You know, when I did my “2009 Movie Mayhem” post two weeks ago, there were a lot of films that didn’t make the cut. Even with the “geek ties” films like Star Trek and Harry Potter don’t really have an impact with me personally, so I didn’t include them with the normal comic book fare. But as I hear more and more about Terminator: Salvation, I realize that film was a glaring omission from my summer list. I’m a huge fan of the Terminator universe…I loved Terminator 3, and am a devoted watcher of the Sarah Connor Chronicles (which is, unfortunately, most likely on the chopping block). Salvation has Christian Bale and Sam Worthington, and finally takes us behind the war zone with Skynet in full control and the robots ruling the world. Basically what we’ve been wanting to see since 1984.
Still, it didn’t seem the film was getting a whole lot of mainstream pub, so it sort of slipped my radar. Well, not any more.
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.
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.
Longtime GeneralsJoes friend LeonardoTDragon of JoeBattleLines took some time to dust off his “shooting area” in order to get me some fantastic pics of the new 4″ scale Marvel figures from Hasbro. I think he sensed my frustration when I’ve been hitting dead end after dead end over the past 3 weeks (yes, even today, after the infamous “street date” there are none to be found in local retailers) and took pity on me by supplying some of the crispest and sharpest pictures of these figures I’ve seen to date!
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.
Wondercon was held this weekend, with IDW in attendance, and they spoke a bit about their G.I. Joe titles. Newsrama was there as well and gives us a full report here. Some items of note were as follows:
There will be a 4-issue “prequel” mini-series leading up to the film, written by Chuck Dixon and with art by SL Gallant
Each issue will focus on a different character: Duke, Destro, Baroness, and Snake Eyes
The mini-series will start in March and go through June
After the film a Snake Eyes “follow up” is planned, co-written by the actor playing Snake Eyes in the film, Ray Park. The other co-writer is Kevin Van Hook, and SL Gallant will be doing the art chores for that issue as well.
I’m actually very excited about this…beginning this month we could be getting some interesting insight into the movie universe. Pretty cool! Thanks to Shin Densetsu of HissTank for the info!
As everyone is aware, an eBay seller is trickling out some movie product early, and even though I’m not a big fan of the Breaker figure, I decided to jump on the chance to get an early look at the movie product hands-on. And honestly, even though I don’t really like Breaker necessarily, I really like what they seem to be doing with the movie figures as a general rule.
First of all, most articulation complaints from the fandom have been addressed, at least on figures with the skinnier arms. Breaker’s arms bend a full 90 degrees (or quite close to it) and he’s got the familiar full socket hip joints which allow him close to full range of motion there as well. Without his vest, he’s a bit scrawny, but he looks functional for one of these pseudo-futuristic G.I. Joe operatives “at rest” in The Pit or when not in the field. The vest adds some bulk, but of course, also adds some articulation restrictions with the mid-section joint. He’s got swivel wrists and the familiar double-jointed knees…in other words, he has all of the functional joints and “look” of the Anniversary figures, but with even a bit more motion where it matters, and that’s all good to me.
GeneralsJoes semi-regular contributor Alexx has taken a number of good (and funny) pictures of the newly released G.I. Joe and COBRA 5-Packs. He originally posted his feelings in thesethreethreads on JoeBattleLines, but I loved his pics so much, I asked if I could show them here as well.
Alexx’s opinions seem to really go in parallel with mine as far as these two sets go. While I applaud Hasbro’s desire to get out definitive versions of each of these characters, some of the changes strike me as a bit arbitrary and unnecessary, especially considering the upcoming Hall of Heroes assortment. Many folks thought that the best version of Lady Jaye to date was the one that came with the DVD Battle Pack, and I would agree. Yes, it’s true that this new version trumps that one in nearly every way, but was it necessary? Yes, it’s nice to have a Shipwreck with a less angry face and less popeye forarms, but from what I’m gathering, the construction is a bit sketchy and the face sculpt actually loses some of the character.
Rounding off the tirumvirate of cmderinchief news scoops tonight is a great assortment of loose pictures of the upcoming Zartan and Shipwreck from the first wave of movie figures. What’s immediately evident from these pictures is the excellent packaged presentation and even with the spring-loaded weapons included, there is a ton of usable gear above and beyond. Shipwreck is quickly rising on my list of “can’t wait” figures for the upcoming film.
Just call this “cmderinchief weekend” at GeneralsJoes, as he comes through again with some nicely detailed close ups of some movie Combat Heroes figures. Two sets are on display here with the Duke/Baroness 2-pack and the Ripcord/Destro 2-Pack. Collectors will be pleasently surprised to see that Ripcord/Destro has a familiar looking masked Destro, though it is still unconfirmed as to whether or not he will actually appear that way in the film.
For now, though, just enjoy the superdeformed cuteness:
