Now, most of this stuff is going to go way over my pay grade…but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth checking out.
Noted Sunbow G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero writer Ron Friedman has posted a number of his personal items to the Heritage Auction site…now just because most of us won’t be able to afford this stuff doesn’t mean we can’t look at the awesome pictures. The images aren’t huge, but show some neat glimpses at character sheets, and my favorite is the Zartan image that has him labeled “Capt. Chameleon”. Awesome.
Check out the auctions right here.
Thanks to Steevy Maximus from HissTank.com for the intel!
I have been woefully behind the 8 ball in reviewing IDW’s G.I. Joe titles, but I’ve got a few in the queue, now that I made my most recent trip to my local comic shop. Unfortunately, in my neck of the woods “local” is a relative term, and I can usually only hit the shop once in a while, so I try to get a handful of books at once. For that reason, you will likely see a small bunch of reviews posted within the next couple of days.
Among those will be the two books being released tomorrow, G.I. Joe: Origins #21 and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #160. While you wait with baited breath for the reviews to go up, here are some 5-page previews for these two upcoming issues.
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G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #160
Larry Hama (w) • Agustin Padilla (a) • Padilla, Rod Whigham (c)
Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow switch sides. Baroness gets deprogrammed.
Billy gets taken over completely by Dr. Venom. Blame it all on the Brainwave Scanner! *2 regular covers will be shipped in a 1-to-1 ratio.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
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G.I. Joe: Origins #21
David Lapham (w) • Werther Dell’Edera (a) • Tom Feister (c) David Lapham’s “Sedition by Numbers” continues here! The Mad Monk begins his training with COLOSSUS WORLD SECURITY, INC., which is owned by COBRA, of course. Torture is the routine and Monk is singled out for extra attention. If the camp doesn’t break him, then his first mission might have him wondering whose side he’s on. There’s no bottom to this rabbit hole.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
Also, I know a lot of folks had been holding out for the Trade Paperback to check out Max Brook’s G.I. Joe: Hearts & Minds. Well, the paperback is hitting this Wednesday and here is the solicitation info below: G.I. JOE: Hearts and Minds
Max Brooks (w) • Howard Chaykin, Antonio Fuso (a) • Bill Tortolini (c)
Tanks, planes, guns, and bombs are the tools of war, but in order to succeed you must win over the HEARTS AND MINDS. Max Brooks, writer of World War Z, brings his gut-wrenching storytelling approach to G.I. JOE. Partnered with critically-acclaimed artists Howard Chaykin and Antonio Fuso, Brooks cracks open ten G.I. JOE and COBRA characters, revealing their true hidden nature, their highest highs and lowest lows, and leaves you tensely gripping your chair and confronting your own fears. It’s G.I. JOE like you’ve never experienced before.
HC • FC • $24.99 • 132 Pages • ISBN:978-1-60010-776-4 Bullet points:
Max Brooks is the best-selling author of TheZombieSurvivalGuide, and WorldWarZ.
From 2001 to 2003, Brooks was a member of the writing team at SaturdayNightLive that won an Emmy in 2002.
“Max Brooks has told an in depth and amazing tale.” — Generals Joes.com
“Hands down, Bar None, Absolutely, Unequivocally… I think you get the point, the best book I read this week.” — iFanboy.com
“The outcome of these tales is rarely in question, but the journey never fails to be engrossing.” — IGN.com
From what I can gather, the interview was done a number of months ago, but was just recently posted. Wildly enthusiastic G.I. Joe fan Gyre-Viper got an opportunity to talk with Mr. Merklein, and has posted the video interview on YouTube for all to see.
Guys like Mr. Merklein are overlooked in the toy industry, but his work on the original G.I. Joe line cannot be overstated. He did initial sculpting for many of the figures that we all know and love, and without talented guys like him, our favorite toyline would be only a shadow of what we know. The ideas are where everything starts…but the design of the figure itself is what carries the line for nearly 30 years, and the guys behind the pens, paintbrushes, and sculpting tools don’t get nearly the credit they deserve.
Too many fans think that just because they can do a custom, they can somehow do “better” than the Hasbro designers. I would challenge them on that. These guys are some damn talented artists, whether you like the end result or not. Kudos to Gyre-Viper for getting this interview done, and an even bigger kudos for sharing it with the rest of the Joe fandom, so we can peek inside the mind of one of the legendary creators of these timeless characters that we know and love.
Check the YouTube link below for Part 1 of the interview. There are multiple parts, and I will embed all of them after the jump.
Folks who have been visiting the site have seen a healthy number of G.I. Joe related video clips, and believe me, that will continue when G.I. Joe: Renegades emerges in late November. I will certainly be posting the video links on the site, but if you want to keep up to date with the latest G.I. Joe animation video, check out the GeneralsJoes YouTube Channel.
I’ve already got a playlist set up there for the entirety of G.I. Joe: Resolute, and will be setting up various playlists once Renegades kicks off as well. I’ve already got a couple of Renegades clips mirrored there:
I hesitate to call this an “interview” because when I have a chance to talk with Mark Bellomo about G.I. Joe and toys, it feels a lot less formal than that. When Mark let me know about Totally Tubular ’80s Toys, I knew it was a good chance to talk to him a little bit about the book, and about the world of G.I. Joe in 2010, and as expected, his answers really deliver the goods. He’s got terrific insight, some invaluable information, and it’s just a great read.
Mark Bellomo has been able to take his love of toys and really build a secondary career out of it, and I think he’s got some terrific “behind the scenes” insight that toy fans would love to know.
To read the full interview, click the “Read the Rest of this Entry” link below. And of course, do yourself a favor and consider picking up Totally Tubular ’80s Toys at Amazon.com. You can also check out my full review right here. (more…)
