1991, the year I got back into Joe collecting, was also sort of the birth of my adult geekdom. It began for me with the release of Heir to the Empire, the Star Wars novel that appeared to be the sequel story we had never gotten. The sudden appearance of a new Star Wars book was exciting. Did it mean
Read moreYeah, I know these Bronze Bombers based on Joe molds go for a pretty penny, but the blue Track Viper body plus new head equals one crazy looking figure. The head sculpt is damn goofy, and the paint apps are short. Seriously, I got nothin’ today, folks.
Read moreEven though 1987 was the last year that I collected Joes as a kid, I still find myself looking back to that year with as many fond memories of the year’s figures as anything from ’82 to ’86. One of my all-time faves (Battle Armor Cobra Commander) was released that year. He was one of the two Joe figures that
Read moreWhat can I say about Firefly that hasn’t been said before? He’s the ultimate mystery man of Cobra, a saboteur garbed in grey camouflage, his face forever hidden behind his trademark mask. His figure origin dates back to the watershed year of 1984, when all-time Joe classics like Storm Shadow, Baroness and Thunder were unleashed for the first time. Okay
Read moreMercer is an interesting character who’s been sadly underused in the GI Joe comics and cartoons. The idea of a Cobra defector could make for a lot of intriguing story possibilities. He showed up in a few issues of the Devil’s Due comic, the animated movie, and two episodes of the DIC cartoon, and that’s pretty much been it. This
Read moreSay what you will about Lanard’s Corps! line and its copycatting of RAH GI Joe, there’s no denying its appeal to collectors of the odd and unusual. At the line’s beginning, there were plenty of cribs from Joe, including some incredibly close representations of Joe equipment. For years, I’ve had a backpack that resembles Major Bludd’s as well as a
Read moreTextures. They’re not something that I think about often in terms of the RAH toy line. Other than armor, I can’t recall a lot of figures whose uniform reflected some kind of different surfaces among pants, shirts, etc. Early in the line, sculpted details like folds and bloused pants weren’t depicted in much detail, if at all. I’ve wondered if that was
Read moreWhen the original o-ring GI Joe line ended in 1994, Lanard’s me-too series The Corps! (don’t forget the exclamation point) rolled on. Many if its 1986 molds continued to be produced in varying excitingly horrid hues and odd camo patterns, but there were a few new mold additions. Whispering Willie is one of those original Corps! characters to get a
Read moreAh yes, the Red Ninja. The cobra ninja cannon fodder that made their first appearance in the classic issue 21 of the Marvel Joe comic. I remember reading that issue and hoping I would see them in toy form some day. Little did I know that Hasbro would make that hope a reality with the 1993 Red Ninja fig–wait.
Read moreThe Mortal Kombat ninjas came in a rainbow of fruit flavors. This one is my favorite. I’ve mentioned several times before that I like clear and translucent figures. Not only does this figure hit my “clear toy” spot, it also incorporates what the cool kids who know too much about the toy industry call “soft goods”. We regular folks call
Read more