Going back again to the beginning of the Pursuit of Cobra line, I was very impressed that Hasbro was taking familiar characters in new design directions. Consider the original Firefly, one of the least fantastically attired and equipped Cobras of the 80s. As a saboteur, his look and his modus operandi were simple. Armed with explosives and other basic tools
Read moreSometimes I think I’ve been a little too harsh on the modern styled GI Joe figures. I think I’ve alternately called them less playable, and even gone as far as calling them statues. Granted, in many cases, I still stick with those assessments. But there was a time, at the beginning of the Pursuit of Cobra line, when I was
Read moreFrom the Predator series of GI Joe–I mean the Pursuit of Cobra, comes Jungle Assault Duke. It’s the sort of look that the team’s top sergeant hadn’t really sported before. I suppose the Tiger Force version was a jungle theme, at least in theory. I have to say that this Duke has most others beat in the meanness department. There’s
Read moreAmong the many cool things the Pursuit of Cobra line accomplished, it improved on a few figures released as part of the 25th anniversary assortments. Blowtorch really isn’t all that new, but he incorporates some small details that make the figure stand out from its previous version. When this figure was announced, I thought it would just be a re-hash of
Read moreChristmas of 1983 still stands as one of my best GI Joe memories. That year, I received almost all of the 1983 figures, plus the incredibly cool (even though it was essentially cardboard) Cobra Missile Command Headquarters. Included in this haul was a three pack that included Snow Job, who quickly became my favorite acquisition that day, and my favorite Joe
Read moreYesterday I covered a modern interpretation of a classic Cobra trooper, one that wasn’t a direct copy of an old figure into the modern aesthetic. Today’s figure goes a different route towards remaking something that came before. The Alley Viper of 1989 was an odd duck, to say the least. Not a bad figure, just incredibly outside of the norm
Read moreI’ve generally not been impressed by the modern driver figures. Many have been repaints and parts swaps of existing figures, with new heads thrown in here and there. That’s a far cry from the 80’s and 90’s, when most drivers were all new molds, and exclusive to their vehicles. Exclusivity and newness of driver figures were brilliant marketing concepts from the glory
Read moreImagine making the Steel Brigade cool. I wouldn’t have thought the old create your own Joe figure to be high on Hasbro’s make list, but obviously someone had a soft spot for the old mail-in. The figure has been done in a way that pays homage to the original while putting a bit of a new spin on it. That’s
Read moreThis Storm Shadow seems like he comes from an amalgamation of the GI Joe universe and Prince of Persia. Or maybe it’s Elseworlds Storm Shadow. Wait, has that been done yet? You know, setting the GI Joe vs. Cobra story in a distant historic period? If not, IDW should try it. Why not, they’ve already done the zombie thing. I find the
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