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New G.I. Joe book on Kickstarter looks at the marketing of Real American Hero

With the plethora of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero books hitting Kickstarter in recent years, there’s been an awesome wealth of content available for us long time fans.  One avenue that hasn’t been fully explored, however, is the advertising and marketing side of things, but Phil Reed from Battlegrip.com has that covered.

The Kickstarter for Modern Army Action Figures was just recently launched and explores the great advertising of vintage Real American Hero product.  One would argue a huge amount of G.I. Joe’s success in the 80’s was due to its unique look at marketing and advertising, and Phil’s got some great stuff here.

Go check out the book on Kickstarter and throw some support its way!

Exclusive debut – John Royle Gatefold cover from G.I. Joe: RAH 237, 238, and 239

Wow, nothing brightens up a Friday afternoon like some spectacular new art from IDW cover artist John Royle!  He’s been doing some really terrific variant covers for G.I. Joe titles recently, and this latest one is the mother lode.

It’s a three-issue gatefold with pencils by John Royle, inks by Jagdish and colors by Juan Fernandez.  It frankly looks… amazing!  Check it out for the very first time right here, and if you love these covers, definitely let IDW Publishing know.  I think they’re some really fun, energetic and well orchestrated covers, and I try and go out of my way to get these issues.  Great stuff.  To see more of John’s terrific artwork (G.I. Joe and otherwise) you can follow him on Instagram or hit up JohnRoyleArt.com!

john-royle-gatefold-rah-237-238-239

Prime 1 debuts impressive looking G.I. Joe statues at Tokyo ComicCon

Big thanks to skinny over on Twitter who has forwarded some images of upcoming Prime 1 G.I. Joe statues for Storm Shadow and Snake Eyes which were apparently revealed at Tokyo ComicCon.  By all accounts, Prime 1 offerings are not inexpensive, but the detailing and sculpt work on these two statues is pretty incredible.

Check out the mirrored images below as well as embedded YouTube video.  The images mostly come from the Prime 1 Instagram account.  You can see two different versions of each character below.  Pretty awesome looking stuff.

Prime 1 Snake Eyes (YouTube)

Prime 1 Storm Shadow (YouTube)

Creating G.I. Joe Volume 3 is on Kickstarter now!

If you’re even a moderate fan of G.I. Joe or 80s action figure lines, then the Creating G.I. Joe books are like a treasure trove of toy design concepts.  Each volume (and there have been two so far) dives beneath the surface of the design process for G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, revealing concept art (some of it never seen before!) some alternate designs for your favorite characters, and a ton of vintage toy intel.

They are great reads, and if Volume 3 is anything like Volumes 1 and 2, you’ll love digging into the past to see just how the Real American Hero phenomenon was born.

Check out Creating G.I. Joe Volume 3 on Kickstarter now!

creating-gijoe-volume-3-kickstarter

Previews for IDW G.I. Joe: ARAH, Action Man, Revolution titles

Tomorrow looks to be a big new comic day for G.I. Joe fans and comic or toy fans in general!  Revolution kicks off with a bang, launching both Revolution #1 and Rom: Revolution #1.  Not only that, but Action Man #4 hits shelves and G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #232… and judging by the preview for RAH, there’s a shocking turn of events for one of our Joes!

Check out the full previews after the jump!

Action Man #4

John Barber (w) • Paolo Villanelli (a) • Chris Evenhuis (c)

X MARKS THE SPOT! Will ACTION MAN and his allies put aside their differences long enough to stop DOCTOR X and save the world? Or will the bad Doctor’s master plan tear apart young ACTION MAN’s career before it starts?

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

  • The new ACTION MAN’s first adventure comes to a soul-searing conclusion!
  • Leads into this month’s REVOLUTION event!
  • Variant cover by Andrew Currie!

G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero #232: Snake In The Grass, Part 3

Larry Hama (w) • S L Gallant (a & c)

COBRA continues the search for their rogue agent. And an operation gone wrong costs a G.I. JOE member the one person they care about the most…

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Revolution #1 (of 5)

Cullen Bunn & John Barber (w) • Fico Ossio (a) • Tradd Moore (c)

THE REVOLUTION BEGINS! Explosions rip across the Earth—and all signs of blame point to OPTIMUS PRIME and the TRANSFORMERS! G.I. JOE refuses to go quietly—and they assemble heroes big enough to stop the invaders! ACTION MAN and M.A.S.K. fight for humanity—but where do ROM and the MICRONAUTS stand? Celebrating more than a decade of stories by IDW and HASBRO, this unprecedented bi-weekly event draws everything together—and leaves nothing standing. The REVOLUTION is here—TAKE A STAND!

FC • 40 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

  • A universe of characters is born through REVOLUTION!
  • Not a reboot! Not a relaunch!
  • The TRANSFORMERS forever changed!
  • The return of G.I. JOE!
  • The MICRONAUTS in our universe!
  • The DIRE WRAITHS with ORE-13!
  • And if that isn’t enough… introducing Miles Mayhem!
  • Written by the writers of MICRONAUTS and TRANSFORMERS!
  • Illustrated by burgeoning superstar Fico Ossio!
  • Epic-length kick-off story plus a whole host of back-up materials!

Rom: Revolution #1

Chris Ryall (w) • Ron Joseph (a) • Ashley Wood (c)

A REVOLUTION tie-in one-shot! ROM’s enemies, the DIRE WRAITHS have infiltrated G.I. JOE at the highest levels, clashed with the TRANSFORMERS over ORE-13, and now… stalk a lone stranger? Why would evil aliens bent on world domination terrorize one anonymous person? The answer is bigger and more sinister than you’d ever imagine!

FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:

  • A REVOLUTION tie-in!
  • The DIRE WRAITHS’ plans stand revealed, with major implications for the ongoing ROM series!
  • The birth of a major new threat for ROM!
  • All that and a permanent change to ROM’s status quo, too!
  • Variant Ken Christiansen cover, part of a 13-part connected cover! Connects with all 13 Revolution issues and one-shots!