In 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
Read moreJust how big was GI Joe back in the 80’s? Let’s see: huge toyline, multi-year cartoon and comic book. All of those are hallmarks of a monumental property. The ancillary licensed merchandise is what I find telling about just how ingrained the Joe line became in the public consciousness. Sure, Star Wars, He-Man, Transformers and other children’s entertainment of the
Read moreWhat’s my favorite element of Tiger Force, the GI Joe jungle sub-team? Is it the awesomely recolored jungle deco version of Flint? How about the super cool re-purposing of the Rattler and Water Moccasin as Joe vehicles? Maybe even the exotic and captivating overseas exclusives? Nope. It’s Tiger Force Roadblock’s helmet. No other figure accessory for the offshoot team is
Read moreFor a lot of adult Joe collectors, the environment specific characters often get some grief because of their perceived “limited” uses. Torpedo, Dusty, and Snow Job are useful in their specific roles, but outside of them are relegated to the sidelines. Torpedo looks a little ridiculous running through the jungle in a wet suit, and Dusty is out of place
Read moreIn the previous post, I mentioned my first Joe figure, and how it changed me from a Star Wars kid to a GI Joe kid. When I think back on getting my first GI Joe figure from a store, I can still smell the tires. Tires? Yes, tires. The smell of tires takes me back to the 1980’s and my
Read moreI remember back to 1982, and it was a time when Star Wars was the big thing for me. From 1979 to 1982 I was all about Star Wars. If it was a birthday, Christmas or any occasion where I could get a gift, my wish was for anything from that galaxy far far away. However I do remember seeing
Read moreOne of the things I’ve always loved about the GI Joe line has been its ability to incorporate military designs and styles from different recent eras and somehow make them work. Dogfight’s look is influenced by a bygone era or fighter jocks in the mid 20th century. He doesn’t so much resemble a straight World War II pilot as he
Read moreLeave it to Battle Force 2000 to give us the absolute doofiest Joe ever, bar none. I don’t care how long the Joe line lasts, nothing will top this guy on the doofus scale. Now let me be clear about this, there’s a difference between bad and doofy. Stars and Stripes Breaker–bad. Dee Jay–doofy. It takes a special kind of
Read moreIf you want some bad guys who put the 80’s Cobras to shame in the weirdness department, then look no further than Action Force, the UK cousin of sorts to GI Joe. The Red Shadows started as a faceless legion made up of repainted WWII Germans with new heads and became a veritable menagerie of odd and out-there figure and
Read moreSo you’re an ’82-86 fan. You’ve heard the conventional wisdom that post-’86 figures just got too colorful and lost too much of Joe’s military look. Now you’re looking for a post-86 Joe to debunk the idea. Well, look no further than the Toys R Us exclusive Night Force sub-set of ’88-89. According to the packaging: “NIGHT FORCE is a covert
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