Okay this is getting silly.  Next time Hasbro does this, I’m going to give them 24 hours before typing this up so I don’t have to write three separate articles for each series of better images that we get!  Gah.

I’ve seen the images.  I would imagine pretty much everyone has.  I’m certain at this point things are pretty doom and gloom.  Five points of articulation, reused vehicles, deth of teh line, etc…

While I’m staying far away from the whole “Deth of teh line!” crowed, I will admit up front I am a bit punched in the gut by the restricted articulation on the vehicle drivers.  I won’t say it’s completely unexpected.  Anyone who has been listening to the Whats on Joe Mind podcast should remember that I’ve been talking about a scaled back movie line and about the potential for reduced articulation for months now.  So hopefully folks who have been listening to that aren’t taken so far aback.  But I will admit, even though I’ve been saying it, I can’t help but feel a bit of wind knocked out the sails.  There’s just something about seeing that familiar visage of Snake Eyes with only 5 points of articulation that just doesn’t look… right.  That’s NOT how he’s supposed to look.

That being said, I’m not writing this off as doom and gloom.  Aside from the vehicle drivers there are plenty of things to cheer about, and I’m going to bore the hell out of everyone by regurgitating them all right here.  Not only that, but I’m going crazy.  I’m going figure by figure and vehicle by vehicle.  No, I do not have a life.  Let’s do this.

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Big thanks to the tireless efforts of the folks with Hasbro Public Relations’ firm, who have quickly gotten together the images we saw earlier in nice and crisp high resolution!  These new images should provide some very nice detail…and some not very nice detail.

You’ll notice some articulation changes in some places and some other things that are worthy of concern…  but still plenty to love.  Check out the images below.

3 3/4″ Basic Figures

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Larger Scale Action Battlers

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Battle Sets

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Alpha Vehicles

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Bravo Vehicles

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Delta Vehicles

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SDCC

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More information will be available at Toy Fair on February 11th.  Make sure you’re here!

Toy Fair has long been advertised as the place to go to see new and upcoming toys for the year!  Well in a very odd and stunning move, Hasbro has revealed a huge chunk of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation toyline in low res thumbnail type images on their G.I. Joe toy website, 10 days prior to the annual event in New York City.

A head scratching move, to be sure, but it allows me some more analysis for these toys with some hypothesis about what Hasbro is doing and what we might expect to see or hear in New York.

So what does this run of figures, vehicles, and other items mean for us in 2012?  How does “Jinx as SDCC Exclusive” impact mainstream movie release?  Click the Read the Rest of this Entry link below to read on!

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Wow, here’s an unexpected event for a Friday morning.

Only two days after the first images of G.I. Joe: Retaliation toys were revealed, Hasbro’s G.I. Joe website has shown thumbnail images for a large run of G.I. Joe: Retaliation toys, including more figures, vehicles, and role play items!

The page can be found right here, and I’ve mirrored the images below!  Check it out, with more analysis coming later.

Figures

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Vehicles

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Battle Sets

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Role Play

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Big thanks to Jay from Toy News International and Hasbro’s Twitter Page for relaying this information!

Interesting to note as well, San Diego Comic Con Exclusives are a part of this release, including a pair of Jinx figures (classic!!!) and a “Shockwave” HISS Tank.  WOW!  A real stunner of some intel this morning.

SDCC Exclusives

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Wow.  Who would have thought when we woke up this morning that we would not only be getting the Super Bowl trailer for G.I. Joe: Retaliation, but also our first look at the new toys from the film today as well?

Serious kudos to Brian Truitt from USA Today for getting this story together and totally rocking the G.I. Joe universe.  So, the initial pics hit, and I rushed around getting the news out there, but perhaps a little more careful analysis is warranted.  This is a totally new universe after all, a pretty new aesthetic, and something pretty different from what we’ve seen from the film designs.  It almost seems like Hasbro is using Retaliation as a catapult to launch into a more widespread G.I. Joe line that’s not necessarily dependent on the film aesthetic.

I love it.  With figures taking some serious inspiration from science fiction, an animated aesthetic, yet with some real world parts and pieces, early opinion is a lot of the elements that I love about G.I. Joe.  A closer look at Toy Fair will hopefully provide more educated opinion.  Now that I’ve taken a few minutes to digest things, here are some of my thoughts.  Keep in mind, I have a feeling these figures don’t necessarily represent the characters how they will appear in the film.  They seem considerably different.  I find myself perfectly okay with that.

Click the Read the Rest of the Entry link below to see all my thoughts.

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In a week already chock full of G.I. Joe: Retaliation news and information, USA Today comes through with another awesome G.I. Joe onslaught!

Courtesy of USA Today resident geek Brian Truitt, and mere days before the 2012 Toy Fair, we get our first looks at upcoming G.I. Joe: Retaliation action figures.  The excellent USA Today article gives us a peek at:

• Roadblock
• Cobra Commander
• Cobra Trooper
• Duke
• G.I. Joe Trooper
• Red Ninja
• Snake Eyes
• Storm Shadow
• Zartan

Upon first glance, it would appear many of these figures are not necessarily movie accurate, but bring a very cool modern style with some classic elements, too.  Some more insight after more digestion.  Hit up USA Today to check out the entire article!  Also be sure to follow Brian Truitt on Twitter to keep all up to date with the latest intel.

While many folks look to Gyre-Viper because of his ability to track items down in China for upcoming new product, one of the best things about what he’s done for the fandom in my opinion is his ability to get access to the old school Real American Hero stuff.

As he prepares to launch the JoeDeclassified podcast, he shares some awesome concept art with me that has never been seen before.

No idea what these are or where they come from, but big thanks to Gyre Viper for sharing this awesome peek into the 80′s or 90′s with us!  Check out the mirrored images below.

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GeneralsJoes guest reviewer Mysterious Stranger is at it again!  Along with the 12″ Sideshow Collectibles figures, he is also covering the 12″ environments.  Already reviewing the Cobra Throne, he now turns to the Desert Weapons Cache, which comes with Dusty’s infamous coyote, Sandstorm.

Check out the review right here, and as always a huge thanks to Chris for helping me with these!  Good stuff.

• Sideshow Collectibles Desert Weapons Cache w/ Sandstorm

A lesson in podcasting, folks!  If you get a group of guys together for a couple of hours a week for 9 months straight, eventually tempers might flare… a bit.  Episode 39 is an example of this.  All of us on What’s on Joe Mind have very specific, dedicated ideas of what we want for the show, and some times those ideals don’t gel, and sometimes we get a bit heated.  I think that’s a good example of why the show is so well received.  We are all very opinionated and care very much about putting the best product out there as humanly possible.  Generally we’re able to talk out our disagreements off-air, but sometimes…  well those disagreements come out.

Regardless, I still think Episode 39 was a good one.  We had Chris Sims from Comics Alliance on the program, which unfortunately for him, put him front and center to some bickering, but I think the whole thing went well.  Don’t let Gary dissuade you.  ;)

It was a host-packed show with Gary, Chuck, Greg, Justin, Craig, AND Mike all in the house alongside Chris Sims and I think folks will enjoy it if you can get over the spats.

Hit up our Podbean Page or listen via the embedded player below.  Onward and upward!

Talk about jumping the gun a bit…

With most reports saying that G.I. Joe: Retaliation figures aren’t hitting until May, it seems very strange that shelf tags might already start appearing for the initial wave of toys, but David Willis of Shortpacked apparently has seen them at his local Meijer store in Ohio.

You can see his Foursquare Check In, and I’ve also mirrored the image below.

What does it mean?  A whole lot of nothing, but I’m giddy for G.I. Joe: Retaliation news, so I’m talking about it anyway.  Toy Fair in 2 weeks!

EDIT – As Jay from Toy News International has said, it’s even more likely just left over shelf tags from the first film, especially with a $6.97 price tag.  But hey, shameless news grab!  Go me.