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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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.

[View with PicLens]

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.

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!

So now it gets good again…  I think most of us sort of knew what to expect from the last two days once the first Iron Grenadier: Elite Trooper was revealed.  It was evident that the Club was using that canceled 5-Pack as inspiration and we were likely to see most of those troopers within the confines of the Convention set.

Well, all three troopers have been revealed, and with the Club publicly stating that they would not include Destro with this set, the floodgates are wide open again!  What will they reveal today?  Dragonsky?  Horror Show?  An Iron Grenadier character figure?!  My mind was running wild…  and like clockwork, at 3:20pm Eastern Time, we got our answer!

VOLTAR!

Wow!  What a terrific looking figure!  The combination of Accelerator Suit parts, Pursuit of Cobra Beachhead parts…  he retains the general look of his color scheme, yet is darkened just a bit.  A new head sculpt and awesome removable helmet!  In spite of the slight dip of the grey uniformed Iron Grenadier, this Convention Set is shaping up to be one of the best of all time.  Truly an amazing looking addition to the set with this figure and I am giddy with anticipation to see what we might get at the show itself.  As always, keep your eyes peeled to GIJoeCon.com for the latest information as it appears.

Bring on the brochure and bring on registration!  Let’s do this thing!!

Sticking with the theme over the past week, the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club has revealed another member of the 2012 Convention Exclusive boxed set.  This time around, we get a look at the awesome Iron Grenadier Elite Trooper!

And wow, this is a good one!  Slated as a troop builder with two figures in the boxed set, I see a lot of great Crimson Guard elements in this figure, and he’s using the unreleased Arctic Cobra Commander tooling, which rocks!  First time many fans will be getting their hands on these parts.

I’m not wild about that large rifle, but this figure actually looks really, really nice.  I can’t help but notice a lack of consistency with the troopers, but I think this red and silver looks great.  And this would seem to be the last of the troopers.  Hopefully tomorrow we’ll see a new Iron Grenadier named character, or the last two members of the Oktober Guard.

Check out the mirrored image below, and keep your eye on GIJoeCon.com for the latest details!

So every year the G.I. Joe Collectors Club holds a diorama contest, and from what we know, this year should be no different.

But what is different is that Todd from Kokomo Toys is sweetening the pot a little bit.  If you’re planning on building a diorama for the Convention, consider adding a reference to Kokomo Toys somewhere within the diorama.

Todd will be checking out the dioramas at the Con, and if your diorama contest entry has something to do with Kokomo Toys or has the shop in it, he’ll give you either $100.00 for a first place prize and $50.00 for a second place prize, right on the spot!

If that’s not some great incentive, I don’t know what is.  Big thanks to Todd from Kokomo Toys for coming up with this idea. A great one!

Another installment in the G.I. Joe Convention exclusive roster has been revealed!  Yesterday we got some insight into the story of the Oktober Guard vs. the Iron Grenadiers, and today we are getting a look at another figure from the set.

Today we are treated to Iron Grenadier Weapons Specialist!  Based off of the Resolute Destro tooling, and once again a figure from the canceled Iron Grenadier 5-Pack, I think this figure looks a lot cooler and more “Iron Grenadier” than the one yesterday.  I actually like the looks of this one a lot and think he’ll compliment Resolute Destro pretty damn nicely.  He’s a lot darker and more nasty looking than the one we got yesterday.  Digging it.  I’m still keeping fingers firmly crossed that we see some more named characters, especially with the revelation that Destro won’t be a part of the set.  It’s looking like we might get figure reveals all throughout the rest of this week.  Sign me up!

Check out the mirrored image below, and keep watching GIJoeCon.com for the latest info and the brochure.

And the crowd goes wild!

We’ve been getting flooded with some very cool Oktober Guard themed reveals over the past week or two, but many folks have been clamoring for more information about who the Oktober Guard will be facing off against.

Well, the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club revealed that today with the Iron Grenadiers!  We get a great revelation of the Iron Grenadier trooper himself and also some details about the story line itself.  For folks who don’t recognize the figure itself, it was originally planned as part of 5 Pack of Iron Grenadier figures from the Rise of Cobra/Pursuit of Cobra line, but never got released.  The image for that original 5-Pack can be seen at this post on GeneralsJoes.  I’ve also mirrored that image below:

As for the story itself…  check out those details below:

“By popular demand, the 2012 convention set stories and enemy factions are revealed…

OKTOBER GUARD Box Set: The 1990s brought us many captivating Cold War stories but this one was kept Top Secret for over two decades! Recently declassified documents revealed the original Oktober Guard (G.I. Joe’s Russian and Warsaw Pact equivalent) team’s “Special Mission” in Siberia to rescue their captured General from the ruthless Iron Grenadiers in OPERATION: BEAR TRAP!”

Okay…now THAT is bad ass.  They give themselves an “out” for the dead Oktober Guard members by talking about declassified documents.  And they’re also talking about their “captured General”… hmmm…  could we see a modern version of General Mayhem from the 2005 set?  Or maybe…dare I hope…  Voltar?!  Of course I misread this, and it’s the Oktober Guard general who is being rescued.  Not sure what the angle is there…

Wow.  The possibilities are endless!  I cannot wait to hear and see more!  Check out the Iron Grenadier figure below, and keep your eyes on GIJoeCon.com for the latest intel!

And it looks nice!  No indication about who the Oktober Guard might be battling, but that is one heck of a cool looking box.  Operation: Bear Trap is the name of the set this year, and check out the great box art below.

As always, keep your eyes peeled to GIJoeCon.com for the latest info on the upcoming Convention!

I promise I will refrain from the Kevin Bacon jokes that I’ve been seeing a lot of since this figure was first announced…  :)

I’ve never been a huge Footloose fan, in all honesty, though reading his filecard made me wonder why not.  As we should all expect, Larry Hama was able to infuse so much damn character into someone in such a tiny written space, and Footloose is no exception.  He really is a fascinating guy.  I have read some complaints that this version of the character makes him a bit harder and “edgier” than folks would prefer, but I disagree.  I think this figure is pretty great.

Nice and military, great articulation, an awesome head sculpt… and the price is right!  Check out the full review below.

• G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club Footloose