I’ve been a bit behind the eight ball in the past 24 hours, trying to recuperate from the Toy Fair rush, but a few G.I. Joe related stories have leaked out in that time that I figured I should talk a little bit about.
Much Maligned Wave 3 Alpha vehicles from the Rise of Cobra have appeared as US Retail. That tail end wave of Alpha vehicles (the Lava Pod, Tiger Claw, Rockslide, and Polar Shark Sub) has appeared sporadically overseas, but has not, to this point, been found at a normal brick and mortar location. The real question at this point, though, is does anyone actually care? Sure, the Polar Shark Sub is pretty neat, but the Volcano Pod is just another cruddy Mole Pod, we’re getting a bad ass new Dusty this fall, and don’t really need a desert themed Rockslide, and many folks have lamented the Leatherneck that comes with the Tiger Claw. When it all comes down to it, I think the time for the Wave 3 Alpha’s has come and gone, and now that we know what’s in the wings, these already seem very “been there, done that, let’s move on”. Still, it must be noted that one was found at Wal-Mart. Take that for what it’s worth.
The GIJoeClub debuted Flint late night before I left for New York. Kudo’s to Gary for getting the story posted, but being the myopic fanboy that I am, I feel the need to throw my .02 in. My thoughts? I dig it. I’m kind of wondering if the flash is washing out the picture a little bit, because it’s coming across a bit on the bright side, but I’m betting once we see it in person, the colors will be very “Z-Force” like. It’s obvious they made effort to make Flint a tribute to the Z-Force Commander “Skip”, and I’ve got no issues with that whatsoever. I do wish they’d used the Comic Pack head if it were available, though. I’m not quite as giddy about Flint as I was about Black Major and even the Red Torch, but he still looks really cool and stands out amongst other figures. Check out the images right here.
Though Sideshow Collectibles has become famous in the G.I. Joe community for their fantastic work with the 12″ figures, they are well known around the world for their work in statuary and other high format collectibles, too. And now Sideshow is proud to unveil their latest statue in the world of G.I. Joe, Snake Eyes vs. The Red Ninjas. The pre-order will launch with the newsletter on February 25th, so be prepared!
That covers much of the news while I was on the road. There’s still more to talk about, which I will do in further posts, specifically about G.I. Joe: Cobra II, as well as Toy Fair coverage from other sites that you have to see. Thanks for bearing with me as I was traveling, and hopefully the news and images reached you early and often!
Heh…in the last post I mentioned a month was a long time to wait for a follow up to a 5 minute webisode. Turns out, the action itself only took just over 3 minutes. Overall impression? About what you’d expect for a direct-to-website feature catered to kids. It’s done in CGI animation, purely computer models, and they looked like they were pulled from the cut scenes of the console game (which isn’t necessarily a good thing). Some choppy animation, some stilted voice acting, and nothing that will really make the long time fans go crazy. Definitely not G.I. Joe’s best side.
I still kinda dig seeing the movie universe further explored (especially since it would appear it’s vanishing entirely from store shelves with this G.I. Joe “reboot” this fall), but the end result did not blow my skirt up, which is really saying something when coming from this fanboy. Regardless, I’ll be waiting the first Friday of every month just to see what’s next.
On the positive side, we did get some cool intel when the credits rolled! I’ve mirrored some screen shots below, including a shot of the voice credits, which indicate that some other characters will be appearing in the series like Recondo, Helix, and Snow Job! I’ll check out further installments just for that.
A fun way to spend a few minutes, but don’t expect Beast Wars or Starship Troopers… the gallery is below.
Big thanks to The Terror Drome for breaking the news that the rumored web-based animated series “G.I. Joe: Operation H.I.S.S.” has hit the airwaves on the eve of Toy Fair, 2010. Broken up into what appears to be five minute episodes, apparently new installments will appear on the first Friday of each month. Man…a full month between five minute episodes? Interesting.
Haven’t even checked it out yet, but will be doing so shortly. Take a peek yourself right here.
With thanks to the guys at Hisstank for digging it out, and big thanks to SeekingAlpha.com for offering a transcript of Brian Goldner’s Earnings report, which we spoke a bit about yesterday. Mixed in amongst the call transcript were some very interesting bits of information:
“In motion pictures, with more than $1.1 billion in box office revenue between Transformers and G.I. Joe, and strong product sales in 2009, we are working with Paramount on Transformers 3 and G.I. Joe 2. In addition, we are pleased to add Sony as a studio partner as we reached an agreement to develop Risk as a major motion picture.”
“The total brand performance of Transformers, G.I. Joe, and Nerf delivered double digit growth in 2009 across multiple product categories. Transformers had a record year posting $592 million in revenues, a 23% increase from our last movie year in 2007. G.I. Joe recorded revenue in excess of $125 million and Nerf continued its growth, increasing 25% driven by continued growth in the US and the expansion of the brand internationally.”
“We are working on Transformers animation and would certainly see some Transformers both the opportunity for the classic Transformers as well as some new Transformers episodes to get out some time this year. I will tell you we’re also working on G.I. Joe the second movie and looking at animation whether that’s for late ’10 or ’11, we’ll make some decisions on that. Transformers 3 as a motion picture we’re well underway and working on a script, working with Michael Bay and Paramount.”
“I think one of the big mistakes we made on G.I. Joe was really just in the price point. It really had less to do with the enjoyment of property. In fact if you look at the DVD sales they were quite strong and property performed really well. At the lower price points G.I. Joe has performed very well, in fact we shipped G.I. Joe product in the fourth quarter and feel very good about, we did some research with consumers and see great consumer appetite for the brand.We’ve begun work on the second film as well as looking at television. For us it was more a matter of probably ignoring some of the price point challenges that are out there from a consumer spending standpoint as we developed the line 18 months ahead of the movie launch.”
So, it sounds like we’re full steam ahead on the G.I. Joe animated series, and may even see something late this year (but more likely early next year). Also, G.I. Joe 2 is on target for 2012. Very interesting to see that the Hasbro CEO recognized the price point difficulties with the Rise of Cobra line, which is hopefully an indication that prices will remain competitive for the next installment of G.I. Joe later this year.
Hopefully we’ll get even more great information Saturday at Toy Fair. Rest assured, GeneralsJoes will be there in the thick of it.
Channing Tatum has been doing the rounds promoting his latest film, Dear John, and of course, as expected, has been getting numerous questions regarding G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, the potential sequel, and even the Razzie nominations that the film earned.
In a short interview with New York Magazine, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra’s “Duke” had the following to say:
“Is it hard to show your face here at the iconic Chinese Theater to shill your new film on the same day your last film was bestowed with the shame of six Razzie nods?
Whoa. Cool. Did G.I. Joe win any? Was I nominated for Worst Actor? Afraid not. You were locked out by a bunch of aging comics and the Jonas Brothers.
That was probably a close one, but it’s hard to compete with those heartthrobs. Your co-stars Sienna Miller and Marlon Wayans were not so lucky.
Marlon’s Razzie for Little Man is his most prized trophy. I kid you not. He’s probably thrilled. Besides, when you do a movie like [G.I. Joe], you aren’t trying to break any ground. You just want kids and grown-ups who remember the cartoon to go see it, love it, and have a good time watching shit get blown up. And we did good business anyway. There is talk of a sequel. I know they hired a writer, so I’m crossing fingers”
Along with print interviews, he also sat down in front of a camera for Hollywood.com and showed some enthusiasm for the upcoming sequel and even made mention of Cobra Island! Check out that video below:
