Zartan? I don’t know any Zartan! You could have fooled me, buddy, because you sure look like him. Well, kind of, anyway. And hey, where’s the box o’ junk?! Now that I think about it, this is one half-arsed Zartan. Yet I can’t seem to look away… Regardless of how you feel about the 2000’s era 12 inch figures, this
Read moreI’ve thought that most of the JoeCon parachute drop figures from have been hit or miss. There have been some real disappointments, like the Jungle Viper and Prison Uniform Flint, but also a few that I kind of enjoy, like the Sky BAT and Air-Viper. But 2009’s Crimson Guard stands out as my favorite. The 2009 convention was a great
Read moreWhen did Ethan Hunt discover the Nintendo Power Glove? When I happened upon the Adventures of GI Joe 2010 series, some of which I remember seeing during their time of release in the late 90’s, I was intrigued by the look and the audacity of the concept, but my interest was never piqued enough to pull a figure from the
Read moreThe 12 inch Joes released during the 2000’s relaunch were a mixed bag of reuse and cost cutting that struck me as generally cheap-looking, but there were a few that stood out as all-around great large-scale renditions of Real American Hero era favorites. Unlike some of his knockoff-ish line mates, Spirit gets the royal treatment with a full cloth uniform,
Read moreI thought in honor of Father’s Day, I’d cover a figure that’s not only the father of all subsequent GI Joe figures, but also the father of all toys that could be considered “action figures”. I don’t pretend to know 1/100th of what’s known of the history of the original GI Joe, but that doesn’t keep me from appreciating its
Read moreBlack Out is one of my absolute favorite figures and characters of the new sculpt era. The 3 & 3/4 inch figure, which I’ve covered before, is as another Man in Black might say “a victim of the time.” That figure, while it isn’t without a host of issues common to the era, still intrigues me thanks to an interesting
Read moreI won’t say too much about the Hall of Fame figures’ articulation; there isn’t much to say. With Barbie cartilage elbow and knee joints that moved about three clicks, the toys were hardly up to the standards of their forefathers in terms of movement. The series appealed to me mostly on the level of costume design. The first series for
Read moreThe Hasbro 12 inch Joe figures of the 2000’s era included their share of hits and misses. Presumably as a cost-cutting measure, quite a few of the figures featured molded shirts rather than cloth. I always thought the look was cheap and knockoff-ish. A few, like Wild Bill, Bazooka, Agent Faces and Spirit actually received fully cloth costumes and were quite well
Read moreI can say this without hesitation or embarrassment: I have a thing for the 90’s Action Man. Not in that way—get your minds out of the gutter, people. I’m talking about the toys and the animated series. Having grown up as a small scale Joe fan, most of my exposure to the 12 inch format came from the Hall of
Read moreTop Secret Document: The worldwide movement of international criminal and terrorist organizations is monitored by a classified defense satellite network system code named: Eagle Eye. Recently, Eagle Eye has detected an advance of several of the world’s largest hostile networks. Though its final objective is unknown, this new and dangerous enemy represents a serious menace to the world. In response
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