Well how is that for timing?  Fresh off an interview with What’s on Joe Mind, it has just been announced that the voice of Sunbow Shipwreck Neil Ross will be at the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention in New Orleans!

While I unfortunately missed the last recording, I listened to the interview and it was hilarious, I can imagine he’s going to be a terrific guest at the Convention as well.  Keep up to date with all of the latest and greatest G.I. Joe convention news and events at GIJoeCon.com!

So, I figured covering each release individually got me up to speed on talking about the 3 3/4″ convention set, but Twitter buds kenny and Twitziller brought it to my attention that I did post about the 12″ set in general, once the club revealed the full image, so it really made a lot of sense to look at the 3 3/4″ set as one cohesive set and see how my perspective might have changed.

The Collectors’ Club did reveal the full image of the set, and that image can be seen at GIJoeCon.com and also mirrored below, and it gives me an opportunity to talk about this set as a whole, instead of piecemeal.

Now, pretty much all of my responses have been positive throughout all the single figure reveals, so I can’t help but maintain that positive opinion when looking at the set in its entirety.  The portion of the set that really strikes me, though, is the Iron Grenadier side of the house.  Seeing the individual figure reveals kind of put a tight focus on the figures as stand outs themselves, and you don’t realize how cohesively they do all fit together.  Even with Voltar’s somewhat purple coloring on his armor, it ties in pretty nicely to some of the red components on the Iron Grenadier Troopers themselves.  While I’m still not 100% sold on the Iron Grenadier Troopers, I do love the Heavy Weapons guys and the Elites, and I think the red is the great unifying color that ties them all together nicely.  Various shades of gray are prevalent throughout, which only further ties the figures together.

For the Oktober Guard, I know there was some concern about Horror Show and his green uniform standing out among his teammates, but I don’t see that issue at all.  Beyond Horror Show, every member of the Oktober Guard here meshes together almost to perfection.  Iron Bear, Daina, and Schrage all work flawlessly, while Brekhov and Stormavik balance with each other as well.  Even the brown figures have those hints of dark green to match the webgear of the other two, and Horror Show’s jacket.  A definite unifying theme that works really well.

As a whole, I think this set is terrific.  I have voiced my concerns with the Iron Grenadier Troopers, and I maintain those…it’s probably the canceled Iron Grenadier Troopers that keep this set from being pretty much one of the best Convention Sets ever.  But that award still goes to the 2005 MARS Attacks set, and I doubt that will ever be surpassed.

That being said, this figure set is still extremely strong, very well done, and remarkably impressive for the operation that the Club is.  A ton of new tooling, a great array of unreleased characters and fan wishes, and unlike many folks out there, I welcome the infusion of “new blood” like Iron Bear.  Great stuff, and I’m on the edge of my seat waiting for New Orleans to come and more Con goodies to be revealed!

What the what?

Okay, I realize it’s most likely because I’ve been in the process of packing and moving and being sheltered in my in-laws, but why am I not seeing or hearing more discussion about this?  Along with the Oktober Guard vs. Iron Grenadiers set from the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention, the collectors’ club also revealed their 12″ Adventure Team set in totality…

…and wow!

It certainly looks like the folks from the GIJCC are starting to make that final leap to tie in the Real American Hero continuity with the 12″ and Adventure Team continuity.  And I LOVES it.  Well, I would love it if I had the extra greenbacks to spend on it, but as it stands, I’ll simply love it from afar.

Many folks will remember that back in 2010, the Collectors’ Club added a 12″ Henchman to their convention set, which caused a mighty stir among both the Real American Hero and the 12″ crowd.  This Henchman was obviously an operative from MARS and represented the first “bad guy” to really be showcased in the old school 12″ scale.  Last year, the story was built upon a little bit more, and this year, the Collectors’ Club seems to be jumping in feet first, continuing their Adventure Team story, and once again showing off a MARS bad guy, with a distinctly familiar look to him!

Tell me that’s not Cobra.  Tell me the Collectors’ Club isn’t starting to connect even more dots between MARS and Cobra, and isn’t merging the 12″ universe with the Real American Hero one even further.  That is truly awesome stuff right there.

Another very cool aspect of the set is the whole mummy bandage “bio wrap” concept.  One of the great storylines from the old Adventure Team figure line involved a Mummy, and by making this interesting “Bio-Wrap” suit, the Collectors’ Club is paying great tribute to the old Mummy concept, yet still maintaining a somewhat realistic twist to it.  You can actually dress the MARS Trooper there in the Bio Wrap suit to simulate a mummy.

This set is pretty awesome.  So, obviously, as a Real American Hero fan, you can’t just check out the 3 3/4″ Convention Set on GIJoeCon.com, now you have to check out the 12″ set as well, as they ramp it up year after year, and now with Con Sets from 2010, 2011, and 2012, and with the Incentive Man of Evil figure, the Collectors’ Club has started establishing a terrific continuity that the 12″ universe hasn’t necessarily had.  I think it’s great.

New Orleans can’t get here soon enough!

You know I almost didn’t post this, because as usual, I missed an episode with a famous Sunbow voice actor, and the guys took the opportunity to rib me about it…so screw ‘em, right?

Nah.  I’m nothing if not forgiving, so I’ll play nice and post the latest update for the What’s on Joe Mind podcast.  This episode the guys are joined by Sunbow voice actor Neil Ross, who voiced the indelible Shipwreck, one of the most popular characters in the G.I. Joe mythology!

They also tackle all the latest news and information, and talk about the GIJCC 2012 Convention Set in its entirety. I’m jealous that I didn’t get the chance to share my .02.  Ah, well, maybe I’ll make them revisit it tomorrow night.

Check out the latest episode on our Podbean page, or via the embedded player below, and don’t forget to hit the jump for our show notes.

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As G.I. Joe fans wait eagerly for JoeCon registration, which is very likely to happen today, the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club has posted a “Package Matrix” which breaks down all of the various packages you can purchase and what is included with each one.

You can find the matrix on GIJoeCon.com.

Also, as you’re reading through the brochure, if you come across any confusion, I would highly recommend that you listen to the special edition What’s on Joe Mind podcast episode that Gary and I recorded, which breaks down every step of the brochure and what you can expect along the way.

Check that out at our Podbean Page, or also embedded below.

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That must have been a big curtain!

I know a lot of fans have been hopping up and down just waiting for this fan favorite character to make his appearance in the Convention boxed set.  Well, the fans have gotten their wish!  Last night the Collectors’ Club revealed the convention exclusive Horror Show, which is the last figure in the boxed set for 2012, and they’re ending with a bang.

We all should have assumed that this figure would not resemble the familiar quilted jacket that we knew from the comics and cartoon, since no existing tooling could match that.  So the Club did something rather unique.  The vest is from Shadow Tracker and it seems to be covering a torso that also utilizes the jacket bottom from G.I. Joe: Renegades Cobra Commander.  The end result is a long jacket with some great pockets and pouches that gives the figure some extra bulk.  Looking at his legs, too, he’s using the Resolute Roadblock legs, so obviously he will have some nice height due to those parts being used, too.

One more cool touch are his arms, which look to be pulled from the previously canceled Pursuit of Cobra Arctic Duke.  The result is a nice, hefty looking figure with an absolutely perfect head sculpt that is a pretty neat update to the familiar Oktober Guard heavy weapons specialist.  I’m not entirely sold on the way the vest meshes with the jacket underneath, and look forward to a bit more explanation on that one, but the figure itself looks great.  Check out some images below:

Horror Show

Group Shot (this is my own Photoshop work, NOT the Club’s)

The Entire boxed set

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For the latest details make sure you keep checking GIJoeCon.com.  Registration will be live any time!

As soon as convention season grows near, it seems like the questions continue to pop up year after year about this year’s convention.  What does “golden ticket” mean, what do I get with my registration… how can I get a set if I’m not travelling to New Orleans?

Well, What’s on Joe Mind is all over it!  We are your “one stop shop” for any Convention information you might need, and we got started bright and early with Special Edition #12.  Gary and Justin break down the entire convention brochure and provide some insight as to what you can expect on every page and just how much of your hard-earned money you should be grasping onto prior to the end of June.

So check it out at our Podbean Site or via the embedded player(s) below.

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SHOW NOTES

“The JoeCon Brochures are out!”  Those 5 words are just as potent to a Joe fan as “Gentlemen, start your engines!” is to a race car driver, because to us it means JoeCon is drawing closer and registration time is near.  Print off your forms and follow along with Gary and Justin, who between them share their nearly 20 years of JoeCon experience.  Our dynamic duo will attempt to help you understand the brochure and read between the lines on this annually anticipated document.  From the con sets, to the package choices, to the guests, to the pre-con tours, they’ll break it down for you in tinier, much easier to swallow morsels.  Now all you need to do is print out the brochure and follow along!  We’ve been on the road to New Orleans for a couple of weeks now, but the city lights are now visible in the distance.  We’re your Golden Ticket to a successful JoeCon.  It all starts here…!

G.I. Joe Convention 2012

• GIJoeCon.com Website
• The GIJoeCon Brochure
• GIJoeCon 2012 Convention Exclusives
• The G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club GIJoeCon FAQ

I think it’s pretty fair to say that when six open slots were available under the Oktober Guard emblem for the 2012 G.I. Joe Convention reveal, most fans just assumed that we would see the six most famous Oktober Guard members as part of the boxed set.  Even though Dragonsky didn’t make an appearance until a little bit after the rest of the team launched in G.I. Joe #6, most fans identify him pretty specifically with the old school Oktober Guard.

It would certainly appear, though, that either this mission takes place without him, or he’s slated for a spot in one of the attendee exclusive sets available in New Orleans for Con attendees.  Regardless of where Dragonsky appears in the grand scheme of things, the release of the Convention brochure last week identified one member of the Oktober Guard that no one had yet heard of.  And I love that.

I’m all about the story aspects of the G.I. Joe universe and one thing the Collectors’ Club has done amazingly well is using their characters to tell a story.  Now we have a totally new Oktober Guard character, General Iron Bear.  I think common hypothesis is that this Iron Bear may very well be the guy who turns tail and becomes General Mayhem from the awesome 2005 MARS Attacks convention set, but we likely will not find that out for a while.

Until then, we can enjoy the reveal of the figure itself!  Check it out at GIJoeCon.com or mirrored below.

That is a pretty cool looking figure, I have to say.  I love it when the Club throws a curve ball, as they so often do, and I think this one is a cool one.  A mixture of Arctic Snake Eyes/Snow Serpent and G.I. Joe: Resolute Duke, it looks like an arctic themed commander, and I think the whole idea works well.

EDIT – Of course thanks to Caped Crusader for reminding me that the figure is essentially Resolute Duke (Siberian Attack) with a new head, which is equally cool to me, as I enjoy that figure quite a bit.

Along with the figure reveal, they also have showed us their convention T-Shirts and Hat for 2012, which is always a popular item at the Club store throughout the weekend.  Check those images out below.

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So are we all getting hyped up, Joe fans?  Registration is going to be happening soon, and then it’s all downhill for New Orleans, and I can’t wait!  Keep your eyes peeled here and on GIJoeCon.com for the latest details.

The guys jump back into our regular weekly show with a full compliment this time around as Chuck, Gary, Mike and myself all come together to uncover more G.I. Joe related secrets!  I’m sure everyone remembers that little 16 bit G.I. Joe themed game that was floating around the internet a few weeks ago, Attack on Cobra Island?  Well, we dig down into the center of it in this show, tracking down and interviewing the mysterious creator behind the video game.  He gave us some terrific insight and information about the game, tells us its current status (PS, you can download it RIGHT NOW) and what happened with the whole Hasbro situation.

We also took a few minutes to talk to Counterpunch from the Seibertron Twincast Podcast to uncover how Transformers fans feel about Fun Publications and the Collectors’ Club, and I think G.I. Joe fans will find some of his responses very interesting.  Check it out at our Podbean page, or via the embedded player below.  Don’t forget, Show Notes are after the jump.

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Well, look at that!  Along with a figure reveal of Voltar today, we also get our first peek at the official 2012 Convention brochure!  The brochure, as usual, breaks down the entirety of the 15 figure convention set, and we have a surprise!

While it lists Horror Show along with his Oktober Guard comrades, it doesn’t mention anything about Dragonsky, instead making reference to “General Iron Bear”.  Verrrry interesting…

Check out the full brochure right here, and I’ll be back later tonight to break it down even further.  Big thanks to Scott “MadMac41″ McAllister for the information!