by generalsjoes | Dec 31, 2015 | 50th Anniversary, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Kre-O, G.I. Joe Toys
The last couple of years as I sat down to write this up, I think ‘oh, this will be easy this year…there was barely any product’!
Then I go through all of my reviews over the past 12 months and realize that for a line that is supposedly on prolonged life support, we still got some GREAT stuff in 2015. Really great stuff.
Now, I migrated to a new review system in 2015, one that makes calculating review scores a bit more granular. But, I’ll be honest… I still went by the seat of my pants on this rundown, and looked at these figures from the perspective of a 100 mile view. It can be tough to write up a review “hot off the presses” right when I get a figure in hand, because honestly, that’s often when I’m in love the most. It can be tough to be impartial that close to the newness of that toy for the first time.
So I whittled down the list and ultimately looked at figures that I could step away from for a little while and gauge my appreciation.
The results are after the break.
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by generalsjoes | Dec 29, 2015 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 3, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Comics, G.I. Joe Toys, G.I. Joe Video Game, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, G.I. Joe: The Movie, IDW, Kindle Worlds
At any given time throughout 2015 it felt like a pretty slow news year for G.I. Joe, but as always, when you stop and look back, suddenly things don’t look quite so small.
Granted G.I. Joe product at retail was pretty much focused to a singular burst in late summer as the 50th Anniversary exploded, then faded, even though we got Convention product and FSS figures earlier in the year. With all that being said, it still feels like there were plenty of “banner moments” in G.I. Joe news for the year that was.
News was breaking right up until the last moment, and I’m actually a bit worried that if I post this prior to December 31st I might end up missing something!
Click the “read more” link below to check out the full list!
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by generalsjoes | Nov 25, 2015 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Kindle Worlds
One thing that has been abundantly clear throughout the process of the fan vote for the Kindle Worlds character to be made into a figure is that the G.I. Joe community is starved for new characters and there seems to be a lot of support towards getting all four of the Kindle Worlds figures made.
For obvious reasons, I think I speak for myself, Troy, and Jim when I say we are 110% behind this idea!
Bill has started a thread over on HISSTank.com about this topic and will be collecting information from folks who might want to send their support directly to Hasbro. Please check the thread and let your voices be heard!
Bill has suggested collecting actual, physical letters since that tends to have more impact than Internet discussions, and I find it hard to disagree. Bill has kindly offered up his mailing address to collect the letters, but for obvious reasons I won’t post it here.
If you need his address and cannot get on the HISSTank thread for whatever reason, please e-mail me at justin AT generalsjoesreborn.com with the word “kindle” in the subject line and I’ll make sure we can get Bill’s address to you.
I can’t thank everyone for all their kind words and support throughout this process, and even though Whisper didn’t win, this has been a fun experience and I’ve appreciated getting to know the fellow Kindle World authors.
Thanks!
by generalsjoes | Nov 8, 2015 | Dio-Stories, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Toys, Kindle Worlds, Pursuit of COBRA
As the deadline for the Hasbro Pulse fan vote nears (tomorrow, November 9th) the question remains…which of these four characters will get the green light, and where do they fit in the G.I. Joe mythology. The other three writers have done a great job jiving their creators with an overall timeline, but as I look towards the future, in the event that Whisper actually wins, I want to plan not just where she’s been, but where she will be going.
For anyone who follows my dio-stories, you know that “universe” more or less wrapped up this past year with Darkness Falls. If Whisper wins the Fan Vote, I have already developed a follow up that Darkness Falls Dio-Story that I will be excited to launch!
The following contains spoilers to Darkness Falls, so if you haven’t read that yet, you may want to before continuing…
“Rescued” by COBRA from a South American fishing village after the entire village was massacred (see Marvel’s G.I. Joe #1), Whisper was brought in and raised by COBRA Commander as his own personal assassin. Trained by the elite of COBRA operatives, Whisper learned martial arts, silenced weapons, sabotage, covert operations, and disguise by some of the most talented masters in the world. Then employed those skills in sinister fashion for COBRA (as seen in The Price of Peace trilogy).
Time has passed…
The decades long battle between G.I. Joe and Cobra has more or less ended. Casualties on both sides. COBRA Commander as we know him is dead, as are Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. Scarlett has retreated to the cabin in the Sierra Nevadas to raise her son Tommy and the world feels a little bit safer.
But the battle is not over. Whisper has returned, and has returned to find her father dead and her support system decimated. With only her blinding hate of G.I. Joe to guide and feed her, Whisper prepares for a massive campaign of revenge on former G.I. Joe leadership. Meanwhile, the remnants of the COBRA organization have come together to form The Coil, a sinister underground devoted to furthering the COBRA cause. But they may hit some resistance as a new and improved COBRA Commander comes on the scene…
I plan to use Whisper to kick start a new generation of G.I. Joe, focusing pretty strongly on the Pursuit of COBRA aesthetic. While my old dio-story used a lot of those figures, this new universe will take that concept and run with it.
So, please consider voting for Whisper, and we can all experience this fun new world together! You could also expect to see her show back up in my Kindle Worlds work as well.
Meanwhile, definitely check out all of the other creators behind their own Hasbro Fan Vote creations as well. Lots of good stuff there.
by generalsjoes | Oct 21, 2015 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys, Kindle Worlds, Podcasts, Roll Out Roll Call
When good friend Chris asked if I wanted to go on the Full Force podcast to discuss my latest non-G.I. Joe novel, The Fog of Dreams, I was pretty ecstatic. For all of the work I put into developing the book, I’ve found precious few chances to talk about it, and it was an absolute blast.
I talked about the writing process, character building, and of course couldn’t help but dip into the G.I. Joe universe and also speak about my Kindle Worlds projects. Thankfully, this episode of The Full Force actually has some credible people on as well, as they speak with Paddy Lennon and Brian Hickey of Total Retaliation fame, as well as caster/customizer extraordinaire RagingSpoon and Nichole.
It’s an action packed episode, so join Chris, Dave Tree, and Eddie Inman for a fantastic packed episode. Then after you listen, please consider hopping over to Amazon.com and picking up The Fog of Dreams so you can see what the talk is all about. It’s only $2.99 for Amazon Kindle and has a lot of appeal for G.I. Joe fans.
Take it away Full Force!
by generalsjoes | Oct 14, 2015 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe Toys
Ohh yeah… I’ve been waiting for this one ever since it was announced at JoeCon earlier this year. Finally, after 28 years, for the first time ever, we’re getting a Pythona action figure!
Cobra La is a polarizing element of the G.I. Joe mythology, but fans at large seem to be unified in the fact that Pythona was a necessary addition to their G.I. Joe collections. Well, the Collectors’ Club has officially filled that void, and filled it pretty darn nicely.
Featuring what looks to be a new head, new hands, and possibly a new cloak (or perhaps the comic pack Storm Shadow cloak), most of the heavy lifting is being done with very intricate and detailed paint applications.
I’m pretty surprised with how nice it looks. I had some concerns that without significant new tooling this figure couldn’t be done right, but based on the Photoshop mock up at least, those concerns were for naught. This is a great looking figure, and it will feel fantastic to finally have Pythona in my display.
Check out the image below, and keep watching GIJoeClub.com for all the details. If you want Pythona, make sure you’re a member of the G.I. Joe Collectors Club as of March 16th. You’re not gonna want to miss this one!
