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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

Another great “back to basics” episode where the guys from WOJM and Terry (administrator of YoJoe.com) get together and just talk about G.I. Joe.  We answer some burning mailbag questions and tackle the mountain of news including the latest reveals for the FSS (Figure Subscription Service) and the first footage shown of G.I. Joe: Retaliation!

Some great conversation even though I was so tired I was repetitive and really not on top of my game.  Tune in to see if Gary edited me into something more comprehensible!  Or at least trimmed out some of my Jinx-related outrage.

Check it out at Podbean, or listen via the embedded audio player below.

Okay, when it rains it pours seems like the appropriate sentiment here.

After a relatively quiet weekend for G.I. Joe news, it has been coming fast and furious this late afternoon and evening.  Obviously highlighted by the footage from G.I. Joe: Retaliation and the revelation of the GIJCC Barrel Roll…but still some other very cool and interesting intel comes from Nirvana at HissTank.com.

Apparently at a local Wal-Mart he purchased a trio of Steel Brigade figures… with a Snake Eyes body.

Up until this point, all Steel Brigade figures had come with the Shock Trooper legs and arms with the cool elbow pads and multi-colored sleeves.  Well, apparently there just might be either a running change or a variant, and we might expect future figures to instead come with the Pursuit of Cobra Snake Eyes underneath.  An interesting development to be sure.

Check out the thread at HissTank.com and also take a peek at the mirrored images below.  Curious that he doesn’t seem to come with a pistol for that new holster, and he obviously also has the different kneepads to go along with the new legs.  A neat change, and a cool way to bring some variety to your G.I. Joe army builders.  Thanks to Gyre Viper for the heads up, who it should be noted, has a test shot with this different version of the Steel Brigade figure in his possession.

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It was only a short while ago that the folks over at AC Toys gave us carded images of most of Waves 3 and 4 of the upcoming 30th Anniversary figures, but noticeable by their absences were both Lifeline and Zombie Viper.

Well today that has been rectified as we get some very nice and detailed images of the undead Cobra and the G.I. Joe medic, both coming from the fourth wave of 30th Anniversary figures.  Check out the images here, or take a peek at them mirrored below.

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Thanks much to The Terror Drome for the info.