by KansasBrawler Going into Joe Con this year, Repulsor was a pretty big surprise to some (like me) and a disappointment to others. I was extremely intrigued by the concept of a new named Cobra (and one that had an animal to boot) and though I was at first a little let down by the fact that Repulsor was a
Read moreThere’s something interesting about this starkly decorated Storm Shadow. Part of the short-lived o-ring rebirth at the beginning of the millennium, he was packaged with his sword brother, Snake Eyes. While Stormy was outfitted in all-white, Snakes had emblazoned his unit’s logo on his pant leg. So much for stealth on both accounts. It’s ironic that this barely painted figure
Read moreIt’s the final part of our year-end look back at 50 years of GI Joe, and we’re up to what collector types have dubbed the modern era. What happens ten years from now? Will it be the post-modern era? I don’t even want to think about it. Anyway, since the beginning of the Real American Hero’s 25th anniversary, a lot
Read moreAlthough the Real American Hero line wrapped up in 1994, GI Joe wouldn’t stay down for long. With two attempted relaunches in the form of Sgt. Savage and Extreme, the brand branched out beyond what had come before. Though both of the attempted refreshes were unsuccessful, Joe marched on with more large scale figures, and eventually came back to retail
Read moreRolling on from Day 1 and the initial era of GI Joe, it’s time to get shrunk down and check out the Real American Hero age. Again, this is not meant to be my exhaustive “best of” list, but rather a musing of the 50 years of GI Joe’s history. With thousands upon thousands of figures, vehicles, playsets and other
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I’ve been remiss in doing some celebrating and reflecting (beyond what I do every day) about the history of my favorite toy line. As we near the end of this 50th anniversary of the first action figure, I began to think it would be a nice thought experiment to pick out 50 of my favorite items from GI Joe’s 50
Read moreHow many boxes of cereal would you buy as an adult collector in order to capture an exclusive figure? Would you have downed five boxes of Fruit Brute to get a free Membros figure? Come on, don’t be shy. If you’re a toy collector, you know you’ve done it, especially if you were collecting the Star Wars Power of the
Read moreby KansasBrawler Growing up, I only had one Eco-Warriors Joe and that was Clean Sweep. Because of my long ties to the figure, I was really excited that he was tapped for an update in the Zombie Initiative con set. However, this also meant that the modern version of the figure had a lot to live up to. I thought
Read moreChristmas catalogs are long gone, and paging through old copies, be they physical or scanned copies, serves as a reminder of a time in toy history that will most likely not come again. We live in an age in which most any purchase lies within our digital grasp, thanks to the likes of eBay and Amazon. If you have the
Read moreIt’s the most wonderful time of the year! I’m hoping Santa will bring me at least one new Joe this year. Speaking of Santa, the right jolly old elf looks ready for battle in this ad. Remember, Corporal Kringle, don’t take that brain bucket off your head. It’s rough out there–at least in the toy stores. By the way, I
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