Old Snake & Stealth BAT Duo Review

G.I. Joe & the Transformers Old Snake & Stealth BAT duo

The Old Snake & Stealth BAT Duo two-pack review is live!

The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club blew the fandom’s collective minds at Joe Con 2015 when it was revealed that one of the pieces in their G.I. Joe & the Transformers series was a two-pack featuring Old Snake aka “Future Cobra Commander.”  Featured in the classic G1 Transformers episode “Only Human“, this 1:18 figure recreates the look of a familiar-voiced arms dealer who went by the moniker of “Old Snake” and who just happened to be in possession of Synthoid technology.  However, the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club took things a step further and packaged this distinctive villain with two repurposed Transformers Prime Soundwave figures in classic Battle Android Trooper deco.

The result: the Old Snake & Stealth BAT Duo two-pack!

Check out the guest review from Otto “The Otter” Phillips over in the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Review Index and then let us know your thoughts on this set in the comments below!

G.I. Joe Club Old Snake & Stealth BATS in stock!

Old Snake & Stealth BATS

The G.I. Joe/Transformers “Old Snake & Stealth BATs” set is now IN STOCK at the G.I.Joe Collector’s Club store!

The past few years have seen more G.I. Joe/Transformers crossovers than I would have thoguht possible including three SDCC exclusives from Hasbro.  This year Fun Publications, the company behind both the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club and the Transformers Collectors Club, announced two different crossover sets– one featuring Marissa Faireborne, the daughter of Flint and Lady Jaye, and a second featuring a beloved character from the Transformers episode “Only Human.”  In this episode, the villain Drath approached an indvidual named “Old Snake” for his synthoid technology, something that Cobra had used numerous times in the G.I. Joe cartoon.  Old Snake, as most fans will immediately recognize, was intended to be the future version of Cobra Commander! Continue reading

Nerdrahtio talks G.I. Joe and more with Loyal Subjects

nerdrahtio

Our good friends over at Nerdrahtio sat down recently with Jonathan Cathey, Owner/CEO of The Loyal Subjects, a Los Angeles-based toy company that’s tackling some of the biggest licenses in pop culture right now.  TMNT, Transformers, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers.  All of these and G.I. Joe are part of their current offerings but even more is coming down the pipeline!

2013-02-03 21.10.02 Continue reading

RIP John Stephenson – voice of Hawk, Dr. Quest, and more

George Stephenson

Rest in peace, John Stephenson.

General Hawk, General Franks, Dr. Benton Quest, Doggy Daddy, Mr. Slate– these are all characters that were brought to life by the incredibly talented John Stephenson.  The voice actor passed away on Friday May 15, 2015 at the age of 91.

His career spanned an impressive 57 years in the entertainment industry with his first credited role listed in 1953 and his last in 2010.  Before his move to voice acting he was a prolific character actor in the early days of television with appearances on notable series such as The Lone Ranger, F Troop, The Beverly Hillbillies, Get Smart, Perry Mason, and even Hogan’s Heroes. He was also the voice that announced the verdicts at the end of episodes of the popular series Dragnet.

Later, he moved to voice acting and was possibly the most-used talent at Hanna-Barbera Studios providing voices for Fred Flintstone’s boss Mr. Slate, Doggy Daddy, and was the original voice for Dr. Benton Quest on Jonny Quest before the role was assumed by the late Don Messick.  His IMDB page lists over 230 acting credits.

Eventually John Stephenson went to work on many of the Sunbow animated series that fans of JBL are familiar with– providing the voices for such characters as General Hawk (substitute in “The Spy Who Rooked Me”), General Franks, General Flagg, Dr. Lucifer, Granak, Kup, Thundercracker, and Huffer for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, Inhumanoids, and The Transformers.

In his final years he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and had been living in a retirement home.

Rest in peace, John.  Thank you for all the hours of entertainment you’ve given us. Your talents will be missed.

Hasbro shifts digital content to Vimeo

Vimeo logo

Hasbro animated series are coming to Vimeo!

As reported yesterday by Wired.com, Hasbro Inc announced yesterday that they were partnering with video sharing site Vimeo to be the exclusive online host for many of the toy-maker’s animated series.   Currently available are Transformers (Generation 1) and Jem & the Holograms with other series including G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero and My Little Pony to follow later this year.

Per the announcement, episodes of the Hasbro series will be $.99 to rent for 24 hours or $1.99 to purchase individually.  Entire series may be purchased for $40.00.

Is this a good move for the Pawtucket-based Hasbro, Inc?  By the numbers, it means that Hasbro’s animated properties will be delivered to a significantly smaller audience.  As of Q1 2015, subscription-based Netflix had an audience of just over 60 million global subscribers. As of December 2013, Vimeo was sitting at 22 million subscribers.  It’s not a strict apples-to-apples comparison as far as the dates go but it indicates that Vimeo doesn’t quite have the reach that content posted on Netflix does.

There’s also the issue of the the pricing model.  Increasingly, more and more digital content has gone “pay-to-play” requiring viewers to either rent or purchase episodes on a platform-to-platform basis.  Vimeo follows that model meaning that fans will have to pay around $40 to own a full season of their favorite nostalgic series.  This puts it on par with the cost of owning the content on DVD and Blu-Ray from retailers such as Amazon.com but it leaves casual fans a bit out-of-the-loop.  Rather than being able to randomly browse through a few episodes of a series before getting hooked, viewers will be have to pay to rent or view episodes on an series-by-series basis.  This could limit the Hasbro content’s overall reach when it comes to new viewers rather than diehard fans who most likely already own the content in tangible form anyway.

What do you think?  Is the move to Vimeo better for Hasbro?  Will is help grow the audiences for their animated properties?  Will you be making the jump to the new video-sharing service in order to follow the adventures of your favorite characters?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Toy Fair 2014 Recap from The Breaux Show

Breaux Show Toy Fair 2014

Looking for more news from Toy Fair 2014?  Check out this in depth walk-through of Hasbro’s showroom courtesy of good friend of JBL The Breaux Show!

Check out this nearly two hour long recap from this Sunday’s live radio show in which intrepid reporter Mike Breaux walks his audience through the entire Hasbro presentation and tour of all of the product lines shown.  Along with over 250 images he provides insights from the showroom including how the Kre-O Firebat will interact with the Terrordrome playset.

Since this Toy Fair 2014 video might be a bit long for a lunch break, here are some time marks to jump to if you just want to watch certain subjects:

  • 9:30 – My Little Pony
  • 16:45 – Star Wars
  • 35:30 – Marvel (including Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America, Avengers Infinite, etc)
  • 57:25 – Kre-O (G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, Transformers)
  • 1:10:00 – Transformers

I’d like to extend a big thanks to Mike for his help with JBL’s Toy Fair 2014 Coverage.

G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Coverage from Toy Fair 2014 Begins Saturday

toy fair 2014

 

Next week the International Toy Fair in New York City begins! This Saturday at 1pm EST, Hasbro will be holding an advance Entertainment Brand Preview Event which is slated to feature the latest in Marvel, Transformers, Star Wars, and My Little Pony brands and is scheduled to include a spotlight on the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary. In partnership with The Breaux Show, JBL will bring you coverage of the event beginning Saturday evening.

What can fans expect to see from Hasbro commemorating a half century of “America’s Movable Fighting Man”?  At this point no one knows but hopefully Saturday will offer some insight into what plans, if any, the folks in Pawtucket have in store for fans and collectors everywhere.

Keep your eyes peeled to this page or any of the following links to see coverage as it goes live:

In the meantime, check out these two articles that offer some speculation as to what might lie ahead for the brand.

2013 SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set now in stock at HasbroToyShop.com

G.I. Joe vs. Transformers SDCC 2013 exclusive set

There’s no need for a lot of verbiage here!  This year’s SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set is finally available!

UPDATE: 10/16/2013 AS OF NOW THE SET APPEARS TO BE SOLD OUT!

Now that the lawsuit between Hasbro & Harmony Gold has been settled it would seem that the flood gates have been opened for the 2013 SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set featuring Jetfire, Hound, Blaster, Bludgeon, Baroness, Ravage, and more!  (Okay, there’s that Snake Eyes repaint but who REALLY needs Snake Eyes v 10,203 anymore? It’s a solid set and the “epic conclusion” to the series that began three years ago with Cobra Commander & Starscream and then evolved to Destro & Shockwave in 2012.

Got get it at HasbroToyShop.com:

http://www.hasbrotoyshop.com/gi-joe-transformers-jetfire-vehicle?BR=496&ID=32166

G.I. Joe vs. Transformers – Kre-O style!

Kre-O logo

While the New York Comic Con may not be the font of new product news that many G.I. Joe fans were hoping for, all is not bleak in Joe-land!  New Kre-O sets and blind-bagged figures are dropping at Toys R Us stores across the nation.  To celebrate this, the good folks at Hunter PR passed on a stop-motion animation gem that is sure to put a smile on the face of even the most stodgy of Joe fans!

So, check out “G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers” — Kre-O style!

JBL Review: 2012 San Diego Comic Con G.I. Joe/Transformers Shockwave!

San Diego Comic Con exclusive Shockwave Destro Bat

The design team at Hasbro has established a new tradition for their San Diego Comic Con exclusives- G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover sets!  Last year it was Starscream as a Skystriker and Cobra Commander with Megatron.  This year the team took that concept and cranked the dial up to “11”!  Not only did this year’s set include the G.I. Joe Retaliation HISS tank turned into Shockwave, but it brought Destro, a BAT, and familiar-looking tape recorder along for the ride!

Check the JBL review of the 2012 G.I. Joe/Transformers exclusive set over at the newly launched Exclusives Review Index!

(See, I told you more reviews were coming!)