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What’s on Joe Mind nears retirement age with Episode 64

Retirement?  Did someone say retirement… as I am in the midst of several 10 – 12 hour days in a row at work that word sounds awful nice right about now…

But enough about real life!  Thrust yourself back into your imaginary G.I. Joe filled existence with What’s on Joe Mind Episode 64.  We are joined this week by podcasting experts Slick McFavorite and Mrs. McFavorite from the Open Your Toys Podcast where we discuss the critical issues of the day like how to fill your entertainment center with San Diego ComicCon exclusives, whether a gimp suit equals a “vinyl toy”, and where to find the best french-speaking poutine.  It’s a live one, folks.

As always, hit up the full show notes after the jump, check out our Podbean Page, or listen to the embedded player below.

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Support JoeCanuck Comic Artist Jason Loo!

Fans of the Canadian G.I. Joe Convention no doubt are very familiar with Jason Loo’s work.  He’s done the artwork for the Canadian JoeCon comics as well as the actual character art for filecards, etc..  he’s a critical piece of the Canadian JoeCon puzzle, and after hanging out with him a lot during JoeCon in Orlando in 2004, I can say he’s a great guy as well.

He is currently involved in a contest, which isn’t G.I. Joe related, but it is Star Wars related to celebrate the “May the 4th Be With You” celebration in Toronto.

Jason is using his considerable art talents to design a poster for this event, and he needs our help to get it approved.

If you have a Facebook account and a few spare seconds, please consider “Liking” his poster.  He’s currently in third place and is trying to make a push towards victory, and this would be a great way for us to show our support and thanks to him for all of his efforts and hard work with the Canadian JoeCon comic.

So, please consider hitting up this link and clicking “Like”.  It would mean a lot to Jason, and the poster is pretty bad ass to boot.

GeneralsJoes Reviews SmallJoes new Figure Stands!

So, yeah, those 25th Anniversary stands are cool and all, with the names plastered on ’em.  But how useful are they really?  With that funky tiered shape, and a pretty small area for actual feet to be placed, I’ve had my share of frustration with them.  But SmallJoes is to the rescue!
With a couple of decades of experience with figure stands, the SmallJoes guys have engineered a nicely sized, well balanced, and 4-pegged figure stand (in black and clear!) to use with most modern era action figures, including G.I. Joe, Star Wars, Marvel, and others.  They were kind enough to send me a nice sampling, and I have reviewed them right here.
Short answer?  They’re great.  They’re the same size and overall shape as the G.I. Joe ones, yet manage to cram in a lot more flexibility and functionality.  Can’t go wrong.

Hasbro winz at teh SDCC!

The San Diego ComicCon has moved into a whole new stratosphere in recent years.  Initially merely a large comic convention, it somehow migrated to a Geek Mecca where Hollywood, Comics, and Toy Companies collide to give us glimpses at what cool new things are on the horizon for our nerd pleasure.  It is pretty astounding to see just what it has become.
Of course as part of the allure of ComicCon, there are the SDCC Exclusives…toys that are launched at SDCC and for sale initially only at SDCC.  This has always created a conflict between the “haves” and the “have nots” which has sometimes generated some hostility not just in the fandom, but directed back at the manufacturers.  But Hasbro seems to have found a balance.  By offering the items through SDCC, but also at HasbroToyShop, they seem to be able to please everyone, and in recent years there hasn’t been an obvious shortage of opportunities to get what you want.
This is not the case with Mattel, who year after year generates mountains of frustration among their fans with a strange voucher pre-order system that doesn’t even guarantee you a figure if you travel all the way to ComicCon.  Not to mention when they post items for sale after the fact, MattyCollector.com gets so hammered that nobody can access the retail store.  In general, it seems like a mammoth cluster…  you get the idea.
Now not only does Hasbro seem to have the system at least somewhat ironed out, but the numbers of cool exclusives they are getting out there is amazing.  Now, most of this is probably because they’re far and away the #1 Boys Toys brand in the market, but it really is incredible just how many cool toys they can get into collectors’ hands through SDCC.  Anyone reading this right now already knows about Sgt. Slaughter:

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I mean, look at this figure!  Sure there are complaints about the lack of musculature and the placement of the torso joint/USA logo (which I can certainly appreciate) but there is a metric ton of new tooling, great accessories, and even new points of articulation.  Any long time fan who has been clamoring for Slaughter is gonna be loving this.
And while I haven’t been keeping up with the Marvel stuff as much as I’d like to, I can’t help but drool at what Hasbro has there as well:

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Before I go on…let me say one thing.  Yes that is a TWO FOOT FREAKING TALL CARDED ACTION FIGURE.  How awesome is that?  Not to mention the bad ass WW II Captain America and an impressive Thor figure to tie into the upcoming movie as well.
Hell, even Star Wars has my interest this year!

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Bet you thought Darth Maul was dead, eh?  Hell, I’m an uber-geek and even I thought Darth Maul was dead.  What the hell is this?  It’s Darth frikken Maul with cyborg horse legs.  ROCK.
So yeah…for G.I. Joe fans or for toy fans, Hasbro has got it going on this year.  Maybe one day I’ll make it to SDCC…but until then I’ll sit back and enjoy it vicariously through the hundreds of thousands of others.  Can’t wait to hear what’s on the horizon!