Yeah, looks like someone at MonkeyBarTV got a little tipsy the night before work last Friday… what was being advertised as Episode 2 of Operation: HISS was likely Episode 3, and has now been pulled. However, the real Episode 2 is now online, featuring some arctic action. We see Timber, a little cameo from Snow Job, and hear some thick Scottish juice straight from Destro.
Check out the episode here, and some gratuitous screenshots below.
If it wasn’t already obvious enough, looking at this one, it’s pretty clear that Hasbro is taking full advantage of the 3d models from the video game. I mean, these designs look nearly identical…
So it’s Thursday, which means yesterday was Wednesday, and the latest Joe comic to hit the rounds was G.I. Joe: Origins #15, and IDW does something interesting here.
Obviously the fandom blew a rod when Marlon Wayans was revealed as Ripcord in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Changing the race of a somewhat minor player in G.I. Joe lore really put the fans on their ear, but more than that even was the drastic change in personality. While Hama wrote Ripcord (during his most popular time) as a motivated, ultra serious soldier, Wayans portrayed him (as he usually does) as an off-color hack who was mostly comic relief.
In all honesty, I didn’t mind Wayans all that much. There were worse performances in the film, to be sure. But even though IDW has been taking large steps to cater to the fans, they decided to go the Rise of Cobra route with Ripcord, and I think it works pretty well. I mean, it’s obvious by now that this isn’t your 80’s G.I. Joe. So why not shake things up a bit, plus make things a bit more cohesive with the movie universe? But even beyond that is the issue itself, which ends up being really entertaining. A mixture of some comedy, some action, with pretty solid writing and nice artwork, it has me very interested to read the follow up. But what do other sites think?
I’ve heard a lot of folks ask if the membership fee for the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club is worth it, and while I strongly believe it is, other folks aren’t so sure. Well, here’s a chance to see if the magazine will help change your mind!
GIJoeClub.com has posted the latest issue of their magazine up for a free preview. Click the cover and see what all the fuss is about. Make sure you come back here and lavish praise for the Hunters and the Hunted. :shifty:
As an added bonus, the cover image features a sneak peek at the upcoming Adventure Team figures…or one of them at least. Looks like Wild Bill’s tooling is going to get some use with these figures. Check out the mirrored image below.
Thanks to GeneralsJoes commentor Braxthunder for reporting that MonkeybarTV has just posted an online flash-based game for the Pursuit of Cobra! I’ve only played it briefly so far, and so far it seems to be a pseudo puzzle style game, at least the City Strike level is.
I’m playing as Agent Helix, and you have to activate a series of levers, buttons, etc… to navigate through the cityscape. So far it’s pretty neat. I’m interested in seeing what the other environments give us.
EDIT – The other levels are just as cool… Arctic Threat features Snow Job piloting a Rockslide down an arctic slope. Desert Battle features Dusty (wearing Ripcord’s jetpack!) flying from truck to truck. Lastly, in the Jungle Assault mission, Recondo is piloting a Mech suit in a first-person shooter style game with all guns blazing.
This is actually pretty fun. Cheesy, yeah, but still fun. Check out some screen shots below, especially that last shot with some old school HISS goodness…
Hasbro has provided us with final press photos of the soon-to-be-released SDCC exclusive version of Sgt. Slaughter! Like the Gold Headed Destro and Cobra Commander, there will be two different versions of the exclusive. The Primary Release, which is the one decoed like the mailaway (with the USA on his shirt) and a Variant Release, which is the one decoed like the TTT driver with the camouflage pants.
These are expected to also be available via HasbroToyShop as previous SDCC exclusives have been. Check out the press images in some nice high-res glory below. I know this figure has sparked a lot of frustrations throughout the fandom, and I can see their perspective. Everyone is used to the cartoon-infused mega muscular Sgt. Slaughter, while in real life he was never built like that. From my own perspective, I think a more natural physique was a great choice. Sure, he looks more human, but he also looks more like the character who sparked the kids of the 80’s to jump into the G.I. Joe universe. Sculpting someone all musclebound and ripped up takes a certain skill, sure, but in my mind it almost takes more skill to make a fairly normal person, but still maintain a certain level of detail and quality. I think they definitely did that here. I’m really looking forward to adding this figure to my collection. In fact, it’s really sparked a renewed interest in my head with the Anniversary line, and made me really hope that Hasbro dips back into that well in 2010 and 2011 to fill in some of those holes, especially in 1986.
Now that the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club has revealed all of the figures themselves for the upcoming 2010 GI Joe Con, they’ve moved on to the artwork! Tonight they revealed the very nice looking display box for the “Vacation in the Shadows” 2010 convention set.
You can check it out right here, or mirrored below.
Hmmm…I wonder what that is in the background there? Almost looks like a bunker or something…is that a clue to one of the convention exclusives? I suppose time will tell…
Now that we’re moving towards the Pursuit of Cobra, if you feel like stocking up on Rise of Cobra product from 2009, now is your chance! YoJoe.com is offering a great contest that’s easy as heck to participate in.
Simply hop on over to this thread and make a post, and you’re entered in a contest to win a nice little prize pack featuring the following:
The Gunship itself is worth the trouble! An awesome chance to get some neat product that you might have missed the first time around. Big thanks to YoJoe and Hasbro for sponsoring the contest!
With a big thanks to MSGiJoe Collectors’ Club Facebook page and The Terror Drome for informing us that Webisode Two for Operation: H.I.S.S. has been posted! It can be seen on MonkeybarTV right here. Taking queues from the Pursuit of Cobra concept, it’s obviously based in the Rise of Cobra universe, this episode features the debut of Recondo and mention of a Cobra Terror Drome.
Now, we all know it’s no great shakes, but this episode wasn’t quite as cheesy as the last one. It was still far from perfect, but it’s not terrible. Compared to something like Resolute…well… we don’t need to go there.
Along with Webisode Two, there’s also a feature focusing on Operation: HISS Duke, with some nice Accelerator Suit action. Check that 56 second feature right here. Yeah, this stuff even makes the Rise of Cobra film look like oscar material… bring on the IDW Operation: HISS comic! That’s the post-Rise of Cobra storyline I’m sticking with.
TS118 is pretty much the premier Philippine G.I. Joe on the web, and for good reason. They regularly participate in some awesome diorama projects and the latest one, Operation Grayia Seize-r [DMD = Dynamic Modular Diorama], is absolutely no exception. This is some very cool stuff! Here are the details:
OPERATION: GRAYIA SEIZE-R
Some quick notes..
- Inspired by real-life VBSS (Vessel, Board, Search, and Seizure) missions and some scenes from the ARAH cartoons.
- Culled from Grayia Caesar, an African water snake. The premise is that a GI Joe off-shore platform (used by Piranhas, WHALEs, and the like) has been held captive by Cobra, and Navy SEALs will be sent in to do retrieval ops for captured crew members. Instead of spelling “Caesar”, we instead used “SEIZE-r” (which sounds similar) as a direct reference to seizure.
- Displayed last February 27-28, 2009 at the Robinson’s Place Manila Mall (Philippines) in celebration of 4th TAGCOM (Toys, Anime Gaming, Cosplay, Movies/Maquettes), event organized by Hobbiworx and PinoyToyKolektors (PTK).
- Brought to you by the same team that came up with O:Shock and Awe, O: Killzone, O: Forced Entry, O: Gothic Serpent, and O: Sidewinder Verde…the Philippines only local 3 3/4 (1:18) Joe online community.. TS118
- This diorama changes display every four-five hours. It is the first of its kind in the Philippines for action figures (regardless of scale). We dubbed it as a “dynamic modular diorama” or DMD.
- Took only 2 weekends of preparation and actual dio-work to complete (figures/structures/vehicles).
- Collaboration done by at least 10-18 members (builders, pledgers/financiers, consultants, etc.)
- Simulated actual body of water (ocean) by using silicone (patted down to look wave-like) poured over a bed of illustration board.
You can also check out their great Photobucket account right here! I’ve also mirrored a bunch of the images below. A huge thanks as always for the guys over at ToySoldier118 for sharing their great projects with us! I love checking this stuff out.
Hi folks! Here are some news and new product updates from SMALLJOES.COM!
GI JOE
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Things are somewhat quiet for Joe right now. Hasbro has pushed plans for
3 3/4″ GI JOE into the third and fourth quarter of 2010. We think that
this is probably a good idea, allowing collectors to “catch up” with
products they might have missed as well as allowing existing inventory
to sell through for retailers. _Pursuit of Cobra_ will be the next
chapter in GI JOE’s history. Some product was shown recently at Toy
Fair and more is expected to be unveiled at the GI JOE convention as
well as the San Diego Comic-con this summer. We are definitely liking
what we are seeing!
Meanwhile, we still have a wide selection of 25th Anniversary and
Rise of Cobra GI JOE items.
Are you interested in rare international GI JOE figures and vehicles?
Another round of cool items is being offered from the private collection
of site owner Corey Stinson. This time items from Brazil, Argentina,
Australia, and also some prototypes and other things. The auction will
run through March 25th, 2010. You can view the items here:
http://coreystinson.org/auction
The latest GI JOE comics books are always available from us! Recent
additions include GI JOE main series #15, Operation H.I.S.S., trade
paperback #7 reprinting more of the old Marvel run, and also GI JOE:
Cobra II. We can’t recommend GI JOE: Cobra highly enough – these
limited series contain some of the best, edgeiest writing and stories
ever to appear in a GI JOE comic.
