ComicCon Exclusive “Desert Duel” G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary set IN STOCK AT TRU.COM
GO GET IT!
ToysRUs.com has pre-orders for 2015 G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Assortments
We must be getting closer to release! Toys “R” Us’ website has posted pre-orders for all of the upcoming G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary product for 2015. As an extra bonus, they’ve also posted great images of the filecards as well as the press images for the product itself.
Check out ToysRUs.com for the latest pre-order information!
Personally, I may just try my luck at brick & mortar, now that I have a Toys “R” Us local to my workplace. We’ll see…
Top 10 G.I. Joe Stories of 2014
I set out to write this article, and was immediately surprised by the fact that there was actually some stuff happening with the G.I. Joe brand in 2014. I know the fandom is eager to jump and say that G.I. Joe was high and dry in this momentous year, and from a practical perspective, it was, but even so, there were lots of things happening this year worth exploring. Not on any grand scale, however.
I suppose that’s a commentary on the state of G.I. Joe these days, where it remains somewhat relevant, but just barely. And one is forced to ask what’s worse? Being totally irrelevant, or being just relevant enough to cling around, but not relevant enough to try and push harder. It’s like the brand is stuck in this murky middle ground where it’s got the slightest hint of popularity enough for Hasbro to keep it hanging on, but not enough to get a real push. Yet, until it fades away completely, it likely won’t get a full rejuvination either.
All that being said, there were still some discussion points throughout 2014, and here are my top 10. I’m going to try very hard to maintain a sense of positivity and optimism, because dammit I still love G.I. Joe, even if the rest of the world currently couldn’t give a crap. 🙂
Check out the list after the break.
These Draxhall Jump G.I. Joe vs. Cobra Concepts are an early Christmas Present
Being a G.I. Joe fan during the 2002 – 2005 era was an exercise in enthusiasm, excitement, and on occasion bitter disappointment. Those formative years of the new era of G.I. Joe were surrounded by an extremely vibrant fandom who latched onto G.I. Joe’s new retail presence and celebrated through Devils’ Due comics, the G.I. Joe convention, which now catered more to the 3 3/4″ fans, and a lot of folks embracing the excitement and wacky nature of G.I. Joe for the first time since the 80’s.
From a conceptual standpoint, Hasbro was developing an impressive resume of characters from the old days as well as new characters, establishing almost a perfect formula of vintage and modern. The only problem was, back then, the toy design process was a bit hit or miss, and the actual product wasn’t measuring up to the concepts. Seems we’re at an opposite place now, where we have this process to develop fantastic figures, but conceptually there seems to be a struggle. If only we could get the JvC enthusiasm and marketing muscle with the modern design technology…
But I digress.
Over at their new podcast, Nerdrahtio, Sam Sears and Tom Mathias spent some time speaking with Sam Wells, formerly of Devils’ Due Publications, who shares some magnificent concept art from the Joe Vs. Cobra, Spy Troops, Valor Vs. Venom, and even DTC days. Back then, Draxhall Jump was doing amazing work building these terrific character designs, which unfortunately ended up somewhat limited in execution. But looking back at these spectacular concepts, it can’t help but make G.I. Joe fans wish for “what might have been”. Not only that, but there is a wealth of unreleased characters featured in the artwork as well. Amazing looking stuff, truly.
Still, kudos to both Sams and Tom for sharing the information. I’ve mirrored a couple of images below, but you should check out Nerdrahtio.com for the rest. You will NOT regret it. While you’re there, listen to that first episode as well, a great interview with Mr. Wells along with discussion about the concept art shown.
YoJoe.com Top 10 G.I. Joe toys of 2014!
Alongside the stalwart cohorts at YoJoe.com, we’ve put out our list of Top 10 G.I. Joe toys from 2014.
I know to many Joefans, 2014 felt like a lost year, but looking back on it, there were some great things to enjoy, and the crew at YoJoe runs them down.
If I did my own list it would be pretty different from this, but that’s the cool thing about bringing different opinions to the table…
Check it out at YoJoe.com!
What’s On Joe Mind Episode 98 Mammoth 3 Hour Episode is online!
The way episodes have been posted lately means that a somewhat larger gap happens between them, which actually has the benefit of giving us more to talk about. For episode 98 we come close to our self imposed three hour limit, but it’s tough to say that any of the discussion was extraneous. We talk to good friend of WOJM Bill Ratner about his latest adventures, and he never fails to entertain. There’s some great discussion about regional events as well, encompassing lots of real estate from Iowa all the way to Southampton, UK… wherever there’s trouble, WOJM is there!
Of course we also talk about latest rumors of a 6″ G.I. Joe line and get back to basics about what G.I. Joe means to us. Lots of stuff crammed into that three hours, hopefully you’ll enjoy it.
Check out the latest episode at Podbean.com or embedded below and show notes are after the jump.