Category Archives: Conventions

If JBL has covered or attended a convention, the information will be here.

HASCON: Is Hasbro planning their own brand convention?

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United States Patent & Trademark Office

HASCON is coming?

There’s been a lot of speculation over the fate of the annual Joe Con after it was revealed that Hasbro was ending its relationship with Fun Publications, the company that licensed the annual Botcon (Transformers) and Joe Con (G.I. Joe ) events.  Many fans wondered if there would even continue to be annual Hasbro-authorized events. Over the past weekend, Hasbro filed a trademark with the US Patent Office that might shed some light on the future of these brand events.

Thanks to the intrepid newshounds over at TFwiki, it was revealed that Hasbro officially filed for the trademark on “HASCON”.  The purpose of this trademark, according to the trademark office filing is:

Organizing and conducting conventions, exhibitions, fan clubs and gatherings for entertainment purposes and in the fields of toys, animation, comic books, fantasy, gaming, popular culture, science fiction, television and film.

It’s not a lot of information but it shows that Hasbro is at least intending to move forward in some fashion with a continuation of conventions.  What’s more interesting, at least to this Joe fan, is that this appears to be the only trademark filed.  There’s nothing for any derivation of “Joe Con”, “Bot Con” or even “Pony Con”.  (Say what you will– but the Pony fandom is HUGE.)

With only one seemingly comprehensive trademark filed is Hasbro testing the waters at having events that showcase all of their brands in one place?  Or is this merely a preemptive measure designed to secure a copyright before anyone else files for it?  Right now, we have very little information to go on.  However, it’s also way too soon to jump to any detailed conclusions.  Joe Con 2016 is scheduled for the end of June and I doubt any formal announcement would be made before that even has concluded.

What do you think of this development?  Would you be in favor of more unified Hasbro brand events?  Would you rather have your conventions separated by product line?  Let us know your thoughts in the comments below or over on our Facebook page.

i can haz hascon

Joe Con 2016 Static Line debuts!

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Feast your eyes on the Joe Con 2016 Static Line!

Joe Con 2016 Static Line

SKY PATROL DEMOLITIONS:
STATIC LINE

– 25th Anniversary Modern Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– NEW Head Sculpt on 1st Modern Era Character Release
– Highly Requested Member of 1990’s Sky Patrol Team
– Includes removable Holster, Demolitions Satchel, Knife,
Sub Machine Gun, Glider backpack with moveable wings,
and G.I. Joe Logo Stand.

Continue reading →

Joe Con 2016: Drop Zone & Black Vulture unveiled

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Two new reveals from the Joe Con 2016 have dropped tonight!  Almost the entire set has now been revealed as fans can feast their eyes on Sky Patrol Drop Zone and the Cobra Black Vulture!

Drop Zone:

Joe Con 2016 Sky Patrol Drop Zone

SKY PATROL WEAPONS SPECIALIST:
DROP ZONE

– 25th Anniversary Modern Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– Highly Requested Member of 1990’s Sky Patrol Team
– Includes removable Helmet and Vest, Assault Rifle, Sub Machine Gun,
Glider backpack with moveable wings, and G.I. Joe Logo Stand.

Continue reading →

Joe Con 2016 FAQ: Another souvenir price increase?

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Joe Con 2016 banner

With all of the Joe Con 2016 reveals over the past few days, there’s been plenty for G.I. Joe fans to talk about.  New convention figures are coming, Hasbro will be showing “something” at the con, and there are changes coming to the Club as all memberships now end on December 31, 2016.

So, with all of that going on, the Club posted a new FAQ for this year’s convention that seems to indicate that last year’s “unavoidable price increases” for the souvenirs are now the new norm.

However, first here’s the full FAQ: Continue reading →

Joe Con 2016: Airwave and Air Devil revealed!

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Joe Con 2016 isn’t until June but the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has gone full-bore with the reveals this week.  After today, only four more characters remain to be seen from this year’s set.  Check out Sky Patrol team member Airwave and the Cobra Acrobatic Aerial Assault Trooper otherwise known as the Air Devil!

Airwave:

Joe Con 2016 Sky Patrol Airwave

SKY PATROL COMMUNICATIONS:
CLIFF “AIRWAVE” MEWETT

– 25th Anniversary Modern Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– Highly Requested Member of 1990’s Sky Patrol Team
– Includes removable Helmet and Vest, Assault Rifle, Pistol,
Satellite Phone, Parachute-style backpack,
and G.I. Joe Logo Stand.

Continue reading →

Joe Con 2016: Sky Patrol Airborne & Flying Scorpion

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Joe Con 2016 registration is LIVE and the Club has dropped two more previews from this year’s convention set!

Sky Patrol Airborne

Joe Con 2016 Sky Patrol Airborne

SKY PATROL QUARTERMASTER:
ROBERT “AIRBORNE” SIX

– 25th Anniversary Modern Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– NEW Head Sculpt on 1st Modern Era Character Release
– Highly Requested Member of 1990’s Sky Patrol Team
– Includes removable Harness, Medic Satchel Bag, Knife,
Automatic Shotgun, Parachute-style backpack, and
G.I. Joe Logo Stand.

Continue reading →

Joe Con 2016: Meet Skydive and Sky Creeper

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The Joe Con 2016 previews have begun!!!

I’ll admit it– I’m behind on this.  Last week the Joe Con 2016 brochure was published online and revealed the theme for the 1:18 scale set– Sky Patrol!!!  The 1990’s Toys R Us exclusive aerial team is finally getting a Generation 3 update and will be available as part of this year’s Joe Con event.

Yesterday, the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club pulled back the curtain even further

Skydive:

Joe Con 2016 SkyDive

SKY PATROL SQUAD LEADER: SKYDIVE

– 25th Anniversary Modern Style/Fully Poseable Action Figure
– Highly Requested Character from 1990’s Sky Patrol Team
– Includes removable Helmet and Goggles, Assault Rifles x 2,
Glider backpack with moveable wings, G.I. Joe Logo Stand.

Continue reading →

Changes to G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Memberships in 2016?

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G.I. Joe Collector's Club

Are changes coming to G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Memberships beyond 2016?

It was reported earlier today over at Allspark.com that there are changes coming to Transformers Collector’s Club memberships in 2016.  To be more specific, regardless of when a member enrolls, all memberships will expire on December 31, 2016.  This has also led to speculation on their forums about the future of the annual BotCon convention which is currently managed by Fun Publications.

Given the interconnected nature of the Fun Publications organizations, it didn’t take long for speculation to begin about the nature of the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club memberships as well.  Sure enough, a quick check of a membership page uncovered this new piece of verbiage at the bottom of the membership description:

Please note that at this time we are only accepting memberships and renewals for the 2016 calendar year.  All memberships will end with the December 2016 issue.  For example:  if your  membership renewal has a February start date, you will receive the FREE membership figure in the late spring along with 11 monthly issues.   If your membership renewal has a March start date, you will receive the FREE membership figure in the late spring and 10 monthly issues.

Really?  So, no matter when someone enrolls in 2016, their membership ends in December.  Which means that the cost of a membership is the same, regardless of the number of issues of the newsletter received.

So, what does this actually mean?  Is the Club transitioning their memberships to a calendar year model?  Or, does this mean that Fun Publications will no longer be the entity behind the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club going forward?  Or, is it merely verbiage that was ported over from the Transformers side of the organization by accident.  We’ve reached out to Fun Publications and we’ll let you know what we find out going forward.

Right now there’s no OFFICIAL word as to what the future will hold for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club and the annual memberships.  We can only wait and see what information, if any, the Club chooses to disseminate in the coming weeks.

EDIT: We reached out to directly to Brian Savage at the GIJCC who was good enough to send us back a prompt response.

All I can tell you is exactly what you read online.  There is no additional information at this time.


So for now, this is all we know but I’m sure the coming weeks and months will reveal more information.

SDCC 2015 Desert Duel review

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SDCC 2015 Desert Duel

 

The SDCC 2015 Desert Duel exclusive set review has been posted!

This year was a pretty good year for SDCC exclusives.  The Crimson Strike set featured two new vehicle deco’s and four exclusive figures.  Yet, it only told half the story– which was completed in the Toys R Us exclusive SDCC 2015 Desert Duel set.  This set featured only two exclusive characters over the standard retail version that’s starting to hit stores now but it also introduced the Joe fandom to the upgraded FOE Striker and Cobra Basilisk!

Want to know what two long-time Joe fans thought of the SDCC 2015 Desert Duel set? Did the FOE Striker live up to the hype? Is the Cobra Basilisk going to replace the familiar HISS Tank any time soon?  Can Fred and Chris agree on anything this time around?

The answers to these questions and more await in the SDCC 2015 Desert Duel review!  You can check it out either by clicking on the image above for by visiting either the Exclusive Review Index or the 50th Anniversary Review Index here at JBL!

Plus, stay tuned to JBL as the first shipment of the 2015 50th Anniversary two-packs arrived today!

SDCC exclusive Desert Duel set is up on ToysRUs.com!

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Looking for the SDCC Desert Duel set that is an exclusive to EntertainmentEarth.com?  Well, check out Toys R Us’ SDCC exclusives page.  It’s up for order RIGHT NOW!

SDCC exclusive desert duel

To recap why this set is so unique, it not only includes all of the standard pieces but it has the exclusive Night Fox and Cobra Air Trooper figures!  That’s right– two extras figures are included that won’t be found in the standard version.  The entire set includes:

  • Cobra Basilisk w/ Elite Horseman
  • FOE (Forward Observation Encampment) Striker w/ Chuckles
  • NEW Chuckles head based on Mike Costa comic appearances
  • EXCLUSIVE Night Fox action figure
  • EXCLUSIVE Cobra Air Trooper

The entire set is $59.99 and is available with FREE shipping!  So, what are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?  To order yours, either click on the image above or use the handy link below:

SDCC Desert Duel at Toys R Us

(A big thanks to Mike Breaux of TheBreauxShow.com for the tip!)