six series’ combined 328 action figures, 77 vehicles, and every accessory, including all known variations. Not only is every accessory present and accounted for, they have each been assigned a unique number and identified throughout the resource guides. Each action figure has been carefully examined between its initial run and further re-releases to ensure that an accurate sample is clearly and concisely presented; perfect for the collector who is identifying individual action figures or sorting through unorganized lots.
Whether you’re a seasoned or rejuvenated collector, enthusiast, or toy vendor; the Rank & File Guidebooks are the definitive compilation for G.I. Joe action figures, vehicles and play sets produced between 2007 to today. Let the Rank & File Guidebooks serve as a reference for completion or a scrapbook to the next big turning point of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
This Kickstarter not only allows you to be the first to have reprints of Rank & File volumes 2 and 3 in hand, it also provides a chance to obtain some rare and fun items, primarily some of the very action figures cataloged in these guidebooks. This particular Kickstarter even has a fans choice contest to potentially release the alternate cover I chose not to use for volume 2’s original run. You decide! The demand has been heard and the time is nigh, let’s bring back Rank & File volumes 2 and 3 for another round!
One final note, the supply of Rank & File volume 3 is available but dwindling. Order your copy at www.rahcguide.com or chose it from one of the great Kickstarter options in the link above! This Kickstarter’s immediate goal is to replenish stock for the 2018 International G.I. Joe Convention. These guides will only be available if this Kickstarter is successful.
It’s officially the final year for the G.I. Joe Convention, and the Collectors Club has released their convention brochure featuring the theme for the Con, as well as some of the figures we can expect.
Okay, up front, I gotta say… not a big fan of getting further exposure to both of those subteams, which have already been done to death in the past, however, based on the figure roster it seems like there’s a good chance we’ll see the TRU deco for the Python Patrol, which is my personal favorite.
Also, looks like we’ll be getting Sgt. Smasher, a potential repaint for Sgt. Slaughter (and a way to repurpose the SDCC exclusive maybe?) as well as Hardball. On the 12″ side, there looks to be a Green Beret Machine Gun Outpost.
Check out the full details in the Convention Brochure and stay tuned for more info still to come for the final JoeCon in Chattanooga!
One piece of news that cannot go unnoticed is the latest in a line of Kickstarters by Robert Carson Mataxis of 3D Joes. Robert is in the final week of his Kickstarter for volumes 5 and 6 of Collecting the art of GI Joe. These volumes cover the years 1990-1994 and are a celebration of the painted art of GI Joe A Real American Hero. As of writing this post the Kickstarter has smashed its goal and currently sits at $35,830. You still have 6 days to get in on this Kickstarter and own a great piece of collecting art. Volume 5 will feature 158 unique pieces of art and will cover three years of material. Volume 6 will cover the last two years of figures, vehicles, playsets and peripheral painted art for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. It will also feature 20 pages of unreleased and international painted art.
First and foremost, I want to give a nice shout out to a few folks who have emailed to kindly volunteer their time and energy to supplying content for GeneralsJoes. I’m hoping to share some more names shortly, but first and foremost is Almon. He volunteered to pitch in with content, and the first thing he sent over was a review of the G.I. Joe episode of the Netflix documentary series The Toys That Made Us.
Let’s give Almon a warm welcome and check out the review of the episode below!
If you’re a regular visitor to GeneralsJoes, you’re probably thinking that a lot of stuff is new, I just haven’t been talking about it. And yeah, you’d be right.
Why is that? Honestly, I don’t really have an answer. I think it’s a lot of things.
After holding the torch of the G.I. Joe fandom for near twenty years, I think I’ve gotten a little tired. I’ve posted hundreds of reviews over twenty years, thousands of news stories, and seen many of the same themes come and go. Popularity swings from one extreme to the other, but a solid core of devoted, motivated fans who love the brand and want to continue to see it evolve.
One thing social media has done is provided an outlet for many of those motivated fans to continue expressing their feelings of the brand at large and as things have become more social media driven, I’ve felt like a place like GeneralsJoes hasn’t had a very large role in that. Mostly my own fault, but it is the truth.
Also I can’t help but say that my own motivation has been somewhat lacking. As many of you are aware I’ve begun focusing a lot of time and energy on my career as an independent author, an endeavor I’ve found to be exceedingly rewarding and unbelievably enjoyable. Unfortunately as a husband and father with a 50 hour a week job, I only have so much time outside of daily life to contribute to what are essentially “hobbies” at this point. Posting new FSS reviews or writing 20,000 words on a new novel? The novel is going to win out at this point. I need to do what’s best for my own self worth and my own reward system.
Lots of you will say it’s a lack of news or interest that’s driving the site into relative silence, but I can promise you that’s not the point. My site begun in 1998 when we were getting maybe 15 new figures a year (and then none in 1999). My site has survived the Direct to Consumer doldrums, the disintegration of one of my favorite brands, Sigma 6, the rise and fall of the G.I. Joe film franchise, and GeneralsJoes was right there the whole time. It didn’t go anywhere, and it’s still not going anywhere. I’m never going to abandon this site, I’m never going to abandon the G.I. Joe brand, I just have only so much time to go around, and for the moment that time is being spent on other endeavors. I truly hope everyone reading this understands.
That being said, if there is anyone reading this who wants to assist in keeping the heartbeat of GeneralsJoes alive, please drop me line (justin AT generalsjoesreborn.com). I hate to see the site dwindling into obscurity, I desperately want to keep it active and keep it relevant, but there’s only so much I can do personally, and as I said, for my own mental well-being and self-reward, I really want to continue to focus on being an author.
Who knows, if my author career takes off to the point where I can do that for a day job, then that changes my whole landscape. I don’t see that happening for a while (if ever).
That being said, there are rumors that the next G.I. Joe film will be landing in early 2020. Along with that will likely be a new action figure line. The G.I. Joe Collectors Club is officially winding down with their last convention in Chattanooga this coming year. The good news is that there are so many fans of the brand still keeping the fires lit, and trust me when I say I’m doing the same thing, I’m just doing it a bit more quietly than some others. That may change in 2018, but I can’t promise anything at this point.
Like I said, I’m not going anywhere, and if anyone wants to help keep the light on, please drop me a line. Time will tell how things look going into 2018.
The Full Force has posted Series 4, Episode 9 of their awesome podcast, this time featuring a plethora of content about Transformers! They speak to former Hasbro Transformers and G.I. Joe manager Marc Weber and dig into the awesomeness that is Transformers lore for a solid NINE HOURS.
It’s bound to be some good listenin’! Check out the latest episode on Podbean (also embedded below and be sure to check out the show notes on the Full Force Facebook page, they always have a ton of images and great details straight from the show.
