It’s probably a bit early to go over this already, considering several sites still haven’t posted their responses, but I did update my Q & A page with all of the replies so far…and as I said with my own answers, Hasbro’s candor was refreshing this time around. Sure, there was a healthy dose of market-talk and beating around the bush, but we actually found some good stuff out as well! These are the highlights that I’ve found on my quick perusal on a Friday night… hit the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below to get my thoughts on some of the more relevant information from this round… (more…)
I apologize for the delay in posting these, had a nice dinner out with the family…now it looks like I’ll be up late getting links up. First thing I’ve got to say, is that upon early glance, kudos to Hasbro for some better answers this time around. Look, we all know they can’t tell us everything we want to know, but I’ve already seen some great tidbits of information in various places, which is a great improvement. This close to Toy Fair, I was especially impressed. Big thanks to Hasbro for taking time out of their busy schedules to indulge us Joe collectors… 1 – All evidence seems to point to a delay in release for the Pursuit of Cobra line, yet several store exclusive items have been seen sporting the Rise of Cobra logo (that were formally Pursuit of Cobra items). Can you confirm that the only G.I. Joe items we will be seeing for the first half of 2010 will be Rise of Cobra themed store exclusives? The main line is pushed back to Fall, 2010, is that correct? A: Yes, this is correct. The mainline Pursuit of Cobra items will be released in fall 2010. But we do have some new store exclusives that are released in spring. 2 – Resolute keeps on showing up in various places around the web and seems to be a huge hit with the adult collector crowd, even those folks not as involved in the G.I. Joe fandom as we are. What other Resolute inspired items can we expect beyond the two 7-packs? A: We have no other Resolute lines planned for 2010 beyond the two 7-packs. 3 – We’ve already heard quite a bit of news on the third sequel to the Transformers franchise, yet not a single peep as of yet for the follow up for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. When can we expect some news one way or the other about the motion picture future of our favorite toyline? A: Paramount recently announced that it is moving forward with a sequel to last summer’s movie and are in talks with writers. We’re very excited!
It’s been on the site for a while, but just was recently listed as “In Stock” and available for purchase. Hit up ToysRUs.com to grab yours before they’re gone!
If there was one thing about the G.I. Joe: America’s Elite comic that I came away loving, it was Mike Bear’s art. For whatever reason, I absolutely loved his drawing style, his action, and even the coloring…even as World War III sort of stumbled through it’s climax, the art shone through…and evidently Hasbro feels the same way, as they’ve enlisted in Mike Bear’s assistance for package art is recent years.
Apparently that’s continuing on in 2010, as Mike Bear’s DeviantArt page reveals some very cool looking package art for upcoming Hasbro products…including what appears to be the G.I. Joe: Resolute Boxed Sets! Only three pieces are evident so far, Arctic Duke, Zartan, and Firefly, but good Lord do they look great. Knowing Hasbro’s formula with the Cobra Island packs, I am officially ecstatic waiting for these 7-packs. I’m not sure anyone saw Zartan coming…. this really opens the door for what else we might be getting. A huge thanks to the Terror Drome for digging up this link!
no images were found
Sure, there’s another Duke, and there will probably be another Snake Eyes, too, but seeing Zartan really makes me think our chances are pretty good for guys like Flint, Stalker, and Beachhead, who were all pretty central to the animation. Bring it on, Hasbro!
Over on HissTank.com, Gyre-Viper revealed some descriptions (which were then followed by actual images, mirrored below) of potential upcoming vehicles…and as usual, I’m pretty impressed. Pretty impressed only because the apparent second wave of Rip Attack vehicles looks as uninspired as the first (especially those figures… yuck), but the retooled and modified Ghost Hawk and that motorcycle that looks to be strongly Dreadnok related are both balls out!
The Ghost Hawk was pretty much defined by those crazy rear stabilizers, which have been tooled way down to a more streamlined exhaust engine…while that motorcycle is just pure sickness. Love the blades, love the dual handlebar weaponry. Hot damn that’s a freaking awesome looking little bike. Kind of tough to tell what the deal with the driver is, but still looks great all the same.
Of course the real question is…will we see this at retail? It’s obvious a drastic theme shift is going on at Hasbro with some scrambling to redefine the way we’ll see G.I. Joe in 2010, and it’ll be interesting to see if these make the cut. There’s a lot of new tooling there, and obviously they’re pretty far along in the production process, so signs point to “yes”, but just something to watch for…maybe we’ll learn something more at Toy Fair in just under a month. I’ll certainly be on pins and needles waiting for it.
Remember that news last year about the Discovery Kids channel and Hasbro joining forces (hopefully resulting in some G.I. Joe animation)… well, the first announcement has come, in the form of a website, HubWorld.com which promises to be the jumping off point for this collaboration. Check out the full press release below. (more…)
Last week, Mike and I posted a Top 15 list for the last decade, outlining our top 15 figures of the past ten years, and I let readers know that my initial list was actually a top FIFTY, but for obvious reasons, we pared it down simply because…well…a top 50 list would have been long and probably insane. But mostly just long. But a few readers showed an interest in seeing the Top 50 list, so I’m going to post what I was originally starting. I won’t go into gory details with each and every entry, though, and just leave it as a list, so folks don’t go homicidal halfway through it.
Continued after the jump… (more…)
Like it or not, enjoy the film or not, this is indisputable proof that a successful film franchise for our favorite toy brand is a GOOD thing. Behold the wonder of the Transformers: War for Cybertron video game trailer:
Like the G.I. Joe film, there are many Transformers purists who absolutely detest what Michael Bay has done to their characters and their toy brand, and many of them are totally validated in those opinions. But I can assure 110% that without that multi billion dollar success of the Transformers brand, a video game like the one above would have NEVER been even considered. I know we all have our issues with G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (yes, even ME), but in the end, all I want is for the brand to be successful to the world at large, because great things can happen.
Can you imagine if a game like the one above was being considered for G.I. Joe? Sure, the Rise of Cobra game was pretty bad by next gen standards, but so was the first Transformers movie game. I understand that G.I. Joe will never reach the wide audience and acclaim of the Transformers brand, but here’s hoping there’s enough gas in the tank that we can get some decent film follow ups, and some cool tie in media and merchandise.
