By KansasBrawler This is a hard figure for me to review. I generally like variations on a theme, however, my least favorite variation is the “battle damaged” version. The modern Joe line has done it well with the Battle Damaged BAT from the Defense of Cobra Island set, but I think part of what made that particular figure work is
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Time to revisit a figure that’s become one of my favorite modern o-ring Joes. I’ve harped on it before; I really really miss these guys. I really miss GI Joe in general. Maybe we’ll see him return to toy departments some day. Looking at the comic pack figures through the lens of the recent rise of factory custom o-ring Joes
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This particular Mortal Kombat mold was available in a veritable panoply of colors during the run of Hasbro video game and film tie-in toys. I did not hesitate to Taste The Rainbow when the figures hit the shelves of my local Kay-Bee Toys. Thanks to the chain’s dubious two/three-for-one sales I was able to stock up easily. Scorpion approximates his
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I’m man enough to admit that I loved—loved everything about Serpentor in 1986. From the idea that Cobra would have an emperor, to the conceit that he was created from the DNA of history’s great leaders, to the super villain costume design, I was all-in for the character. The packaging art is suitably accurate to the figure and vehicle inside,
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I was so bummed to miss out on the tundra Stalker figure. Released just two years after I had stopped collecting Joes as a kid, I spotted him at one my friend’s house, in the collection of a little brother who was a few years younger than us. The fact he came with a kayak and crazy mask fascinated me.
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A series of the 2008 comic packs featured new material that took place between the pages of classic Joe comics. The Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow pack gave us issue 21B, another “silent issue” set among the existing story of the rescue of Scarlett from the silent castle. At the end of issue 21, Snakes had suffered a rip to
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By KansasBrawler The two Resolute-branded comic packs were kind of interesting. The two Joes in the comic packs didn’t show up in Resolute at all (at least in a meaningful way, I can’t remember if either Shockwave or Tunnel Rat were in a group shot) and the Cobras included were in Resolute but looked nothing like the figures released. I’m
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By 1985, Snake Eyes was equal parts commando and ninja. Just a couple of changes to uniform and weaponry transformed the Joe team’s mystery man/soldier into a mystical warrior. With the introduction of Storm Shadow, an entire ninja mythos was born. It continues to this day. In 2007, the anniversary series met with enough success that the pegs saw the
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Yes yes, it’s another Snake Eyes. He’s just darn hard to avoid if you’re going to talk about 1980s and beyond GI Joe for any length of time. Most of the time, his figures are black, black and black. Sure, sometimes grey is in the mix, and he famously broke out some blue duds in ’91, but for the most
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Scarlett was one of the first group of Joes to be released in the 25th anniversary series. She was also among the first few modern style comic packs, alongside a uniquely designed Hawk. While the deco of the main line figure hewed closer to the card art and original 1982 toy, the comic pack version put Scarlett in a much
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