by generalsjoes | Jul 11, 2012 | Avengers, Comics and Cartoons, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comics, IDW
When word came out of the G.I. Joe Convention that Robert Atkins was leaving the Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow book with issue #16, I died a little bit on the inside, but hey, he’s still doing some covers so it’s all good!
Speaking of covers, Mr. Atkins recently finished his year long posting frenzy of daily updates to his blog, and celebrated that fact by posting an awesome composite image of every single G.I. Joe cover he’s done to date. It’s an awesome and nostalgic look back at the past several years in G.I. Joe comic covers, and it really shows how much Robert has grown as an artist over the past few years.
Check out the latest post here, and follow Robert Atkins on Twitter. I look forward to seeing his covers and hope his skills grace the interiors of a G.I. Joe universe book again soon!
by generalsjoes | Jun 25, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys
Call me crazy but I actually really love the play feature of that Wave 2 Firefly. Yes, it looks like it results in some reduced arm/wrist articulation, but the light up forearms and the long motorized sled are actually pretty damn cool, I think. At some point we have to think about the children!
Over on ACToys.com Small Evil has posted a wealth of G.I. Joe: Retaliation Wave 2 images including Roadblock, Snake Eyes, Flint, Storm Shadow, and the aforementioned Firefly. Check out Roadblock and carded images here, and the Firefly images here, and I’ve also mirrored the images below.
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Thanks to HissTank.com for the info.
by generalsjoes | Jun 22, 2012 | 30th Anniversary, Dollar Store, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe Toys
With the almost infamous Dollar Store G.I. Joe figures only being spotted sporadically throughout the United States at various Dollar General stores, there are a lot of questions about the mysterious repaints that Gyre Viper showed us quite a while ago. Are these variants of current product? A second wave? A Family Dollar exclusive?
Most of these questions we do not know the answers to (but will hopefully find out at JoeCon next week!) but Gyre-Viper has now shared with GeneralsJoes a carded image of the upcoming Storm Shadow repaint. Obviously taking a page from the T’Ginzu book, this great looking version of Storm Shadow is shown here in packaged form for the first time, revealing that these are being designed and packaged just like the first wave, with no real alterations.
For potential confidentiality reasons, Gyre-Viper will not be sharing the date stamp, or assortment number, considering these are as of yet unreleased items and things could have changed after he got his hands on this sample. He does mention that the code names are exactly the same, and the back of the card is exactly the same (showing the original paint schemes, not the repaint colors) which seems to indicate that these are indeed variants or running changes, and are not a full fledged second wave of product.
Quite an interesting look at a series of figures that there seems to be more questions than answers about. I really look forward to talking to Hasbro next week to see if we can get more details.
Speaking of Gyre-Viper and the Convention next week, if you’re going to be in New Orleans make sure you check out the Joe Declassified booth! If you love unreleased product, pre-production product and just finding out some great hidden details about the entire history of G.I. Joe you won’t find a better place to do that than at the DeClassified booth. With some awesome figures on display and some genuine fans of the hobby manning the booth it will be a fantastic opportunity to see some cool toys and talk to some cool people.
All of the information about the DeClass booth can be found right here on JoeDeClassified.com.
Make sure you check it out! Hopefully I’ll see you in New Orleans.
by generalsjoes | Jun 15, 2012 | 30th Anniversary, G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Retaliation Toys, G.I. Joe Toys
EDIT – Some of my part breakdowns were horrifically inaccurate. They have been adjusted to reflect more accurate source material! I apologize.
Invariably when plans change and retail offerings don’t pan out as expected, some items generally hit the production chain and end up in the after market stream in Asia. It happened a few years ago with the first run of Pursuit of Cobra figures, and it is happening now with G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
Occasionally, these after market samples will be the first time we get a glimpse at some of these figures, as is the case here with viperkingdom. While folks who went to Toy Fair got a brief and fuzzy glimpse of the second wave of G.I. Joe: Retaliation 3-Packs, this is the first real up close and quality series of images, and I gotta say, these look to be right up there with the impressive first run. More new characters, some great parts choices and some interesting character tweaks. Check out the mirrored images below, and I’ll do some parts breakdowns as well.
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G.I. Joe: Retaliation “Tactical Ninja Team”
- Sgt. Airborne (Previously cancelled Data Viper body, cancelled 30th anniversary Law alternate head, Renegades Ripcord helmet and Para-Viper webgear)
- Agent Mouse (looks like a new head and vest, the cancelled 30th Anniversary Lifeline alternate helmet with G.I. Joe Trooper body with some different arms)
- Night Ops Snake Eyes (PoC Snake Eyes body, cancelled Jungle Strike Storm Shadow webgear)
G.I. Joe: Retaliation “Cobra Invasion”
- Firefly (New head, torso, and webgear with 30th Anniversary Lifeline arms and legs)
- Cobra Para Trooper (Shock-Trooper in red with Retaliation Cobra Trooper parachute pack)
- Storm Shadow (mostly a Rise of Cobra Storm Shadow) repaint
I know many folks are likely going to complain about more repaints and rehashes, but holy crap I think these two sets look pretty amazing. Airborne is fantastic and it will be really awesome to get that Data-Viper figure in hand finally. I love the G.I. Joe Trooper, and since Mouse pretty much IS a G.I. Joe Trooper it makes sense for this figure to be built off that. Not really sure about that bright vest, but… Snake Eyes has the perfect base figure, and I am loving the fact that they are finally using that cancelled PoC Storm Shadow webgear! I have to admit, though, the colors of the webgear and the base figure clash big time. The straps are just a bit too bright for the sheer black underneath.
Firefly looks astoundingly cool. A great modern update to the original, with a great use of PoC/30th Anniversary parts. The Para Trooper is probably my least favorite. I really like the Shock Trooper, but that torso looks really plain even with the parachute pack on top. Too much blank area. Storm Shadow is okay, and looks like a more movie-accurate version compared to the Wave 1, but overall, I much prefer the futuristic and sleek look of the first version in Retaliation.
All in all some very cool pieces, especially for being more or less kit bashed together. If these end up being $20 for three figures like Wave 1 is, that is a freaking bargain, especially because these look to have more new characters and new imaginings than Wave 1 did. Good stuff.
Thanks much to Kenny2274 on Twitter for the heads up!
by generalsjoes | Jun 7, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe Comics, IDW
If you’re like me and you visit IDW’s Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow artist Robert Atkins on a regular basis, you no doubt noticed that he’s been a flurry of activity this week! He had some very interesting commission requests, and he’s been posting up pieces of his work over the past several days.
Well over the past couple of days he posted the completed images and they’re pretty incredible. A very eclectic group of characters and some great art by Mr. Atkins as well. This combined commission piece is over FOUR FEET wide. Colorist on the Snake Eyes title Simon Gough as even colored the G.I. Joe half already, and I’ve mirrored both images below.
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Along with this, Robert has posted a fantastic commission of Snake Eyes in his Commando uniform! Everyone’s pretty used to seeing the Joe ninja in his visor and skin-tight spandex these days, this is a great departure. Check out that image below.
If you’re not hitting up Robert Atkins’ blog on a regular basis, you really should be. He’s been doing a lot of great Avengers work alongside his G.I. Joe stuff, and with him picking back up on Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow last week, you can bet more G.I. Joe content will be coming.
Check it out!
Also for folks wanting to see Robert in person, he will be attending the following conventions! Put ’em on your calendar:
