G.I. Joe Collector’s Club 2017 Membership Rock n Roll Revealed

The 2017 G.I. Joe Collector’s Club membership incentive Rock n Roll figure has been revealed!

2017 G.I. Joe Collector's Club Membership Incentive Rock & Roll figure

So, there is it is… our first look at the long await Rock n Roll membership incentive figure that was accounted at Joe Con 2017’s Club Roundtable.  In some ways he almost exactly what this Joe fan expected.

Let’s flash back to Joe Con 2013 and the unexpected unveiling of “Concept Case v2” – a small group of figures that was shown by onsite Hasbro personnel in the final hour of Saturday’s dealer’s room.  The reveals were impressive– new updates on classic versions of Destro, Flint, Storm Shadow v2, Leatherneck, and the greatest Marine of the Joe team: Gung-Ho.  (No bias here.) All of these have seen release through the now-defunct 50th Anniversary Line but one figure from those reveals never made it out– the update to the 1989 Rock n Roll v2. Continue reading

SDCC 2014: Gentle Giant G.I. Joe Debuts in December

Gentle Giant Jumbo Rock N Roll

Gentle Giant Ltd, a company known for their realistic scanning technology and upscaling of classic vintage figures, surprised G.I. Joe fans everywhere with a new line of up-scaled 1:18 Joes based on the original 1982 Joes.  That’s right– Gentle Giant G.I. Joe figures are coming!

According to the intrepid reporters over at ToyNewsI.com, the line debuts this Holiday season with the release of the 12″ Grunt in a special footlocker package.  Subsequent releases will continue in 2015 and will be available on “authentic” G.I. Joe cardbacks.

Figures shown at SDCC thus far include:

  • Grunt
  • Zap
  • Stalker
  • Snake Eyes
  • Rock n Roll

Honestly, I don’t know how I feel about Gentle Giant G.I. Joe figures– especially up-sized version of the o-ring figures.  After all, it’s the 50th Anniversary of the original 1964 Joes– not the 1982 figures.  While I’m sure that there is a market for these and that the initial offerings will no doubt sell decently, I have the feeling that this will only appeal to a very small segment of an already fragmented fandom and will most likely end before more of the later fan-favorite characters can be produced.  I’d love to be wrong about this but my gut, uh, o-ring tells me otherwise.

You can view the original article, as well as a ton of great SDCC coverage, over at ToyNewsI.com!

2013 JoeCon: Hasbro’s concept case v2

This year at JoeCon many fans seemed disappointed that Hasbro didn’t have more to showcase in terms of new product.  During the Hasbro panel, it was announced that there was nothing new to see due to the six month delay of the release of G.I. Joe Retaliation.  So, attendees steeled themselves and found other news to be excited about.

I was sitting in the “What’s On Joe Mind” panel when my cell phone rang.  It was Madmac41 telling me to get my keester down to the dealer’s room and bring my camera.  So, I sauntered down, spotted him, and then dropped to my knees in awe.  (Literally.)  There, in the midst of the Hasbro case were new “concept case” figures and right smack dab in the middle of them was the greatest Marine to ever grace the team’s roster: GUNG-HO!  (Suck it, Leatherneck.)  Seriously– completely unannounced and unexpected.

There’s no guarantee that these figures will get made but are merely presented as means of gauging interest.  So, this is one of the few times that I’ll ask anything of the fandom– if you have the opportunity, drop the name GUNG-HO at every opportunity.  After all, he was one of the core characters in the Sunbow series as well as Larry Hama’s Marvel run.

With no further comments, here are the 2013 Concept Case figures: