by generalsjoes | Mar 3, 2009 | Customs, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, Kick Ass Custom
Anyone who follows my reviews or my dio-stories knows that I’m a big fan of Barrel Roll from the Spy Troops era, and am, in fact, a huge fan of the whole Stall family dynamic. From Barrel Roll and Blackout’s conflit, tying in the whole sister angle with Bombstrike…sure it’s unlikely that three separate siblings would all happen to join G.I. Joe and/or COBRA and face off against each other, but it was still a cool story and an interesting subplot, even if not fully explored. I like to think Brandon Jerwa obviously had it on his mind when he was penning the G.I. Joe title, but I’m not sure he ever got the chance to fully develop it.
At any rate…the utter distaste that most fans have for the new sculpt era has left a lot of great stuff on the table, as it’s fairly unlikely that Hasbro will dip into that pool for source material. Yeah, they did the “Greatest Battles” 4-Pack, but let’s face it, that was pretty much just an excuse to release another Duke, COBRA Commander, Snake Eyes, and Storm Shadow.
Lots of folks have identified the Resolute Duke figure that showed up in the 5-Pack as being a potential Barrel Roll, and I can see that. The original figure was labelled a “high altitude sniper” and came with some COBRA pilot gear…the second figure actually came with a jetpack. When Barrel Roll showed up in the Sigma 6 toyline, he actually had a remarkably similar paint scheme to the Resolute Duke from the 5-Pack as well. But this is all just a roundabout way of me being giddy that someone finally gave us a decent 25th Anniversary Barrel Roll custom, and it’s only fitting that it’s longtime “friend of the site” Mysterious Stranger.
He posted the custom here on JoeBattleLines, and damned if I don’t freaking love it. He took the familiar Resolute Duke with the jetpack, gave him a sculpted head from Broken Arrow Toys, the Ace legs (which look PERFECT in comparison to the original version) and then painted the figure to more closely resemble the original Spy Troops look of the character. The end result is a fantastic update to the Barrel Roll character that blends perfectly with the 25th Anniversary, yet is also a nice representation of the Spy Troops era.
Great job on this one! Love it. Now do a Blackout, dammit. 😉
by generalsjoes | Mar 3, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe: The Movie
Familiar overseas seller, ws_toys is now selling the M.A.R.S. Industries Officer and Trooper in sets of 3 for $29.99 with free shipping. Considering the Officer and Trooper were $14.99 and $12.99 apiece respectively, this is a pretty decent deal, though these will be available at mass retail in probably 1-2 months for about half the price.
For those folks who want these early, though, check out eBay to get all three of them in one whack.
by generalsjoes | Mar 3, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comics, IDW
IESB.net comes through with images of the upcoming Rise of COBRA prequels from IDW Publishing. Each issue is a solo story focusing on Duke, Destro, Baroness, and Snake Eyes respectively, with an additional Snake Eyes follow up following the film’s release. According to the announcement, Issue #1 is scheduled for release next Tuesday, March 11th!
Check out the article and the images at IESB here, or you can also check out the gallery below.
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by generalsjoes | Mar 3, 2009 | 12" Scale, G.I. Joe, Sideshow
As we are all aware, Sideshow Toys put their excellent Storm Shadow COBRA Ninja figure up for pre-order late last week, complete with a very nice gallery of images. Well, Cool Toy Review scored a sneak preview of the figure with some even larger, more high resolution images of the infamous COBRA assassin. These pictures are absolutely huge and insanely detailed and showcase Storm Shadow very, very nicely.
Checkout the pictorial here. And if you love what you see, pre-order the Storm Shadow here.
by generalsjoes | Mar 2, 2009 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comics, IDW
Newsarama is filled with G.I. Joe related nuggets today as they spoke with both Chuck Dixon and Robert Atkins at MegaCon this weekend, and report about that conversation here.
Chuck Dixon is the writer and Robert Atkins is the penciller for the ongoing G.I. Joe title and both had an extensive conversation with the folks from Newsarama about the title and what’s coming in the future. There are a number of very interesting comments and quotes scattered throughout the interview, which honestly has me pretty optimistic about the direction this new G.I. Joe universe is taking.
Do yourself a favor and check out the interview here, and keep a close watch on IDW happenings, I think we’re in for a fun ride.
by generalsjoes | Mar 2, 2009 | Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comics, IDW
Bookspot Central, a site focused on covering fictional writing spoke with Mike Costa, who is writing the upcoming “G.I. Joe: COBRA” title from IDW, focusing on Chuckles going undercover within the COBRA organization. It promises to be a darker and more intense look at the terrorist organization.
To see what he had to say, check out the interview here.
My favorite quote about the book without a doubt is this one:
“For me, the biggest thing I’m trying to do is to figure out how an organization like Cobra would actually operate in the world today. And the biggest question there is “what is their goal?” That was the question I had to answer for myself before I could move any further, because “world domination” is the goal that the original Cobra had and, come on, that’s a goal that just doesn’t make any sense. What does it even mean? And even if someone was so insane and motivated that they could create a multi-national organization to that end… How do they make it work? What’s the plan? Who would work for them, and what would their motives be? Why would you strap a helmet on your head and engage an elite American military unit in combat so some guy who doesn’t even know your name can “rule the world?” That’s inherently ludicrous.”
COBRA’s goals throughout the comic run have always been pretty vague and ambiguous. I’m very happy to hear that Mr. Costa (and Mr. Gage) are at least taking a look at things from this angle and considering the motivations behind COBRA doing what they do. That and the promised “darkness” of this title are both really appealing to me. Can’t wait.
Thanks to The Terror Drome for leading us to this information!
Anyone who follows my reviews or my dio-stories knows that I’m a big fan of Barrel Roll from the Spy Troops era, and am, in fact, a huge fan of the whole Stall family dynamic. From Barrel Roll and Blackout’s conflit, tying in the whole sister angle with Bombstrike…sure it’s unlikely that three separate siblings would all happen to join G.I. Joe and/or COBRA and face off against each other, but it was still a cool story and an interesting subplot, even if not fully explored. I like to think Brandon Jerwa obviously had it on his mind when he was penning the G.I. Joe title, but I’m not sure he ever got the chance to fully develop it.
