I was fortunate to attend, (just one day after this year’s JoeCon) the local comic convention, Planet Comicon. This is the first year in a much larger venue, and the entire show has been appropriately scaled up. There were creators and media guests galore, including a GI Joe connection in the movie Snake Eyes himself, Ray Park. Mr. Park was
Read moreThe beginning of the 25th anniversary series held a lot of promise. Sure, the first multi pack releases had their share of construction and articulation issues, but the availability of small GI Joes on store shelves again was cause for excitement. When the initial offerings performed so well that a second set of Cobras were released, I was ecstatic. At
Read moreEven though Sigma 6 ran a bit short on the villain side, the figures that were released impressed. Keeping the Cobras focused on a core group also gave the line a nice appropriate focus, considering it was primarily figure centric. Though there were a few classic personalities I would liked to have seen (Baroness, Major Bludd) I’m happy with what’s
Read moreThe BAT has a long history in the GI Joe mythos. First appearing in 1986, they were new grist for the mill in Cobra Commander’s attempts to Rule the World. The robotic troopers also made the perfect enemy force for the Sunbow cartoon, as there were probably no mandates from Standards and Practices against shooting dozens of androids vs. humans
Read moreFunny enough that one of my favorite Roadblock figures was released in the Valor vs Venom era. Looking back at those last few years of the relaunch series, I find myself missing the idea of Toys R Us exclusive figure packs. Even though the sets were repaints, and many had issues, it was still nice to know that a major
Read moreThe first of three Lady Jaye figures released in the 25th anniversary series, this version follows closely to the original 1985 figure and its card art. Her most…uh…distinguishing feature is her impressive decolletage. If you ever needed a sign that the modern GI Joe lines are aimed at collectors, Lady Jaye is equipped with two good reasons. So the question
Read moreI’m torn. I really like the vintage Dial Tone figure, but I have a hard time liking this one. The old Dial Tone had a very unique look, from his outfit to his weapons and accessories. He was another one of those 80s redesigns that kept life in the line. The concept of a communications specialist that worked so well
Read moreCan you believe it took seven years to get a new Duke mold in the ARAH line? Pretty amazing considering the GI Joe poster boy he would become in later lines. I like this Duke a lot. Though the color scheme isn’t an accurate desert camo, the tan and red work together well. My only complaint about the mold are
Read moreSome of the art of customizing, or creating a new figure using either paint, sculpting, or mixing of parts, is the effective choice of said parts. To have an idea in mind, and to make the right choice from thousands of possibilities in the various GI Joe line, is a daunting process. It’s made even more of a challenge when
Read moreSometimes when I look through my figures for the next batch of subjects, I get all wistful about one or two, particularly if I haven’t looked at them in a while. That’s what happened when I grabbed this guy out of the 2007 con set. This figure impresses me for two reasons, beyond the fact that it reminds me of
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