We’re going under!

We have dived and have arrived. Card #27 is up today and let’s not get astray. Rhyming like I’m Roadblock, just cause I’ve got writer’s block. Playing on you some mind tricks cause this post features Deep Six.

His filecard describes Deep Six as being a social loner within the Joe team. I can only guess, but I guess it has something to do with his high-pressure diving suit. Being locked into that probably feels like being in a coffin. Claustrophobic anyone?

The toy figure is undoubtedly the least articulate Joe figure of all time. Not counting the dogs, wolfs and parrots 🙂 It was released with the S.H.A.R.C. vehicle, some sort of crossover between a fighter jet and a one-man submarine. I really do like the S.H.A.R.C. as a toy, it’s versatile and not too big, nor too small. The Deep Six, however, is not one of my favorites. I didn’t have the original 1984 figure, but the 1989 one with the bright orange helmet. I always saw G.I. Joe as sci-fi, but then in the not so distant future (as they put it in the movies). Why would you have a guy in a big metal suit in which he can hardly move in a high-tech team? Same goes for the 1989 figure, his diving suit offers more maneuverability, but it still looks more steampunk than G.I. Joe worthy.  Then came the 1992 Eco-Warriors figure that was released with the dolphin Finback. He had a more futuristic look and finally looked in place with the Joes, albeit in bright colors.

That’s it for now. Next time we will explore the shadows of Japan… Mysterious, right?

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

2017 goals

We are already past the halfway point of the first month of this year. Just another 23 half months to go and we will be celebrating a new year again. In this post, I want to talk about the things I want to do with the blog and Joe collection this year.
There are 2 main themes that will continue throughout the year. Number 1 being the Impel Trading Cards. We still have a long way to go till we covered the full set, so I’m thinking of speeding things up a bit by covering more cards in one post or maybe posting more frequently if I can find the time to do so. Secondly, I will keep posting random collector’s stuff. New figures and vehicles for my collection, new paraphernalia and so on. I’ve decided to put aside some money each month dedicated to the purchase of new Joe stuff. This way, I hope I can expand my collection and also put some more posts online. I plan on (finally) getting around to unpacking all my Joes that I retrieved from my parent’s house and getting them all sorted. Next will be to list up the ones that are missing, and chasing these down one by one, starting with the 1982 series and working my way through the years (and brighter getting colours).

This year, I would also like to start writing some more. Not just on the blog, but also putting a novel to paper (or screen if you will) that I’ve been writing in my head for a while. It’s Joe related, so I will post something about this soon. As you’re probably aware, English is not my native tongue, so if you’re interested in proofreading and giving me some (hopefully positive) feedback or just some tips, let me know in the comments or via Twitter.

So that’s the plan for 2017, keep on doing what I’ve been doing and putting some more words down to get my writing back on track. I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for reading my posts and giving me feedback and likes. Without us, G.I. Joe probably wouldn’t be alive anymore, so let’s keep on blogging,vlogging and creating podcasts, tweet your heart out and keep posting amazing Instagram shots. We are the Greenshirts!

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

That’s the Spirit!

Rather than going for the same old title, Impel Trading Card #26, I thought I’d go back to ‘somewhat mysterious yet totally understandable for Joe fans’ titles. I also tried to add a bit of structure to the post, let me know what you think.

Now, without further ado, here is card #26, Spirit (the G.I. Joe that will later be known as Spirit Iron-Knife).


The Action Figures

Between 1984 and 1993, the figure was called Spirit. During this time, 4 iterations were released. I don’t have the original figure (depicted here on the card), my first Spirit figure was the 1989 figure that was part of the Slaughter’s Marauders sub-line. I had a few figures of the Marauders, but I’ve always found the colors to be very bright. I did however like the eagle Freedom that was included with the figure and the fact that he was a Native American. I do remember that his hair came off quite easily and that I needed to glue the hairpiece back on.

I recently acquired the 1992 version that was part of the Air Commandos subset. This time, his hair is tied in a single ponytail with a red and white hairband. And this time, the hair didn’t come off. He came with the G.I. Joe glider, star-spangled in red, white and blue. Easily the best looking glider of the set.

From 2005 onward, Hasbro changed the name of Spirit to Spirit Iron-Knife. So he got his own last name added to his code name. Not very secretive… There are 6 figures released under the new Spirit Iron-Knife name. From those last figures, I only have the first one (2005) in my collection. After 1995, it became very difficult to find any Joes around here in the shops. The internet was not yet the big shopping mall it is today and so my collection didn’t grow anymore – apart from some of the older toys I could find on flea markets.

The Comic Book

In the Comic Books, the first image I remember of Spirit is that he is the one who was sitting on top of the entrance to the (new) Pit. Doing some research for this post, Spirit appears quite a lot earlier in the comics. He was assigned – with Airborne, a fellow Native American – to guard Snake Eyes in his cabin back in issue #31. He also plays a big part in the Millville story, where he and Mutt visit Mutt’s uncle when Cobra swoops in to town and brainwashes most of the people there.

The Cartoon

In the cartoon series, Spirit takes over the role from Snake Eyes in the everlasting duel with Storm Shadow. I never really understood as to how a Native American Shaman could be a match for a highly skilled ninja. The only explanation I can find, is that it’s hard to have a character not talking in a cartoon. Probably the same reason why they introduced Duke and Scarlett as having a fling in the cartoon, rather than the Snakelett (ScarEyes sounds to creepy) we all love.

Naturally, Spirit also used his knowledge to inform us in one of the legendary PSA shorts, What to do if you catch fire? Check it out below. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.

That’s all for now. Next time, we’ll go deeper…

 

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

A Revolution in Trading Cards

A while back I bought a Humble Bundle with IDW comics. They contained a lot of Transformers comics, but also some comics to introduce the different factions in the Revolution universe.

Thr comics were great, but there was also an extra incentive, a set of Revolution Trading Cards. They finally arrived this week and I must say that the artwork is really nice. The characters each get some sort of filecard on the back reminiscent of the Joe filecards. 

I’ll post some shots of the entire series below. I will probably discuss them in more detail in a later post.

Happy collecting and YoJoe!

Happy New Year 2017 and some looking back

Let me start by wishing you all the very best for 2017! I hope all your wishes and dreams, however crazy or surreal, may come true!

The start of a new year – or anything really – also implies the end of something old. As we say goodbye to 2016, a lot to remember comes to mind.

When I started this blog, I couldn’t dare to think it would become a small success. I’ve always liked writing, but the past couple of years, I couldn’t get myself to getting anything decent on paper. I picked up my Joe collecting a bit more in 2016 and I found it a great way to get back into writing as well. I want to take the opportunity to thank you all for reading my posts and leaving comments and feedback, both here and on Twitter.

A lot has happened in the past 12 months. Terror struck all over the world (just today the attack in Istanbul costs at least 50 lives…), we had to say goodbye to loved ones and to idols (Bowie, Prince, our Princess Leia, Andrew ‘Manuel’ Sachs, Kenny Baker and many more). 2016 probably wasn’t that worse than other years, but it just feels like a lot more bad happened than good. And going over the Social Media outlets, I sense that this feeling is shared by many of you. I hope 2017 may leave a better taste in our mouths in 12 months time.

For me personally, 2016 has given me some more professional challenges besides putting more effort in this blog. It looks like 2017 will see our company growing some more and that also implies more work for me. However, I will try to put out a new post on a weekly basis for 2017, getting more of the fantastic Impel Trading Cards online and show off a lot more of my collection. Meanwhile, the redecorating of the Man Attic is ongoing and will probably get finished this year. I’m making more space for my Joes by putting my others stuff (classic game consoles and lots of books) in storage for now. I can’t bring myself into selling them just yet.

I have a lot of MOC and MISB Joes, that are in boxes as well right now. I’m probably not going to open them up soon (words of a true collector :-)), but I have a lot of Joes from when I was a kid that need some TLC so that I can display them properly. I’m also still thinking about customizing some Joes and other 1:18 series toys to make my collection somewhat more exclusive.

I’m also still thinking about customizing some Joes and other 1:18 series toys to make my collection somewhat more exclusive. I have some great ideas (as always), I’m just not that much of a painter, sculptor or builder. I guess in 2017 I’ll just have to overcome my fear of messing things up and just go with it.

Here’s hoping that 2017 will be a great year! IDW is providing with a lot of comics this year, continuing the ARAH series with Larry Hama, the new Revolution series that sees a crossover between all major IDW properties (apart from My Little Pony I guess), and an all new BIGGER, BOLDER & STRANGER main G.I. Joe line. I really hope this last one is going to be good. It will be hard to come out of the shadows of the ARAH stories.

Not a lot of news from Hasbro, but there will be a Joecon in 2017. I hope to win the lottery this year so I can maybe attend once. As for new figures, I guess we have to look at the club. That Big Lob figure really looks great. There might be something from Hasbro coming out, but I can’t find any clear news on that front as of yet. I know that the golden years will probably never return, but seeing at least a few figures and vehicles in the shops around here would be so nice.

This post has been going on for a while now and I hope it’s the start of many more posts in 2017. I hope you enjoyed reading this. Time to sign out for now!

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

 

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