1982 GI Joe Product Catalog – Part 3

Here they are, the original single carded lineup. And they are lined up, to an extent. The horizontal structure of this page of the catalog is even stronger than the previous entries, and the landscape format allows for the largest possible photos of the individual figures. The figures are placed in the best action poses that could be achieved considering

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1982 GI Joe Product Catalog – Part 2

Continuing on from yesterday, I neglected to mention the inspiration for going back to coverage of a catalog, and specifically the first year. When recording a recent Flag Points episode, I was struck by memories of the Christmas catalogs of old, sometimes also known as Wish Books. I would spend plenty of time as a kid looking through those wonderful

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1982 GI Joe Product Catalog – Part 1

1982 reintroduced GI Joe for a new generation of kids. The first year also brought the first of many cross-sell catalogs, which were packaged along with boxed vehicles and accessories. From the get-go, Hasbro’s 80s GI Joe marketing team was hitting on all cylinders. Compared to later catalogs, the 1982 version is an almost minimalist design. From the stark white

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Mayday (Unproduced GI Joe Extreme)

As much grief as the GI Joe Extreme concept gets, there were some interesting aspects of Hasbro’s ill-fated second attempt to follow-up the Real American Hero era. The animated series and comic book were decent, for what they were, and certainly surpassed the toys in terms of overall entertainment value. As lackluster as the toys were, I do have a

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