1988 – European Joe's

E sapere è metà della battaglia

And now you know… the rest of this famous G.I. Joe sentence in Italian. Why this is relevant you ask? Well, I recently came across some Marvel G.I. Joe comics from Italy and I had to snatch them up for my collection.

The first one I have is #2 (coincidently the one that in the US version has my birthday on it), The Panic at the North Pole. The issue contains not just this story, but also Hot Potato. The cover shows the English title in the bottom right, but also the Italian version in the left bottom corner. The top left shows Hawk, the volume (anno 1), the issue number and the price in Itialian Lire. FYI, although we have the Euro in most of Europe as currency, the exchange rate for ITL is still usable, 2000 ITL would be around $1.22…

The editorial page shows Scarlett, but strangely enough, her crossbow has been removed from the drawing. The issue was released in December of 1988, so more than 6 years after the original US release.

The header of the splash page is still showing Stan Lee presenting G.I. Joe.

On the inside of the back cover, a commercial is printed for the G.I. Joe cartoon that was aired on the Odeon TV network as of 9/26 at 5PM… Did I mention this issue was released in December… Great timing don’t you think?

The second issue I got was issue #3.

Here we see that the volume has gone up 1 (anno 2) and Hawk’s pants are now solid green. No more English titles, all is Italian here.

In the middle of the book, a full page is dedicated to some letters from fans. Little Alessandro and Sergio were probably very proud to see their letters printed in this issue. Not just letters though, the next page is showing some gorgeous fan art.

The next issue I found was issue #6. Here they dropped the volume all together and they’re not showing a title as well. To be fair, the English cover didn’t show a title too.

Issue #3 and #6, both have an extra story in the book, though not like issue #2 that had Hot Potato, these 2 have a story called “I’ll Cinese”. Not sure why they felt the need to add some other story to the G.I. Joe issues, but the art is quite good.

No commercials for the cartoon in issues #3 and #6 too. They have a commercial for other comic books. The NAM in issue #3 and something called Balbao in issue #6., I don’t think this is about Rocky, but it does feature a black haired man.

Detective Balboa – maybe related to Rocky?

That’s it for this time. I’ll be back with another update soon. Until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Probably the worst code name ever.

OK, times change and all that, but even then, the code name for today’s featured Joe is just not right. I mean #meJoe people. Seriously people, can we make this # trending? Maybe Hasbro will notice it and we can have a bunch of new Joes next year (I’ll even settle for some repaints of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow at this point). In the meantime, here’s Impel Trading Card #74 featuring Hit & Run.

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Just when you thought that with Snow-Job and Skidmark, you heard all the bad codenames… They gave this poor guy that lost his parents in a car crash with a drunk driver (does that story sound familiar or what?) the codename Hit & Run. Ok, it’s only fair to say that this also applies to his military style, but still, I think it’s a bit harsh.

There have been 5 figures released of Hit & Run, the first way back in 1988 (30 years ago – feeling old are we?). The figure was released as a regular single carded figure, but there was also a Target exclusive version that added a working parachute. The figure is one of the best ones out there. The full camouflage and the set of accessories it came with is just plain awesome. The second version was only released in 2009 as part of the Assault on Cobra Island box set. It featured a removable helmet, even more gear but also a little less cool camouflage paint. In 2013, the next version was released as part of the Convention Exclusive Night Force – Nocturnal Fire box set from the Official G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club. It came with even more gear and one hell of an angry face. If you’d see that face coming from the shadows, you’d probably sh*t & run. Version 4 & 5 were both released in 2016. v4 as part of the FSS 3 and v5 in the 50th anniversary “Vanishing Act” pack. All the previous versions were using green colors, this last version is black and grey and make him look like someone who’s been dead for quite some time.

In the Marvel series, he first appeared in issue #80. He assists other Joes in stopping Cobra forces from claiming a nearby newly formed island. The land mass eventually sinks back into the ocean. He later takes part in an attempt to rescue hostages, which turns out to be a Cobra ruse: the terrorists and hostages were all Cobra agents. In Special Missions #22, he then deals with a legitimate hostage situation, where an isolated farmhouse is taken over by two criminals, but problems arise when the criminals are initially misidentified. The ending of this story is brutal and beautiful at the same time. easily one of the best stories of the run.

I don’t think he appears in one of the cartoons. Let me know if you spotted him somewhere.

Next time (yes, that will also be next year!), I have something special planned. It’s still in the works, but trust me, it will be great.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe! Have a great end of the year and be safe!

Impel Trading Card #9 – Rolling Thunder

We have arrived at the 9th card of the series. The Rolling Thunder. I’ll let you enjoy this magnificent vehicle for a moment.

The Rolling Thunder was first released in 1988 and was sold with the driver Armadillo. Please read JoeADay’s blog for a full analysis of the figure.

I didn’t have this vehicle as a kid, but it was the first Joe toy I bought on eBay as an official adult collector 🙂 To me, this is a huge playset. The only thing that came close was the General, but I didn’t have that too and I never even heard about the Flagg (I don’t think they released the Flagg in Belgium). I remember opening the box it came in (complete with driver, but just in a plain box) and feeling like a kid again. Then again, I still feel like a kid most of the time.

The Rolling Thunder (the name alone gives you shock and awe) can hold a lot of figures and it comes with missiles inside of rockets or is it rockets inside of missiles? In any case, if you’d see them comin’, you’d better be runnin’, right? It even had a big rotating cannon that needed to be controlled by 2 figures. And it had a missile on top of the gun barrel. Firing that would probably kill – or seriously injure – one or both of the figures operating it, but hey, in times of war, you need al the ammo you can get.

The colors on the card art here, don’t do justice to the bright shades of the toy. Yellow rockets, red missiles, a missile launcher base, a small ATV, guns and cannons all around. This is one mean looking vehicle. 8 wheels of Cobra smashing trouble.

With this ninth card, we arrive at the last card in the first Ultra Pro sleeve of my Trading Card collection. I’ve had several really good comments on the series and so I’ll be very happy to see you again when the next card is up for review. As always, leave a comment below or through Twitter.

All that’s left for me now is, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

DISCLAIMER All these cards are in my private collection and were scanned by myself. I don’t hold the rights on the card art or any text displayed on the cards.

Skystriker patch 1988 – Belgium exclusive

Apparently we have an exclusive G.I. Joe product here in Belgium. The 1988 Skystriker patch.
It was a mail in action that cost 9 Flag Points and the equivalent of € 1 in stamps.

I’ve been collecting them and am willing to part with them now to generate some extra cash for expanding my 50th anniversary collection and vintage Joes.

If you’re interested, let me know. I can ship internationally.