Leave it to Battle Force 2000 to give us the absolute doofiest Joe ever, bar none. I don’t care how long the Joe line lasts, nothing will top this guy on the doofus scale. Now let me be clear about this, there’s a difference between bad and doofy. Stars and Stripes Breaker–bad. Dee Jay–doofy. It takes a special kind of
Read moreLet’s get the name out of the way first. According to his file card, Ice Cream Soldier’s code name is meant to be ironic, given that he’s a flamethrower commando. So you may ask yourself, “how did Hasbro think up such a stupid name? That’s just pure laziness calling him Ice Cream Soldier.” Well, suppress your nerd rage for a
Read moreThe end of the RAH Joe line produced its fair share of hits, misses and oddities. For me, the mail-in international force mail in set from 1993 was an odd, yet fun and eclectic mix of both characters and colors. As a concept, it’s a great idea, particularly after the foreign Joes released in ’91 and ’92. The four figures
Read moreThe Steel Brigade has made select yet memorable appearances since the end of the Real American Hero line. Coming at the end of the new sculpt era, the Direct to Consumer Steel Brigade vs. The Plague set was a welcome addition of both new enemies and a modern take on the venerable faceless Joe grunts. Red Zone is the leader
Read moreWhere do Joes get their code names? Is it a meticulous process presided over by members of command, looking at a soldier’s personality back ground and accomplishments, and sometimes throwing in a pun here and there, or is it done on a peer basis, with the other Joes informally coming up with a nickname that just seems to stick? Sometimes
Read moreSo you’re an ’82-86 fan. You’ve heard the conventional wisdom that post-’86 figures just got too colorful and lost too much of Joe’s military look. Now you’re looking for a post-86 Joe to debunk the idea. Well, look no further than the Toys R Us exclusive Night Force sub-set of ’88-89. According to the packaging: “NIGHT FORCE is a covert
Read moreLate series distribution problems seem to be a theme in the collecting community, whether you’re talking about the toy collecting boom of the 90’s or today. Collect a line long enough and at some point, it’s going to raise its ugly head. Collectors get nervous when word circulates that a particular assortment is getting short shrift in terms of availability.
Read moreInsufferable. That’s the one word that describes for me the GI Joe animated movie’s portrayal of Falcon. Here’s a guy who’s a lieutenant, right? He should have been an all-business type, yes? No. He was Don freaking Johnson, and he was a slacker/hotshot who later helped save the day. Ugh. Oh, and he was also Duke’s younger half-brother. Talk about
Read moreSome Joe fans seem to have a fascination with seeing the original thirteen Joe team figures done in the style of the day. I count myself as one of them. As crazy as it sounds, I must admit I would loved to have seen a 1993 interpretation of Grand Slam. Sadly, it was not to be. As the vintage line
Read moreLong Range’s file card states that he’s earned the nickname “the Knock-Out Man” due to his incredibly effective abilities as an artillery man. “The Blink and You’ll Miss Him Man” would be a more apropos nickname for his media appearances. The poor guy only made a few small comic appearances and a brief cameo in DIC’s Operation Dragonfire series. He’s
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