by generalsjoes | Jan 28, 2012 | G.I. Joe, G.I. Joe 2, G.I. Joe 2: Retaliation, G.I. Joe Collectors Club, G.I. Joe: The Movie
So, I’ve been thinking about this a bit for the past 24 hours. I have no idea what the source of the JoeCon rescheduling is, in all honesty. I don’t know if there was a real issue with the venue, something with Paramount and a potential Retaliation screening, or some sort of Hasbro dictation that determined this rescheduling, but the end result is a pretty strange confluence of circumstances, resulting in some serious scheduling conflicts for pretty much every Joe fan.
It’s the summer of 2012, and G.I. Joe fans everywhere are going to be all fired up to go see G.I. Joe: Retaliation.
When does G.I. Joe: Retaliation hit theaters?
June 29th.
When is the first night of Convention registration?
June 28th.
Sooo… here’s the question. G.I. Joe fans (like myself) who are extremely fired up for G.I. Joe: Retaliation are going to have our hands full in New Orleans on the first weekend of G.I. Joe: Retaliation’s release. And Joe fans will be excitedly running out to the theaters while they could be absorbing the great news and info from Joe Con. Of course, this new timing I would think almost guarantees a special Convention screening of the film, and even if it’s not done officially, the fans can certainly invade theaters themselves, though with the rush of regular movie goers during the official release that might prove challenging.
I think having the Con the week before the film was a great idea. The chance for a “sneak preview” for Con attendees (if that was even an option), plus it gets the blood pumping in the fandom who are only too eager to run to theaters and drop cash on movie tickets for the Retaliation film the next week. Considering the movie was actually filmed in New Orleans and has a strong connection to that area also makes a Convention event likely and potentially enjoyable, and who knows, perhaps that’s an opportunity for some of the production team to be in attendance. One would almost think the theatrical release might draw them to larger venues, though.
Granted, the end result will be a weekend chock full of G.I. Joe related excitement, but I can’t help but think some of the Convention excitement and atmosphere will end up lost in the shuffle of Retaliation conversation. I know I was really looking forward to being online and participating in some heavy duty G.I. Joe: Retaliation post-premiere enthusiasm, and instead I’ll be in New Orleans practically disconnected from the web covering news from the Convention floor. A bit disappointing, but perhaps that’s just me.
The end result is a weekend of over-the-top G.I. Joe insanity, but part of me wishes it could have been drawn out over two weeks and given fans everywhere a chance to experience both. Ultimately I would think the G.I. Joe Collectors’ Club would have wanted the same thing. Perhaps it was their decision, perhaps it wasn’t, but I think the end result provides some curious challenges for the Club and for the fans as well. We’ll have to see how it all turns out.
by generalsjoes | Jan 28, 2012 | G.I. Joe, Other Toys
Okay, first a post about potential custom fodder with Avengers toys, and now talking about Ghost Recon? It’s “everything but G.I. Joe” day here at GeneralsJoes! In all seriousness, anyone who has played the Ghost Recon games knows the aesthetic they go for, and it’s very “G.I. Joe” in theme. So the fact that not only does Unimax have the license to it, but there are figure cases on pre-order is pretty cool.
Granted, there are no images as of yet, but based on Unimax’s track record with Crysis and Assassin’s Creed, I think we could be due for some very neat custom fodder or generic soldier troop building with this line. Heck, maybe just the accessories…
Check out the pre-order right here, and I’ll keep everyone posted once we actually get some images!
by generalsjoes | Jan 28, 2012 | Comics and Cartoons, Marvel Comics Toys, Marvel Media, Other Toys
Yes, panic is a strong word. In fact, I don’t think I’ve seen any real panic from anyone yet, but I do think what we’re seeing already from some Avengers toys being shown on Toys “R” Us Canada’s website might be something we want to keep in mind as we prepare mentally for Toy Fair in a couple of weeks. I will admit, I did panic a little bit myself, mostly over articulation concerns, but in all honesty, I don’t think we have much to worry about with the mainline G.I. Joe releases.
As for the product itself, the first thing is the appearance of a clear image of the Avengers Quinjet:
Originally there was some hypothesis that maybe the Quinjet was retooled from the canceled Sigma 6 Thunderhawk and Rise of Cobra Phantom X90, but upon closer inspection that’s not the case. The surface is completely different, and while there are some structural simularities, I think the vehicles themselves are different molds. If you look at the cockpit area, the surface is much smoother on the Quinjet without the vents near the rear, and the wing assembly looks like it’s all one piece, and not modular like on the other planes.
Regardless of the construction, the Quinjet looks pretty neat, and could make for some potentially cool custom fodder.
Next up, is this weird Ground Assault Vehicle:
This thing is actually pretty darn cool, design-wise, as long as it’s larger than the picture indicates (I think it probably is). If it’s close in size to the RHINO or even a bit smaller, it could make for a pretty awesome Cobra vehicle, with some fresh paint applications.
Another potential source of cool custom fodder is revealed with the appearance of Captain America:
Yes, the figure looks great, the webgear looks awesome…but… where’s the articulation? We’ve got single-joint knees and no torso joints whatsoever. Curious… I know some folks were wondering about this last week when Marvel leaked a few early images of the Avengers figures, but now seeing a finished model looking the same way is a concern. Granted, if your only worried about the accessories, this isn’t a big deal, but it is somewhat disappointing, especially considering it won’t necessarily match aesthetically with the rest of the Marvel movie figures that have been revealed so far.
Granted, Marvel figures aren’t necessarily known by their extensive articulation, but still… I have an Ultimate Captain America, Iron Man, and Nick Fury all in this format already, it is kind of too bad the Thor and potential Hawkeye figures won’t match it.
So even beyond folks being excited for G.I. Joe toys in 2012, the potential is there for some awesome customizing above and beyond the Retaliation brand. More info will come in a couple weeks from Toy Fair, and GeneralsJoes will be there as always to cover it!
