Dial Tone is a fan favorite who’s gotten a lot of play among Joe fans in the last year. His exclusion from the 25th anniversary line was remedied when the Collectors Club released him as 2011’s membership figure. Even better, he was also released carded at the con, and included in the new Mission Brazil set. I think his original
Read moreIn 1987, the year 2000 seemed so far off. I’m sure some people thought flying cars would be the future. In fact, they’ve been saying that since the 50’s, and I’m getting upset about it–hey, future–where’s my flying car? In the GI Joe universe, they apparently thought the future would be crazy looking modular vehicles which offered their drivers no
Read moreAs the 90’s dawned on the vintage Joe toy line, things were taking a stronger turn towards sci-fi elements. This is particularly the case with Cobra. Decimator and his vehicle, the Hammerhead are a case of Cobra vehicle and driver design meshing perfectly. The design of the figure’s helmet takes the vehicle name literally, as it resembles a hammerhead shark’s
Read moreMost Joe fans can’t stand the DIC produced animated series. There’s good reason not to like it, particularly its second season, which is more unintentionally funny than anything else. The DIC series started strong however, with the Operation Dragonfire mini-series. The storyline mirrored the Sunbow formula: Cobra creates or discovers device/weapon of Incredible Power and intends to use said device/weapon
Read moreIn the 90’s, the Half Price Store, a discount department store chain, was a treasure trove for recent Joe releases. There were always a couple of bins that had the last series of Joes for $3 each. I kick myself for not buying more than I did, especially Sonic Fighters Viper — I could’ve had an army! During one of
Read moreMutt was my favorite Joe in 1984. Yes, even more than the ubiquitous Storm Shadow. ’84 was a year in which the Joe line went in exciting new directions with accessories. Mutt was impressive for not only having an animal sidekick, but also a cool MAC 10, nightstick, muzzle (for himself!) and new helmet. He had a cool military police
Read moreWhat’s the most ambitious, well loved and famous of all Joe playsets? The USS Flagg of course. What’s that got to do with the Toxo-Lab? Absolutely nothing. Well, truthfully it does to me. In my whacked out Joe sensibilities, I like to root for the underdog. I value things like fun and toyetic concepts as much as cool characterizations and
Read moreZombies. These days you can’t look left or right without hearing about ’em in some form of media. Have they become passe yet? I think when Ace Hardware has zombie survival tips on its website, the cool factor is pretty much gone. This is the Toxo-Zombie from 1992’s Eco Force sub-line, a time before the current fast-moving super strong zombie
Read moreWhat happens when plans to bring the Rocky Balboa character into the Joe line falls through? You get the inexplicable Cobra trainer who looks like a boxer. I don’t know if that’s truly the case, but what else would explain Hasbro giving Cobra a character that looks like a boxer if they weren’t going to make a Joe of the
Read moreBarricade brings new meaning to the term “door kicker”. His specialty of bunker buster also works within the context of urban operations, as his file card points out. I wonder why this figure was not included as part of the DEF sub-group. He seems like a good fit. The later Battle Corps version of Law had a similar battering ram
Read more