At the height of Joe’s popularity in the 80’s, there were tie-in products of all kinds. Basically, in the 80’s, before the internet even existed, there was a different version of Rule 34. Let’s call it Rule 13. What’s Rule 13? It’s the idea that anything you can conceive of as a tie-in product for a big 80’s property, it
Read moreI really miss my old local mall, and Kay-Bee Toy Store in particular. An odd thing to say, since much of their product was overpriced and then artifically marked down with phony-baloney looking price stickers. If memory serves, I believe they lost a class-action lawsuit about that particularly bad business practice. But I still have a soft spot for the
Read moreA Corps! figure? Really? Yes, what can I say–Ive been inspired by Joe knock-offs/wanna-bes lately. Lanard’s Corps! (don’t forget the exclamation point) have been around since Joe’s heyday in the 80’s, and continue to be produced today. The series has always been kind of like a less refined cousin of Joe, and if you squint the old 80’s versions looked
Read moreCouldn’t this guy have just been Short-Fuse? He certainly has the look and the specialty to be the Joe team’s original mortar soldier. Other ’82 Joes had the redo treatment later in the line. Actually, this did happen when the mold was re released as Short-Fuze in 2004. Regardless of name, it was a welcome addition to have another mortar
Read moreShadow Vipers are described on the file card as infiltration and espionage specialists, but come on, we all know this is still the Astro-Viper, of the Cobra astronaut corps. Also according to the file card, they cover themselves in powder in order to pass undetected during infiltration. Really? So that’s not a space-based EVA pack on his back? I assume
Read moreI really thought that the 2000’s Joe series was going to take off. Ultimately, I was wrong. But what made me think it would have succeeded? Well, Hasbro had successfully reinvigorated Transformers in the 2000’s for a new generation with new toy lines, why couldn’t they do the same with Joe? The new line had a comic book from Devil’s Due and
Read moreIn honor of Thanksgiving Day in the US, I thought I’d serve up my own thick slice of deep-fried turkey, Joe A Day style. Think hard about the absolute worst Joe figure you’ve seen. Golobulus? The Fridge? Something from the 90’s, perhaps? Say, Robo-JOE? Or maybe it’s something from the 2002 T-crotch travesty, maybe Duke? Could it be the jaundiced
Read moreOne thing that I really admire about the Joe line over the years is the fact that Hasbro sometimes goes back to a figure and takes a second stab at it to improve upon what’s come before. It’s been happening since the second series in 1983, and has been part of the evolution of the line’s style. From swivel arms,
Read moreThe 25th anniversary series began (with Pilot Scarlett) the modern line’s fascination with homages to vintage foreign release figures. The collectors club picked up the ball and ran with it in 2009’s attendee exclusives. 2011’s con set also offered up some non-US subjects. As a collector who embraces the odd and unusual, I find them to be nice additions. It
Read moreIf you asked me before I started this blog what one Joe figure was my favorite, I’d have thought a bit, then eventually would have gone for the usual; ’85 Snake Eyes, ’84 Storm Shadow or Firefly, etc. Now that I’m looking across the years as part of this crazy blog thing, I’d most likely have a really hard time
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