Every year around this time, stores of all types set up their Halloween displays, and one standby within them are costumes. It’s an amazing thing to think about, actually. As time has passed, and the old five and dime stores gave way to retail chains, the seasonal Halloween section has somehow survived. I find this quite refreshing in a world
Read moreNinjas and tigers in the jungle–how much cooler could a book cover get? Not much, unless maybe Snake Eyes was riding a shark. And how’s this for artistic license? Check out both Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes. Both appear quite different from their toy, packaging, cartoon and comic book iterations of the time. Snake Eyes’ lack of bandolier reminds me
Read moreIf there’s one question I’ve gotten zero times in relation to this blog, it’s “Rob, when are you gonna cover some of the licensed GI Joe ride-ons produced by Coleco in the 1980s?” Well, all zero people who ever asked, here you go. The Laser Defense Power Cycle is an amazingly 80s kid’s vehicle. When you think back to the
Read moreBack in 1984, I bought Deep Six and his vehicle, the SHARC, because of both the Marvel comic and the figure’s action feature. The comic heavily featured Deep Six and his ride in an iconic issue that also fully debuted Zartan. How could I have resisted begging my parents to buy me every toy that showed up in that issue?
Read moreIf you’re a modern era GI Joe collector, you know that MASK leader Matt Trakker is now connected to GI Joe thanks to a 2008 25th anniversary figure. I thought the idea of bringing the two properties together was pretty brilliant, and was disappointed that the concept stopped with Matt. So why am I covering the original figure and his
Read moreYes! The Cobra Tele-Viper gets some serious play with a novel cover. The communications specialists wouldn’t be one’s first thought to grace the front of an action-packed media tie-in, but I’m not complaining. They made a fair number of appearances in the Sunbow ‘toon, and even showed up (in both original and Python guises) in the debut DIC mini-series. In
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Crossing chasms via ropes must have been a popular pastime in 1987. It’s the Joe A Day Moment of Zen…
Read moreI used to love Night Flight, with its eclectic mix of music videos, old-timey short films and just plain oddness. It’s too bad such a thing doesn’t exist any longer, and probably won’t ever again. I long for the golden age of cable TV, a time before an endless mess of instantly available viewing material was available at one’s fingertips.
Read moreThe Bad Guys got in on the action in a big way in 1987. These are some seriously bodacious buckles, people. I suppose the villains are expected to be more ostentatious, but this year seems to eclipse them all in terms of style. I would expect a yahoo like Raptor to go all out with theme imagery, and he’s no
Read moreOne of the most undercooked GI Joe uniform designs gave rise to an impressive belt buckle. It’s the sort of thing you’d expect to see on a cowboy type, with a longhorn skull emblazoned across it. The fancy buckle actually works within the confines of the design of the figure’s lower extremities. Up top, he’s fairly plain, including his decidedly
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