Happy 2013 from JBL! Bring on G.I. Joe Retaliation!

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Duke and Roadblock are looking forward to the return of G.I. Joe in 2013!

Duke and Roadblock are looking forward to the return of G.I. Joe in 2013!

What are G.I. Joe team members Duke and Roadblock looking at?  They’re looking forward to 2013 in which G.I. Joe returns to store shelves, cineplexes, and the public eye once more. 

2012 was a year of challenges for our favorite brand and yet 2013 promises to be the year the Joe “came back” and staked its claim once more as a top brand for Hasbro.  I know that I’m looking forward to forthcoming waves of Retaliation product and getting the review schedule back on track around here once more.  (C’mon– a 1:18 Bruce Willis?  How can you NOT love that?!!!)

So, welcome 2013– 31 years after the debut of A Real American Hero.  It’s time to show the world that G.I. Joe is back and stronger than ever.

Merry Christmas from JBL, G.I. Joe, and Cobra

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Cobra Commander Christmas

Merry Christmas from Cobra Commander

To all of the G.I. Joe fans around the world, the staff of JBL would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and blessed New Year!  2012 has been a year of challenges for the brand with the film delayed and merchandise absent from stores, but 2013 promises to be a strong year with a revamp of the comics and a brand-spanking new film hitting just in time for a certain admin’s birthday.  Plus, JBL will be back on schedule next year– having survived a fairly disastrous year of house-hunting and moving.

I look forward to returning with reviews, news, and more random G.I. Joe insanity in the new year and hope that JBL will always find a place in your internet browser favorites.

And let’s hope Scarlet doesn’t find out about Duke and Cover Girl!

Duke Cover Girl G.i. Joe Christmas

Cover Girl wishes Duke a Merry Christmas!

Twas the Night Before Christmas– Stan Lee style!

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Sure, it’s not G.I. Joe related– but it’s Stan Lee who might just be the single most important person in comic books!

To all who celebrate it, enjoy “The Night Before Christmas”… from Stan “The Man” Lee and the admin of JBL!

 

Collector’s Club: G.I. Joe FSS figures are shipping!!

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G.I. Joe club figure subscription service

For those of you that signed up for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service it’s time for some holiday cheer!  The Club announced earlier in the week that some of the FSS orders would start shipping before the holidays and now it seems that some folks have already received theirs!

According to a thread over at HISSTank.com,  board member Raginspoon and site admin Destro have received their figures.  The Club initially asked that folks not discuss what figures were received until everyone had theirs so as “not to ruin the surprise”.  (In other news, fairies are real and unicorns make good bacon!)  However, as folks are excited to finally have some of these pieces in-hand pics have been posted over at HISSTank.  I don’t want to jinx this with any spoilers but fans are going to be happy, no matter how they slice and dice the reports popping up on the web.

Here’s the shipping announcement from the Club, posted better late than never:

I hope that you are all having a great holiday season so far.  Today it was confirmed that our container was aboard a train and headed to the Dallas terminal.

We still don’t have an exact delivery date to our warehouse, but we are anticipating that we will get some of the sets out before Christmas.

The Christmas holiday will probably see the shipments split so please have patience while they are enroute to you.

We now anticipate that they will all be shipped before New Years.

Merry Christmas!

Brian

Now, while you’re waiting for your first shipment to arrive, enjoy some PR pics of what is coming to subscribers:

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G.I. Joe: Initiate Episode 2 debuts!

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GI Joe Initiate

Looking for more G.I. Joe Initiate to satisfy your Joe video cravings?  Look no further!

Okay, I’m a day late and a dollar short on posting this in a timely fashion.  (We moved over Thanksgiving weekend and I’m still unpacking and trying to settle in.)

Regardless, Fred Doss and crew have put together a terrific second installment of this fan-produced Joe web series.  Action, adventure, Beach Head, Mercer– this part has it all!  Check it out below and then be sure to head on over to Facebook and give G.I. Joe: Initiate a “Like”!  (Mark Zuckerberg tells us that those are important!)

For more details on the project, check out the official website!

G.I. Joe Retaliation Trailer #3 debuts!

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Feast your eyes on the latest trailer for G.I. Joe Retaliation– hitting theatres on March 29, 2012!

Honestly, this is the strongest trailer yet– at least in my eyes.  A few new shots of Snake Eyes and Jinx preparing for their mountain assault, a longer shot of the HISS tank, more Bruce Willis, and a “buddy cop” moment between Roadblock and Duke– something that was lacking in the previous previews.  Plus, it looks like Zartan throws the gauntlet down to several world leaders– and gets a dig in at North Korea in the process.  It’s a win-win!

I’ll leave the bulk of the commentary up to the internet but this trailer has me more excited about things that I was previously.

New G.I. Joe Retaliation poster debuts!

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It’s been a while since there’s been anything new on the G.I. Joe: Retaliation front.  The film is currently slated for a March 29, 2013 release date (which is only 2 days before a certain admin’s 40th birthday) and promotion for the spring debut hasn’t really ramped up yet.  So, imagine my surprise yesterday when I saw this GEM of a poster hit the web.

G.I Joe Retaliation movie poster

Seriously– click to make this image larger and you’ll see why I like it so much.  First off, it doesn’t come across as “G.I. Joe starring The Rock” nor is it “Channing Tatum IS G.I. JOE!”  It’s an ensemble piece that highlights the more prominent core cast (and Duke).  It’s also got one piece that was missing from so much of the promotion for both Rise of Cobra and Retaliation thus far– the Cobra logo.  Hasbro has 30+ years invested in that single piece of branding and yet it was barely used in promoting any of the live action G.I. Joe endeavors thus far and that’s a real shame.  I’d argue that the Cobra logo is the single most-recognized symbol in all of the G.I. Joe mythos.

Some of the older G.I. Joe fans out there might remember the ad campaign for the 1989 release of Batman, starring Michael Keaton.  (Still, in my opinion, the BEST of the Batman films.)  One particular commercial featured nothing but silence and a slow fade in of the Batman logo with the words “June 23” at the bottom.   It was simple, effective, played on symbolism that the general public already knew, and ruined nothing of the film’s plot.  Plus, it set itself apart from the usual “noise” found on TV by being silent.  I can recall a conversation between my parents stopping because they thought something was wrong with the TV during the ad.  In other words, it got their attention.

Regardless, the new Retaliation poster looks amazing in my opinion and is something that I’ll be trying to track down to add to the family room.  It’s a far more interesting visual piece than the previous posters released.

G.I. Joe Con 2013: Indianapolis Indiana!!

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Sometimes an image speaks for itself– the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has announced the location of the 2013 Collector’s Convention.  (Some of us are happy that it is only a 4 hour drive!)

G.I. Joe Collector's Convention 2013

The Club has posted the official 2013 Joe Con page with a link for reservations.  Go now!!  It’s just one week after the much delayed premiere of G.I. Joe Retaliation!  Plus it looks like we’re dealing with a Night Force theme.  Could a repaint of the 30th Crazylegs be in the works?

Here’s the official press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

G.I.JoeCon 2013 Coming to Indianapolis, Indiana April 4th – April 7th!

Fort Worth, TX – December 4th, 2012 – Fun Publications, Inc., licensee for Hasbro’s official G.I.Joe Collectors’ Convention, G.I.JoeCon, announced today that next year’s convention will take place at the JW Marriott from April 4th thru April 7th in the great city of Indianapolis. You can make your hotel reservations now at GIJoeCon.com.

In the coming weeks, Pop Culture enthusiasts from around the world will be able to register for G.I.JoeCon 2013 through the GIJoeCon.com online registration system. Fans and Collectors’ who register for G.I.JoeCon as a General OR American Hero package holder will receive either the 12-inch Secret Mission to Dragon Island or 3 3/4-inch Nocturnal Fire convention set, admission to the Friday private sales room experience, priority seating at all panels and seminars throughout the weekend and admittance to the Saturday Night Casino Night Dinner event.  Finally, General and American Hero package attendees will also receive a special bonus to go along with their convention box set. General Admission for non-registered guests will be available on Saturday and Sunday only.

For more information on G.I.JoeCon and all activities and the exclusive figure offerings, please visit GIJoeCon.com.
About Hasbro
Hasbro, Inc. (NASDAQ: HAS) is a branded play company providing children and families around the world with a wide-range of immersive entertainment offerings based on the Company’s world class brand portfolio.  From toys and games, to television programming, motion pictures, video games and a comprehensive licensing program, Hasbro strives to delight its customers through the strategic leveraging of well-known and beloved brands such as TRANSFORMERS, LITTLEST PET SHOP, NERF, PLAYSKOOL, MY LITTLE PONY, G.I. JOE, MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY.  The Hub, Hasbro’s multi-platform joint venture with Discovery Communications (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) launched on October 10, 2010. The online home of The Hub is www.hubworld.com. The Hub logo and name are trademarks of Hub Television Networks, LLC. All rights reserved.

About Fun Publications, Inc.
For nearly 20 years, Fun Publications, Inc. has been a Hasbro licensee offering fans and collectors of pop culture memorabilia news, exclusive product and family events through different print offerings, websites, collector clubs and brand specific conventions such as GIJoeCon and BotCon.  Located in Fort Worth Texas, Fun Publications reaches a large audience, serving the United States and many other countries such as Japan, Great Britain, Brazil, Australia and Canada. For more information visit TransformersClub.com, GIJoeClub.com, GIJoeCon.com, and BotCon.com.  BotCon is a registered trademark of Fun Publications, Inc. (C) 2012 Fun Publications, Inc.  All rights reserved.

 

In hand pics of the cancelled G.I. Joe Mindbender, Budo, Zap, and Nano-BAT from Rise of Cobra!

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JoeDeclassifiedI think it’s safe to call Gyre-Viper the “Indiana Jones of the G.I. Joe fandom.”  Venturing into the depths of the Chinese marketplace and scouring the internet for cancelled and rare items “that belong in a museum”, he manages to unearth more cancelled and prototype items than anyone out there.  Some are good, some are bad but all are worth seeing.

His latest batch of finds includes some figures that never saw production in the ill-fated G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra movie line.  Consisting mostly of parts from previous releases, this set of four would have given fans an update on Budo, Dr. Mindbender, Zap, and introduced the Nano-BAT to fans’ collections.  While Zap is pretty easy to recreate by performing a simple head-swap and the Nano-BAT is seeing a release though the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Figure Subscription Service in the near future, I find myself sad when I realize that Budo and Mindbender won’t see a release in this form.

Here are a few mirrored pics but check out the entire treasure trove of images over at JoeDeclassified.com!

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Larry Hama sketch to benefit Wounded Warrior Project on Ebay

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Wounded Warrior ProjectLarry Hama is known as the “godfather of modern G.I. Joe”.  A former soldier himself, this extremely talented writer conveyed a soldier’s perspective in his writing like few others could.  No matter what the situation, readers of G.I. Joe always knew that Hama’s characters thought, felt, and acted like REAL people who were serving their country out of a sense of duty and honor– no matter what the cost.  His writing inspired countless fans around the globe and has been cited by many as the reason they enlisted in the US Armed Forces.  Mr. Hama didn’t glorify a soldier’s life– he presented it warts and all.

Now, Mr. Hama is doing something to “give back” to those who served but that bore the brunt of combat more than others.  He’s auctioning off an original “Snake Eyes Homecoming” sketch— an homage to the flashbacks in Issue #36 of the original Marvel run– on Ebay with all proceeds from the sale to benefit the Wounded Warrior Project.   Not only is this a change to own a one-of-a-kind piece of original Larry Hama artwork but more importantly it’s a chance to give something back to those who sacrificed their own well-being to protect ours.

Seriously guys, this is one of those moments where I’ll encourage everyone to “dig deep and give what they can.”  If you can’t afford the sketch, make a donation to Wounded Warrior Project and help those who protect our freedoms and our liberties on a daily basis.

 Ebay Listing: Snake-Eyes Homcoming sketch by Larry Hama (original pencil drawing)

The auction ends on November 18, 2012 just after 5:00pm CST. 

Snake Eyes Homecoming Sketch by Larry Hama

Snake Eyes Homecoming Sketch by Larry Hama