When the folks over at UnderScoopFire asked me to participate in a “Top 100 Toys of All Time” list, I thought it sounded like a fun project to take part in.  That feeling quickly gave way to sense of “oh crap PANIC” when I started digging through the massive list of favorite toys to attempt to narrow things down.  It was simply impossible.

Thankfully all I had to do was submit my own list of 20 and then let Under Scoop Fire put the actual list together (and accept all the hate mail).  I’m free and clear!

Well, not totally free and clear.  One of my main jobs on the participation side of things was to submit thoughts under the G.I. Joe umbrella, and I think I represented that very well…with one glaring ommision.

But don’t take my word for it.  Hit up the UnderScoopFire Top 100 Toys of all Time list to check it out yourself.  First of all, a caveat.  The “Top 100″ toys currently only has 90 listed.  You’ll have to check in tomorrow to listen to the Under Scoop Fire Podcast, Episode 21 to hear the top 10, and then the final top 10 will be posted shortly thereafter.

Enjoy!

And remember…all hate mail is addressed to UnderScoopFire.  I’m innocent!

Frustration from the glut of merchandise clogging retail pegs and blocking the release of subsequent waves of highly-anticipated figures seemed to be the theme of 2011. When new G.I. Joe figures finally made their way into our collections, the countless accessories, innovations in articulation, and intricately-detailed sculpts made the class of 2011 among the best we’ve ever seen in the 25th Anniversary-style era. Hasbro surprised with the release of the Sky Striker as part of the 30th Anniversary line, disappointed with the cancellation of the G.I. Joe: Renegades animated series, and energized with the trailer for the live-action movie sequel, G.I. Joe: Retaliation. Not to be outdone, licensees such as IDW Publishing and Sideshow Collectibles continued to impress with their offerings of G.I. Joe merchandise, an indication of the strength of the G.I. Joe brand. In retrospect of 2011, A Real American Hero, Generals Joes and The Terror Drome team up to bring you the best of G.I. Joe 2011.

Click the Read the Rest of this Story link below for the full details.

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Yes, we’re two weeks into 2012 and the “Best Of” 2011 lists are still going strong!  The latest one is courtesy of the Fwooshcast, a personal favorite podcast of mine, mostly because of one of the hosts Craig, who I have known for years, and who guest hosted on What’s on Joe Mind for a number of weeks.

So obviously, when he asked us to submit something for their 2011 “Year in Review” episode, we didn’t hesitate to comply.

Check out the latest episode of the Fwooshcast right here!

As always, full credit must be given to notpicard who has been able to dig up some fantastic stuff over the past week or so.  Late last week he directed me towards a couple of different sites he uncovered online, and while the style of the art from the two sites is quite different, they have one thing in common.  Some bad ass G.I. Joe conceptual drawings and paintings!

First, I’d like to point out Indigo Studios, who were apparently the folks behind the Pursuit of Cobra paintings that served as backdrops for the slideshow at the G.I. Joe Convention in 2009.  They may have been used elsewhere, but I’m not sure where.  All I know is I am absolutely in love with these paintings, and I am fired up that there is now a place to see them in all of their medium res glory.  They really capture the whole Pursuit of Cobra aesthetic pretty perfectly, I must say.  I do find it a bit odd that the human characters don’t bare much resemblance to the Pursuit of Cobra characters we got, but the vehicles and environments make up for that.  You can find Indigo Studios right here, and I’ve mirrored the fantastic images below.

[View with PicLens]

Next are some images from SoupGraphix.com, who appear to be a graphic design company much more animated in spirit, but equally cool.  They appear to be behind some of the recent Convention logos, and apparently had some input into the G.I. Joe: Renegades logo, too.  There are some pretty neat ideas below that we have not seen anywhere.  Question is, are they unused logos from projects past, or potential clues about stuff still to come?  Regardless, I’ve mirrored a few of the images below, hit up SoupGraphix.com to see the rest.

[View with PicLens]

I friggen love this stuff.  Thanks again to notpicard for his eagle eye lookin’ out!

This has been kicking around in my head for a long time…probably ever since the announcement of the death of the o-ring format.  Certainly many fans hold that treasured construction close to their heart, but I am literally stunned at how fast and furiously the movement has been to the new “modern era” style.  Even five years ago, if the figure wasn’t an “o-ring” it was immediately cast aside as inferior, and now here we are in 2010, and the fandom at large as moved far away from the o-ring format, and has happily embraced something totally different.

With the (albeit remote) possibility out there that G.I. Joe: Retaliation may re-invent the wheel yet again, I really got thinking…over the past 28 years, G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero has undergone a number of format changes and face lifts.  Which were the best or most impactful?

Now for this list, I’m not counting the o-ring.  That was a standard from day one.  I’m specifically talking about enhancements.  A change or progression that moved the toyline along and continued to revolutionize the industry.  So, let’s get to it.

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A few days ago, thanks to Greg and notpicard, I shared some Rise of Cobra concept art via CG Hub…well, again, thanks to notpicard, who dug a little deeper, we’ve found some other G.I. Joe related artwork from various sources.

Stuff from the 25th Anniversary, G.I. Joe: Resolute, and the Pursuit of Cobra.  Pretty neat stuff here.  The users are Wesley Burt and Jarreau Wimberly, and they have some very cool art posted apparently used for Hasbro product.

Keep in mind a lot of the art there is just fan art, but there are some things certainly done for Hasbro proper.  Check out the mirrored images below.

[View with PicLens]

I figure there are lots of folks probably doing the whole “Best of” lists for 2011 (myself included eventually!) so I figured I’d take a somewhat different approach.  Rather than considering only the “best” or “worst” I figured I’d take a look at significance.  And because I’m wishy washy, I couldn’t narrow it down to just 10, I had to sneak an 11th in there just for discussion purposes.

Click the “Read the Rest of this Story” link below for the full article.

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So the site has been inundated with G.I. Joe: Retaliation news and articles…so when the always awesome Monte Williams offers to submit a list of Overrated and Underrated Joes of the “Modern Era” I just can’t help but jump on it.

Even if it ends up sitting in my mailbox for a week or so first.  :shifty:

Seriously, this was a great article, and a huge thanks to Monte for taking the time to write this up for the site.  It’s greatly appreciated!  Click the “read the rest of this entry” link below to view Monte’s list and argue it out in the comments below!

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And damned if it’s not a good one.  Now that the G.I. Joe fanfilm Operation: Red Retrieval has been launched on YouTube, the What’s on Joe Mind crew invites director Mark Cheng back to the show, and he was cool enough to bring Mack Kuhn (Zartan) along with him!

We had a great conversation with the two of them, learned a lot about producing the film, and even received a surprise live Tweet from a certain G.I. Joe Hollywood director!

Along with our great guests we also covered some news, had an argumen… err … discussion about the FSS card art, and talked about the Wave 3 Storm Shadow, which both Greg and Gary had in hand.  Check out the show on Podbean, or hit up the embedded player below.  I’ve also added some show notes after the jump.

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So Mike has had his hands full with deadline requirements, so we’ve been G.I. Joe-less for a few weeks…but we forgive him.

He posted an update today on his awesome production art blog, this time featuring…  White Out!  The Rise of Cobra era driver for the updated Snow Cat, he was one of the lucky ones to be carried over into the Pursuit of Cobra line, and as usual, Mike does him proud.

He gives us a terrific run down of the step-by-step process for translating White Out from plastic to art form and as usual, the results are impressive.  I especially love seeing these vehicle drivers, because we usually just get a head shot on the package, and now we get to see the whole head-to-toe piece all at once.  Awesome.

Check out the blog post right here with tons of great pictures.  I’ve mirrored only one of them below.  Great stuff as usual.