Step into the kinda-wayback machine with me to the era of Spy Troops. So much has happened in the Joe brand since 2003 that this fairly recent era seems almost a distant memory. Imagine a time in this not too long ago past when Joe product was readily available at retail. And in two packs at that. Neo Viper Commander
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
Read moreYears ago, when I first got back into Joe collecting and saw this guy listed on the back of a 1991 cardback, I was both intrigued and confused. The idea of a football themed Joe seemed ridiculous, but the card art, even at the size of a postage stamp on the back of another figure’s package, sure did make him
Read moreHere’s a character for whom fans demanded a land based version for years. Spy Troops series answered the call in a fashion, although not to most fans’ total satisfaction. That would have to wait until the next year’s Toys R Us exclusive VAMP release. Previous versions of Torpedo depicted him in a wet suit, naturally. After all, he’s a Navy
Read moreAt the height of Joe’s popularity in the 80’s, there were tie-in products of all kinds. Basically, in the 80’s, before the internet even existed, there was a different version of Rule 34. Let’s call it Rule 13. What’s Rule 13? It’s the idea that anything you can conceive of as a tie-in product for a big 80’s property, it
Read moreI really miss my old local mall, and Kay-Bee Toy Store in particular. An odd thing to say, since much of their product was overpriced and then artifically marked down with phony-baloney looking price stickers. If memory serves, I believe they lost a class-action lawsuit about that particularly bad business practice. But I still have a soft spot for the
Read moreCouldn’t this guy have just been Short-Fuse? He certainly has the look and the specialty to be the Joe team’s original mortar soldier. Other ’82 Joes had the redo treatment later in the line. Actually, this did happen when the mold was re released as Short-Fuze in 2004. Regardless of name, it was a welcome addition to have another mortar
Read moreShadow Vipers are described on the file card as infiltration and espionage specialists, but come on, we all know this is still the Astro-Viper, of the Cobra astronaut corps. Also according to the file card, they cover themselves in powder in order to pass undetected during infiltration. Really? So that’s not a space-based EVA pack on his back? I assume
Read moreI really thought that the 2000’s Joe series was going to take off. Ultimately, I was wrong. But what made me think it would have succeeded? Well, Hasbro had successfully reinvigorated Transformers in the 2000’s for a new generation with new toy lines, why couldn’t they do the same with Joe? The new line had a comic book from Devil’s Due and
Read moreIn honor of Thanksgiving Day in the US, I thought I’d serve up my own thick slice of deep-fried turkey, Joe A Day style. Think hard about the absolute worst Joe figure you’ve seen. Golobulus? The Fridge? Something from the 90’s, perhaps? Say, Robo-JOE? Or maybe it’s something from the 2002 T-crotch travesty, maybe Duke? Could it be the jaundiced
Read more