Tag Archives: Conventions

Joe Con 2016: G.I. Joe Collector’s Club news & FSS 5 lineup

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The G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has completed the Joe Con 2016 Roundtable panel and it was a doozy!

G.I. Joe Collector's Club logo

Perhaps the biggest news of Joe Con 2016 concerning the Club came from the Hasbro panel held earlier in the day where it was revealed that Hasbro has decided to continue its relationship with Fun Publications through 2018.  Despite rumors and all evidence to the contrary earlier this year, the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has a two-year lease on life! Whatever transpired in the months since the Club announced that all memberships would end on December 31, 2016 it certainly seemed to be beneficial for the folks at Fun Publications.  (Did the Save G.I. Joe petition have any impact?)

Next year’s convention will be June 15 – 18, 2017 at Walt Disney World!

Hasbro announcement

However, the most pressing question on the minds of most G.I. Joe fans out there was “What is the line-up for FSS 5?”

Here are the “Quick Notes” from today’s panel…. including this year’s FSS announcement!

Introduction:

Brian Savage, David Lane, Lanny Lathem, and Pete Sinclair take the stage.

  • Contract for the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club has been extended for two more years. The Club, FSS, and convention will continue through 2018.
  • Membership renewals will turn back on later this week.
  • If your membership ran out in May & June, go to the store, login, and add it to your cart. It should reapply to your account.
  • Contract was initially NOT renewed. However, this was changed and Brian thanked the fandom for their support, including the petition from Joe Colton.  Derryl DePriest is acknowledged as the person who turned things around for the Club.
  • The renewal only took place in the last two weeks.

Sky Patrol discussion: Continue reading →

Joe Con 2016: Hasbro’s G.I. Joe 2016 lineup announced!

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Hasbro unveiled their G.I. Joe 2016 plans and YoJoe.com was LIVE from Joe Con 2016 with a Facebook LIVE session directly from the  panel!  We’ve got the embedded video below after the notes.

Hasbro G.I. Joe 2016

We’ve got some hastily transcribed notes below.  Expect a cleaner article with some commentary later tonight as part of the Saturday Armchair Coverage round-up!

Hasbro Writer’s Room:

  • Combination of television/movie/comic book writers. Hasbro is very proud of the talent they have amassed.
  • Creation of a shared universe combining their intellectual properties. Officially dubbed “Hasbro Cinematic Universe”—separate from IDW.  Intended as multi-film story arc.  Goal is to start to develop shared and combined stories.  Derryl was able to spend two weeks with the writers and get to work with them on shaping this shared universe.

Joe vs Transformers SDCC set:

  • Deco is decal-based. Includes Joe, Cobra, Autobot decals. This way the toys can be whatever you want them to be in your own collection.
  • Soundwave is the 5th most-popular Decepticon but hard to justify now as a cassette tape. (Same with Megatron.)

Hasbro Pulse Crossword Puzzle includes all characters listed below:

  • Stiletto
  • Scarlett
  • Zartan

Derryl – Joe is in quieter year.  Harder to get resources to produce more figures during those years. In those years, previously tooled harder-to-find figures are ideal for re-release.  100% of tooling budget is used for NEW figures.

Toys R Us G.I. Joe 2016 line-up: (November 2016)

  • Focus on figures vs vehicle sets which were slow sellers
  • Two packs will be in a 10 pack case—ALL EVENLY PACKED!

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Joe Con 2016: Closer look at the SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set

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JBL’s Armchair Coverage of Joe Con 2016 continues!

Friday typically isn’t a “big reveal” day at the annual Joe Con and this year was no exception.  Hasbro’s big panel doesn’t occur until 11:00am MST on Saturday and the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club Roundtable event isn’t until 4:00pm MST as well.  However that doesn’t mean that there wasn’t anything major to see today.

The good folks from Hasbro put a few pieces in the display case today from this year’s forthcoming SDCC exclusive G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set!  It’s the first time that fans got an in person look at the upcoming releases of Powerglide as a Cobra Rattler and Soundwave as a Cobra HISS tank.  It was also the first opportunity for Joe fans to see convention exclusive Scarlett and Zartan figures.

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I’ll admit– the items do look a bit better in these images than from the first batch of leaked images from ACToys.net.  Still, for $99 the set seems like it’s missing something especially after the 2013 set included a Skystriker, a VAMP, and three figures plus the exclusive Ravage figure.

There are some additional pictures posted over at HISSTank.com as well.  At this point I think it’s safe to say that part of Hasbro’s reveals for the Toys R Us exclusive line tomorrow will include a Cobra Rattler, a plane that hasn’t been released since the Target exclusive 25th Anniversary release.

Stay tuned to JBL for more coverage of Joe Con 2016 in Loveland, CO!

Joe con 2016 armchair coverage featured

 

Joe Con 2016: Souvenir items revealed!

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joe con 2016 g.i. joe collector's convention

Joe Con 2016 souvenir item images have arrived!

Joe Con 2016 registration night has begun and the Golden Ticket holders are picking up their sets.  That means the line for the souvenirs at the Club Store is queuing up and we now have our first images of this year’s souvenirs!  Thanks to Mike Tinnel of the G.I. Joe Discussion Facebook Group, I’ve mirrored some images below.

  • G.I. Joe Glider 2-pack featuring Skymate and Cloudburst – $75.00
  • Heli-Vipers 3-pack – $85.00
  • Sky Patrol Skysweeper jet – $68.00
  • Cobra Hydra jet with Aero-Viper – $85.00
  • Sky Patrol Skystriker – $160.00
  • Sky Patrol JUMP 6-pack – $55.00
  • Cobra JUMP 6-pack – $55.00
  • Parachute drop figure: FREEFALL – $35.00

Bonus Attendee Item: Sky Patrol Air Raid figure

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I have to say– ANOTHER Skystriker?!!!  Plus a repaint of the RoC Skysweeper jet (which itself is a repurposed Firebat), a pair of Air Assault gliders, and faction-changed 2003 Skysweeper jet?  Fans of the late 1990’s era are going to LOVE this set but the more military-minded folks might just consider saving their pennies.

We’ll have more images from Joe Con 2016 as they become available!  Stay tuned for more Joe Con 2016 Armchair Coverage from JBL!

Joe con 2016 armchair coverage featured

Joe Con 2016: Armchair Coverage Begins!

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joe con 2016 armchair coverage square

Joe Con 2016 has officially begun!

Sadly, this year it wasn’t in the cards for the JBL admin to attend what is Fun Publications final year as administrator of the annual G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention.  While I’ll miss not being able to catch up with some old friends and getting to see the new product reveals at Saturday’s Hasbro panel, it doesn’t mean that JBL will be going dark throughout the weekend.

Instead, we’ll be doing our best to provide comprehensive coverage of the event, thanks to the efforts of all of the other individuals attending.  We’ll provide links to coverage as it goes up on sites from HISSTank.com, to ToyNewsI.com, and even our fellow “at home” correspondants over at GeneralsJoes.com.

Sure, you’ll get some commentary along the way but that’s just part of the experience. Coverage of this year’s event will be archived on the 2016 G.I. Joe Collector’s Convention page.

Now, on to the news!

Wednesday Golden Ticket Package Pickup:

Tonight was intended to be the Golden Ticket package pickup in which those individuals who spent the extra $300 to purchase the “Joe Con Speed Pass” get a first crack at their sets and at the bonus attendee exclusive item.  However, it was announced by the folks from Fun Publications that their “shipment was delayed at customs and then held up due to a sick driver” and that, hopefully, items will arrive by tomorrow and the Golden Ticket pickup will be at 3pm, with the rest attendee registration beginning at 6pm MST.

The t-shirts and the comics were on hand but were not permitted to be released until the sets arrive.

That’s all we know for now… so stay tuned to JBL for more Joe Con 2016 coverage!

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SDCC 2016: G.I. Joe vs Transformers exclusive set official images

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Just earlier this week fans got their first look at the SDCC 2016 exclusive G.I. Joe vs. Transformers set that will be released later this summer.   Now, thanks to SDCCBlog.com we have our first official images of this set that features Powerglide, Soundwave, Scarlett, and Zartan.

G.I.-JOE-AND-THE-TRANSFORMERS-Set_pkg

According to the blog post, this set will retail for $99.00.  No word on quantities available but it’s safe to assume that some quantity of the sets will be available over on HasbroToyShop.com after the show is over.

Again, it’s not a bad set– the fourth in a series that began with a G.I. Joe vs Transformers Cobra Commander & Starscream, continued with a Soundwave/Shockwave/Destro/BAT set, and originally concluded with a Jetfire/Baroness/Ravage/Bludgeon/Snake Eyes/Blaster set in 2013.  However, it would be nice to have Transformers that, well, actually transform!

We’ve mirrored all of the G.I. Joe vs Transformers images below but you can see pics of all of Hasbro’s SDCC 2016 exclusives over at SDCCBlog.com!

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2016 SDCC G.I. Joe vs. Transformers exclusive revealed?

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SDCC 2016 gijoe vs transformers cover

A new G.I. Joe vs. Transformers exclusive is apparently coming to SDCC 2016.

In the age of the internet, it has become increasingly more difficult to keep things under wraps.  Case in point, we’re apparently getting a brand new fourth G.I. Joe vs Transformers set featuring Scarlett, Zartan, a HISS Tank version of Soundwave, and a Cobra Rattler version of the Autobot Powerglide.

Pics dropped this weekend over on ACToys.net thanks to user Vincentzl and they hold back nothing.  If these are truly representative of the film product, the set appears to contain:

Interesting… Continue reading →

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

Botcon 2016: New G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers set coming

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A final G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers set has been revealed at Botcon 2016!

Fun Publications may be in its final year as the show-runner for both the annual Botcon and Joe Con events but that doesn’t mean that they’re slowing down on their exclusive products.  Yesterday at Botcon 2016, a brand new G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers set was unveiled– based on the launch of Transformers Generation 2 as it appeared in G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero vol 1 #138 – #142!

GI Joe Vs. Transformers crossover set botcon 2016

Eagle-eyed fans will recognize the cast of this particular set but just in case you don’t, here’s the breakdown:

I’ve got to give the folks at Fun Publications credit– this is certain a more interesting-looking set than the second “Only Human” set featuring synthoid Arcee and Rodimus Prime.  Joe fans are going to want this set pretty much exclusively for the Ninja Force Scarlett figure and maybe the Dr. Biggles-Jones, the brilliant scientist who was featured heavily in those G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issues.  As far as Cobra Commander– it’s the same figure was last seen in the Dollar General series with some additional paint apps and equipped with the gun Megatron seen in the 2011 SDCC set.  I’m not a big enough Transformers fan to tell you if the Megatron and Ratbat figures are highly sought-after repaints or not.

No price point was announced but considering that Fun Publications is ending its license with Hasbro at the end of the year I’ll bet that these are available at Joe Con 2016.

What do you think of this latest G.I. Joe vs the Transformers offering?  Are you interested in these sets?  Will you be keeping all of the figures or selling off the Transformers?  Let us know in the comments below.

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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 →