50th Anniversary Heavy Conflict and Mission Accepted reviews

The Heavy Conflict and Mission Accepted G.I. Joe two-pack reviews are LIVE!

G.I. Joe Heavy Conflict Mission Accepted reviews

It’s been a while since we’ve had any new reviews here at JBL.  The holidays, a lost family pet, and some crazy workloads led to a crazy few weeks here at JBL HQ.  However, we’re getting back on track and that means not one but TWO brand-new reviews from the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Collection, year 3!

Check out what Fred and Chris have to say about the four figures from the Heavy Conflict and the Mission Accepted two-packs!  It’s a brand new take on Heavy Duty and Duke and the debut of Fan’s Choice figure Stiletto and Tombstone!

There’s some good.  There’s some bad.  There’s a few rants by Chris and some snark from Fred.  There may even be a Deadpool cameo or three.  However, there’s something that almost everyone can find to love in both the Heavy Conflict and the Mission Accepted two-packs.  After all, what’s not to love about the return of two familiar faces as well as the debut of two brand-new characters?  Well… if I told you then you wouldn’t have to read the reviews!  (Unless you just want to look at the pretty pictures.  That’s okay too.  Really.  This way you don’t have to deal with another “Chris rant.”)

You can check out all four reviews over at the G.I. Joe 50th Anniversary Review Index!

 

The Most Dangerous Man in the World now on Kindle

Buzz Dixon’s long-lost Sunbow-inspired story “The Most Dangerous Man in the World” is now available as a G.I. Joe Kindle Worlds tale!

Most Dangerous Man in the World

Flash backwards in time for a moment.  It’s 1986 and the pre-production for the second season of the classic Sunbow G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero tv series is in full swing.  Story editor Buzz Dixon pitches an idea to Hasbro– a story called “the Most Dangerous Man in the World” that delves into the mysterious origins of Cobra.  Hasbro approved the story and things looked rosy for it to be developed into an episode  Suddenly the folks in Pawtucket threw the animation team a curve ball in the form of Serpentor.  His very existence causes this story to be rendered null and void.  Reluctantly, Buzz scraps the idea for the story and ultimately, that should have been the end for “the Most Dangerous Man in the World.”   Or was it…

Flash forward to June 9, 2014, when the announcement of G.I. Joe on Kindle Worlds caused Buzz to consider something — the resurrection of this now lost episode of G.I. Joe!

most-dangerous-3

The wait is over!  The classic Sunbow-inspired lost G.I. Joe story “The Most Dangerous Man in the World” is now available on Kindle Worlds for a whopping $3.99.  Rather than read as a continuation of a cartoon episode this is a novella inspired by the Sunbow series.  There are some tonal differences but there are also a myriad of references to classic episodes and bits of G.I. Joe lore.  It’s a rolicking read that will take Joe fans on a roller coaster ride of thrills and chills as they attempt to discover the identity of a man whose very existence can shake the foundation of Cobra to its serpetine core.

What are you waiting for– a written invitation?   Go check out “The Most Dangerous Man in the World” for yourself today!

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

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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Have you figured out the G.I. Joe 2016 lineup yet?

Who will be included in the G.I. Joe 2016 lineup?

We’re just a few days away from the Hasbro panel at Joe Con 2016 in Loveland, CO and that means we’re just a few days of way from discovering what exactly is the G.I. Joe 2016 line-up of figures.

Hasbro g.i. joe 2016 lineup crossword

On June 3rd, those clever marketing devils over at Hasbro published a crossword puzzle at Hasbro Pulse.  This matrix was comprised of all of the figures to be released by Hasbro in the G.I. Joe at Toys R Us this year.  However, the kicker was that there were no clues given.  Only one row was filled in and that was the name of the Kindle World’s Fan’s Choice character Stiletto.

It’s been a few weeks since this crossword was posted and fans have had time to put in their guesses.  Given past history it’s a safe bet to assume that some of these names will come from the now-infamous Concept Case displays of both 2012 and 2013.  So, who does that leave for the G.I. Joe 2016 lineup? Continue reading

G.I. Joe Kindle Worlds Stiletto coming in November 2016

The G.I. Joe Kindle Worlds Stiletto figure is coming to Toys R Us and Entertainment Earth in November 2016!

I’m the first to admit it– this is a very slow news period for anything related to G.I. Joe right now.  Aside from new FSS figure drops from the G.I. Joe Collector’s Club, we’re in a slump until Joe Con 2016 next month.  However, yesterday the folks at Hasbro dropped a new article on Hasbro Pulse that pulls back the curtain on the development of the forthcoming fans’ choice Stiletto figure, originally created by author Bill Nedrow.

Hasbro Kindle Worlds Stiletto

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Kindle Worlds G.I. Joe Poll Winner Announced

Hasbro announced the winner of the G.I. Joe Kindle Worlds Poll this weekend in a surprise post over at Hasbro Pulse.  Without further adieu, the winner is…

Bill Nedrow’s Stiletto!

Hasbro Kindle Worlds Stiletto

As featured in G.I. Joe Body Count, Stiletto will be joining the ranks of the G.I. Joe team in action figure form in 2016!  Congratulations to Bill on this amazing opportunity to see his character “come to life” in plastic form. Well done, sir!

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Kindle Worlds Poll for New 2016 G.I. Joe!

Kindle Worlds G.I. Joe Poll

The Hasbro Kindle Worlds Poll for a new 2016 G.I. Joe is now open!   Hurry over to the article on Hasbro Pulse and cast your vote for one of FOUR exciting fan-created characters through Monday November 9, 2015!

Before you vote, we’ve collected links to the stories featuring each of the four Kindle Worlds characters.  Check ’em out below, read the stories, and then cast your vote for your favorite character.

Here’s the official details on the contest including thoughts from brand manager Mark Weber: Continue reading

G.I. Joe Adventure Team Novel Hits Kindle Worlds

G.I. Joe Adventure Team Mystery of the Sunken Tomb

By now, many of you are probably familiar with Amazon.com’s Kindle Worlds program.  In a nutshell, it is a platform that allows authors to write and publish short-stories and novels based upon their favorite copyrighted works.

It was just over a year ago that Amazon announced that G.I. Joe was now part of the Kindle Worlds program and in the intervening months publication of Joe fiction saw solid growth.  Predictably, however, the selection was heavily dominated by the A Real American Hero era with novels featuring the further adventures of characters such as Duke, Scarlett, and Snake Eyes.  However, when one considers the history of G.I. Joe there were many eras that were left untouched and neglected.   Until now.

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