Was 1985 the greatest year of the 80s for action figures? Consider the volume and variety of lines launched that year, and think of the strong showings by existing series like GI Joe and Transformers. This page from the 1985 Sears Christmas catalog distills much of what made the decade great for action figures, albeit in the sleeping bag format.
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The Jungle Viper from 2005 was released as part of the– “Hey Rob, you already covered a Jungle Viper a couple weeks ago.” Yes, I did. “So you’re running out of ideas for subjects, huh? Took you almost five years, but you’re finally out of gas and forgetting what you’ve already posted.” Easy there, Chester. I haven’t quite run out
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The Stun never really resonated with me, even as a kid. I just couldn’t get into its look, and was bummed that it seemed to become the de facto Cobra fast attack vehicle in the Sunbow cartoon in place of the Stinger. Of course, the toon had to maintain a link to the product that was new on toy shelves,
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Oh, what could have been. When the collectors club announced its series of small-scale versions of the Adventure Team, I was excited about the possibilities. Sure, it would be great to integrate these legendary members of the GI Joe legacy into the smaller scale, but I was imagining the translations of the Adventure Team’s vehicles, accessories and mission-specific outfits as
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So you don’t think the toy business can get nasty? Check out this Mattel trade ad from 1982. While Star Wars seems to be the most obvious target of the most powerful man in the universe, you can also spot a couple of straight-arm Joes in the mist, namely Scarlett and Flash. There’s also a figure from Sgt. Rock, and
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Nemesis Enforcer is a character whose figures haven’t seemed to quite capture the menace conveyed in his appearance in the animated GI Joe movie. The character was a hulking brute, possessed of incredible strength, and his look was one of the coolest of Cobra-La’s weird denizens. The original action figure was detailed, and included the unique wing and tentacle accessories
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Super Joe wasn’t long for the world as the follow-up to the Adventure Team. He did however make it into that most treasured of tomes for kids, the Sears Wishbook. The main line figures are featured on this page, along with playsets (including the rare White Shark Hunt). Joining Joe are some other interesting toy lines of the time, including
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Now here’s something interesting that I hadn’t noticed for years. The Toys R Us Exclusive release of the Slugger from 1997 uses the same image layout as the classic version, yet done in a photographic rather than painterly style. The conceit is revealed in its driver, Gung Ho, who looks more like an action figure than the usual painted representation
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The DVD battle packs gave us some very popular characters that didn’t make the single-carded releases. Guys like Dusty and Alpine were welcome additions to the modern line, and their nostalgia factor was quite high with me, thanks to their original figures and memorable Sunbow appearances. The sets also produced more interesting accessories based on the cartoon series. In the
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We’ve already featured the first issue of the short-lived from 1987. This cover showcases the Defiant and the Joes with guns ablaze in a very evocative art style. It’s too bad the coloring in the foreground is so dominated by muzzle fire coloring.
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