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!

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.

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!

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!

And this time it’s Stormavik!

Yet another great looking member of the Oktober Guard, the Club has shown that they are pulling out the stops for these figures.  Stormavik has a new head sculpt and some nicely stacked up body mold, using the legs from Shadow Tracker and the arms from City Strike Destro.  Wow.  He’s definitely tweaked for a more modern update, and it looks pretty friggen great.  The Pursuit of Cobra Duke webgear suits the figure exceptionally well, too.

Check out GIJoeCon.com for the lowdown and I’ve got the awesome image mirrored below.  This set is looking better and better every day!

Wow!  I will admit I did not see this one coming, but I think they made a great choice!  Using what mostly looks like Rise of Cobra Destro parts, the G.I. Joe Collectors Club has captured a great likeness of Colonel Brekhov, leader of the Oktober Guard!

Check it out at GIJoeCon.com or just take a peek at the mirrored image below.

Well lookee here!

The G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club has ended a relative silence over the past month or two with a whopper of an update!  The 2012 G.I. Joe Convention website has officially launched, and they’ve posted a teaser image.  That teaser image is HUGE.

It looks like none other than Daina from the Oktober Guard.  Wow.  A modern era style Oktober Guard is something fans have been clamoring for over the past few years, and by the looks of things, we’ll be getting our wish.  I wonder who they might be battling against?

We know that o-ring tooling is more or less gone, so it stands to reason that we’ll be getting a modern era update for these classic characters.  The interesting thing to me will be how the Club writes these characters into the modern mythology.  If they do end up doing updates for the classic characters like Horror Show or Brekhov or Stormavik, will they try and write them into their modern universe considering they died back in the Special Missions comic?  Or are we only going to get Oktober Guard members who are still alive like Daina, Gorky, Misha, and Dragonsky.

I really hope the Club does ignore some of the deaths and gives us modern updates of those classic Oktober Guard characters, but I guess time will tell how they handle it.  I’m just excited that there is some Convention news to discuss!

Check it all out right here, and make sure you keep looking there, as more teasers are bound to be posted, not to mention the full blown convention brochure coming up soon.  JoeCon reveals!  One of my most favorite times of the year!

This just in straight from the Collectors’ Club:

Please note that due to circumstances beyond our control with the anticipated venue for the convention, the dates of GIJoeCon will now be June 28-July 1 at a new venue, the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. We apologize for any problems or issues this change of date has caused. We hope to see you all in New Orleans June 28-July 1 at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside. Convention (attending and non-attending) registrations will start sometime in February.  Again we apologize for any problems or issues this change of date has caused

You can now make your hotel reservations at GIJoeCon.com.

Anyone who has asked for vacation time, looks like you’d better adjust your request.  Registration starts in February!