The 1984 Joe series really took the line’s concept to the next level. In terms of breadth of characters, accessories and styling, it was the second year in a row that evolved the line into the blockbuster it became. Rip Cord is a perfect example of Joe’s evolution. While the previous year presented an airborne specialist, ’84 gave us the
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 moreIf there’s one vehicle that for me exemplifies 1985’s full-on entrance into the fantastic and unusual elements that came to define the Real American Hero era of GI Joe, it’s the Ferret. I can remember it vividly from the first
Read moreIf there’s one quality that Hasbro possessed with their approach to the Joe line in the 90’s–right or wrong–it was a willingness to try anything. “Throw it at the wall and see what sticks” is a good way to describe it. Although it didn’t stick at retail, the Mega-Marines sub-line was a memorable venture in to Day-Glo and Play-Doh that
Read moreOver the years as a Joe fan, and in the course of this blog I’ve said it time and again: this is a cool sculpt that would really benefit from a better paint scheme. Static Line, being a member of the Sky Patrol, was made up of reused driver molds. The original mold upon which he was based, Backstop, was
Read moreBy 1992, I was fully back into Joe collecting, and (in those pre-internet dark ages) waited with bated breath every February for the annual Toy Fair issue of Tomart’s Action Figure Digest to reveal the year’s Joe offerings. I won’t pretend that the idea of anti-drug plot within the Joe toyline didn’t seem patronizing and ridiculous when I first saw
Read more1993 was the year of strange mail aways. While the regular line was waning amongst a bevy of sub-lines, Hasbro Direct was offering odd recolors of recent and not-so-recent figures. Some were multi-packs, like the Arctic Commandos, the International Action Force, the Rapid Deployment Force (complete with a reused Pocket Patrol Pack!) and the Copter Pilot set, from which Interrogator
Read moreYes, it’s Cobra’s original “Leaky Suit Brigade”. If I could come up with a forgotten Cobra army builder, this would be one of the finalists. I suppose I shouldn’t say its too odd looking, considering it came just one year after the weirdness of the dog-faced Techno-Viper. From mask to gloves to color scheme, the Toxic-Viper is downright strange. I
Read more1991 is my favorite post-1986 year for figures. The main line saw new interpretations of old standbys for the Joe team and Cobra’s forces. This new edition of Sci-Fi is a tasteful update to his original figure. Say what? A 90’s Joe tasteful? Yes. Regardless of what you’ve heard on the grapevine about the dreaded decade of Eco-this and DEF-that,
Read moreIn a way you could say that GI Joe is a descendant of the little green army men from days of yore. One of my favorite memories of playing with the little green guys were the paratroopers. A simple plastic parachute and string turned the regular troopers into death defying airborne attackers. At the time of its release, the Skystriker
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