If most of my readers are like me, they grew up in an age where toy stores were their own cottage industry. K-B Toys, Child World, Children’s Palace, and Circus World all took up residence in our young minds, and thanks to the popularity of the film Big, FAO Schwarz was another one of those toy retailers that left an indelible impression.
I still remember my first visit to an FAO Schwarz store…not the 5th Avenue one in New York City that is so recognized, but a store in Boston that was like a toy mecca for a kid like me growing up in rural Vermont.
Pronto.com has designed a great infographic of the great history FAO Schwarz and they passed the info along to me, so I’m sharing it with you. It’s a really cool look at a great toy store, and our friend Joe makes an appearance. Click the read the rest of the story link below for this cool image.
We saw a sneak peek of this calendar several months ago, and I just got word from Calendars.com that it is now officially in stock! Not only is it in stock, but it’s on sale for $7.49.
Featuring the familiar Roadblock, Cobra Commander, Snake Eyes, Storm Shadow…errr… Clutch… and…uh… Mouse! Yes, that’s right, no Duke and no Flint, but we’ve got Clutch and Mouse. Not to mention “Special Ops”.
Sarcastic humor aside, awesome to see some G.I. Joe: Retaliation material for sale, and you bet your ass I just bought mine. It’s a 16 month calendar, so maybe there are some other characters that didn’t make the “back cover” cut.
Slowly but surely we’re drifting closer to March, 2013, and every day we move closer, the promotional train will start revving up again. I think the more we see the name G.I. Joe: Retaliation in the public eye the better…we were getting some great word of mouth and some terrific response in the summer, and I can only hope these events kick back up again for the release in March.
For now, Collider has spoken with Lorenzo Di Bonventura, one of the producers for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and because Collider is awesome, they made sure to get some G.I. Joe questions in there. The questions focused mainly on 3D conversion and the film’s delay. When talking about the 3D conversion itself in relation to the delay, Di Bonventura said:
“We learned a lot about 3D—I personally learned a lot about 3D inTransformers. The conversion part of the 3D process is night and day, you know, every three, four months it’s better than it was before. It’s amazing how fast that thing has changes. And originally we didn’t really have the time or the resources to try to figure out how to shoot it in 3D in the time frame that we were originally talking about, you know, starting in August and releasing in June. So this delay has allowed us to go at it now.”
…and he brings up a good point. Many folks have forgotten that G.I. Joe: Retaliation was initially slated for a later release, but got pushed up to meet the spot for the vacated Star Trek sequel. I can imagine that much compressed timeline meant that real time 3D wasn’t an option. In talking about director Jon Chu’s experience with 3D:
“Jon [Chu] has some sequences that are really, there’s a phenomenal—for G.I. Joe fans it’s going to be one of the really great scenes for them, because there’s a fight between Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow in a hallway that is so perfect for 3D I can’t tell you. It’s going to be like one of the coolest fights ever in 3D, because there’s so much about it that’s dynamic. That’s going to be really fun. And you know people have seen bits and pieces of the Himalayan sort of rock climbing thing, it’s almost 3D without having turned into 3D, so I can’t wait to see that. That one’s going to be like what the hell?”
Interesting. All of the footage that we’ve seen so far involve some scenes from that hallway battle, and they certainly don’t seem like a showcase fight between the two, but thinking about 3D and those throwing stars flying around…that has the potential to be a very cool sequence. Certainly when thinking about 3D, I usually think about a much broader expanse, but in that tight area, there are some pretty neat things that could be done.
Lastly, Do Bonaventura talks about the delay itself:
“When you’re planning yourself all towards one direction, you know, you definitely go, ‘Whoa, what the hell?’ But the second—here’s a sort of simple way for me to look at things: if the studio wants to spend money on making your movie better, let them… I find it hilarious when people fight that, you know? I’m like, ‘Great, you want to spend a lot of money and try to make our movie a bigger success? Okay! That sounds good.’ And Jon got that too. The first moment you’re sort of going, “Whoa! Uhhh, wait.’ Then you realize, ‘Oh okay, great, let’s do that.’”
Yeah, that’s a pretty good point, too. Sure, it feels like a gut punch, but Paramount is investing some serious cash to push the film back and to invest some more money in 3D conversion and possibly some reshoots. Obviously they have some faith that the end result will be worth it.
Check out the article at Collider right here, and big thanks to them for asking some G.I. Joe themed questions. I think we’re all keeping the candle lit for another 4 months. It’ll be here sooner than we think!
Whether spending the actual Veterans Day remembering yesterday, or whether you’re taking a day today to think about the men and women who have served our country, the important thing is that you take a moment to remember folks who have given their time and their lives to defend our country and preserve our freedom.
Less than a week after an election that has elicited such an antagonistic response throughout the United States, hopefully any anger or conflict has been replaced, if temporarily, with remembrance for the most important part of that day. The fact that we, as a democracy, are permitted to make our voices heard, no matter what that voice might say is a true credit to the men and women who have fought (and died) to give us that voice.
To all those who serve and who has served… a sincere thank you.
The more I look at this concept art, the more drool I have to dump out of my keyboard. A big thanks to Twitter friend Twitziller for digging up a new piece of Massive Black concept art from artist Kemp Remillard. And yes, artist is exactly the right term.
I believe the only new G.I. Joe related piece is this pair of images that strongly resemble the Ghost Hawk for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, except with about 147% more awesome. Check out the mirrored images below, and be sure to comb through the image repository here to glory over all of the other awesome art he has for G.I. Joe and other properties.
Coil Con III was a huge event this summer at Kokomo Toys, a great sponsor of GeneralsJoes, but there was much more to it than just G.I. Joe toys and guests! There’s a sense of brotherhood, camaraderie, and just all out fun. The same atmosphere that you get at a JoeCon.
This year, though, they did something a little different as well. This year they brought in a documentary producer who actually filmed and interviewed the folks involved with Coil Con, and they’ve presented a short documentary of the event on YouTube. It’s a very cool look at Coil Con III and the people involved with it. Special guest stars Mike and Gary from the What’s on Joe Mind Podcast!
Check it out embedded below! Big thanks to the Coil Club guys and to Todd and Amber from Kokomo Toys for hosting the event and thinking of this documentary idea.
IDW’s change in direction for the G.I. Joe title in 2013 continues to be a hot topic in the G.I. Joe community and the guys over at The Comix Verse have posted a terrific interview with IDW Editor John Barber about what to expect going forward with G.I. Joe.
The interview covers many different bases, and like my talk with Fred Van Lente we find out that this new G.I. Joe team is still very military oriented at their core, and these somewhat flashy uniforms have a distinct purpose within the confines of the G.I. Joe universe.
It’s a great interview, and for folks concerned about the new comic, you should check it out ASAP.
New comic day this week brings us the third installment in the Target: Snake Eyes series, and the fourth part (out of five) for the very fun G.I. Joe and Danger Girl mini-series.
Check out the previews for the two new issues below.
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Danger Girl/G.I. JOE #4 (of 5)
Andy Hartnell (w) • John Royle (a) • J. Scott Campbell X 2 (c)
It’s the most dangerous event of the summer, and the action continues right here! The Danger Girl and G.I. JOE strike teams have been chosen, assembled and deployed. But will they outrun COBRA’s own special forces teams before a pair of prominent cities are destroyed? Be sure to join Abbey Chase, SNAKE EYES and all your favorite G.I. JOE members as the year’s hottest new series catches fire!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
*Variant covers:
Variant J. Scott Campbell sketch cover!
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G.I. JOE #19
Chuck Dixon (w) • Will Rosado (a) • Ken Loh (c)
TARGET: SNAKE EYES part three! SCARLETT leads the Joes on a campaign to put an end to the Arashikage Clan forever. But SERPENTOR and the murderous zealots of the Inner Coil may beat them to it. SNAKE EYES knows the world has turned against him and he’s surrounded on all sides by danger. Just the way he wants it!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
*Variant Covers:
James Biggie variant “rock poster” cover!
Bullet points:
TARGET: SNAKE EYES CONTINUES!
SNAKE EYES versus G.I. JOE!
The “IDW World Tour” is on! Watch for variant “rock poster” covers of all your favorite titles over the coming months, culminating in a rock festival blowout you won’t believe for San Diego Comic-Con International 2013!
Both the G.I. Joe Collectors Club and the Transformers Collectors Club are celebrating clearance sales on their respective store fronts, though the sale prices won’t last long.
The following email comes courtesy of Brian Savage from Fun Publications:
“Hello all you Club Members!
Don’t forget that both Club’s annual clearance sale ends Friday. There are still some great deals left so check it out! Go to GIJoeclub.com or TransformersClub.com and click shop!
Thanks for your support!
Brian”
Great prices on Direct to Consumer figures, Operation: Flaming MOTH, and lots more! Check out the stores at the links below:
When the news about Disney and Lucasfilm exploded all over my Internets last week, I contemplated writing something up about it, just because any major corporate changeover with Lucasfilm could have a potential impact for Hasbro, being one of Lucas’ largest licensees. Ultimately I didn’t write anything up, but with the sudden unfounded rumors today about a potential purchase of Hasbro by Disney (yes JUST A RUMOR. Do not freak out yet!) I figured perhaps I should talk about it a little bit.
I’ve seen a lot of commentary about this subject, obviously, with two corporate giants that are pretty near and dear to many of our geek hearts, but most of the focus of these comments is how Disney’s influence will directly impact Lucasfilm itself.
The larger question would seem, as far as toy fans are concerned, is how will this change impact Hasbro as one of Lucasfilm’s primary licensees and the major manufacturer of all Star Wars related action figures? I’ve seen many folks concerned that this could spell doom and gloom for Hasbro, or that Disney’s previous contracts with Mattel would more or less guarantee a shift from Hasbro to their competitor, which could (hypothetically) spell doom and gloom for the Rhode Island toy maker.
I believe in the short term, this Disney move actually helps Hasbro. And helps them quite a bit.
How so? Click the Read the Rest of the Story link below for my thoughts.
