There are no calling birds to be found on this fourth day of the twelve Joe A Days of Christmas, but there is a calling from a simpler time–1984, to be exact. From a childhood tome of toy wishes, and its aged pages come memories of the Real American Hero’s less remembered product. We’ll never see the likes of the
Read moreHere 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
Read moreContinuing 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
Read more1982 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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