This package art called out to me on the same day that I first saw carded Joe figures in a store. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to buy him that day. I did score Flash, however. It wasn’t long before I was able to go back and get him. It’s such a compelling painting, and the pose is very unique among
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See what I did there? Anyway, today’s thoughts about Father’s Day take me back to the first carded GI Joe figure that I got back in the 80s. My Dad and I made many trips to Montgomery Ward back when I was a little guy, mainly to buy paint for the house or tires for the car. Fortunately for a
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Break out the brown crayons, kids. Okay, that was was pretty juvenile. I couldn’t help myself. Just how does this guy resemble Skidmark, anyway?
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Wow, now this is how you can sell a toy! From the pages of the Action Force comic comes this Super Trooper promo. The Action Force comics in general were quite big and bold in terms of their size as well as graphics. I’m really digging the art style here. It’s very different from what was the norm for the
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Here’s the earliest Real American Hero cardback, featuring just nine figures in the cross-sell art. It’s amazing to look back on something like this, and imagine a kid in 1982 turning it over to see the other original members of the revamped, smaller GI Joe toys. I don’t recall if my first carded 1982 figure, Flash, had a nine or
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Look out, it’s the LCV! I wonder if buyers at Toy Fair asked–what the hell is this!? Proof that the GI Joe design team could do whatever they wanted after a few years of huge success. I also never was able to sit a figure on it motorcycle style, as Bazooka is in the inset photo. Need to check if
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Quick, everybody! Look! Get to Toys R Us! Oh wait, this is an old ad. Check out the name references here. I have to wonder whether the copy writer didn’t bother to use the names of the toys, or if the ad was produced before names were finalized. My favorite aspect of this ad is just how gosh-darn shiny that
Read moreNow I can finally be an official pilot for that shuttle I picked up at the flea market! Thankfully, this thing kinda fits my pinky finger. Now my Sgt. Slaughter figure won’t berate me every time I try to fly the Crusader around my living room. I feel like a kid who got a cool Cracker Jacks prize–back when that
Read moreBreak out your crayons with Ace and Steeler. The two famous Joe driver figures are rendered nicely in coloring book form here inside the “Capture of Cobra Commander” title. It’s a well detailed drawing for a coloring book page, and Steeler is even wearing something similar to his Sunbow outfit. Neat! Now where did I put that MOBAT Green crayon?
Read moreNational Defense, a series of budget, me-too GI Joe clones, is an odd and confusing story, to say the least. The line, available at K-Mart, utilized molds that would also be used by Galoob in its Gen. Patch series. The line also saw release as American Defense, a name later used by Remco for a series of K-Mart exclusive figures
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