Don’t drop the Clutch and keep on reading to find out what just came in the mail.
Clutch with VAMP.
To be honest, I never really liked the angular shape of the VAMP. I didn’t have it in the original O-ring (3.75”) line until I got one of those Funskool models a few years ago. In the larger Classified scale though, it looks better.
What’s in the box?
The VAMP comes with a machine gun emplacement at the back, 2 extra gas tanks, a fire extinguisher, an axe, a shovel, a gun, a bigger gun,2 helmets, a wrench and a Clutch.
Plastic man encased in plastic
Clutch is beautifully painted in green and brown colors. It really gives the good military vibes and with all the accessories, it truly is a nice figure. His colors and deco are a true testament to the original figure.
A manly man with a wrench.
That’s all for now. See you back again soon for new figures or paraphernalia. Until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!
Our small country is in fact 2 small countries that were fused together in 1830 to function as a buffer between the Netherlands and France. The northern part is Flanders and we speak Flemish (Dutch) here. The southern part is Wallonia and they speak French. For the longest time, the upper parts of society, the nobility and thus the ruling class, have spoken French. This caused a lot of issues during the 1st World War when the officers were only speaking French and the regular soldiers were Flemish farmers and laborers. The officers would declare their orders in French and would say ” et pour les Flamands, la même chose.” which translates to “and the same goes for the Flemish people.” which they didn’t understand and caused a lot of unnecessary hurt and deaths. To this day there are still tensions between the Flemish and the French speaking people. One benefit to all this is that we get taught Dutch & French in school (and even some German since a part of Germany was given to Belgium as retribution for the war). All this to get to my point, that I bought another French G.I. Joe comic book.
200 pages of action
In France (and thus also for the French speaking part of Belgium), Vestron owns the rights to publish the G.I. Joe comics from the Marvel era. They are specialized in movie comics and trade paperbacks. This book contains a selection of G.I. Joe stories and trivia to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the comic book series in 2022. I just recently was able to find one. They have released and are releasing several other TPB’s from the Marvel run as well, mostly the later issues with Star Brigade and Ninja Force. They’re still on my want list.
The back even shows 208 pages! And Battle Force 2000.
The format of the book is slightly smaller than the U.S. trades we are familiar with, but bigger than a Japanese manga. The actual size is 23.5cm by 16.2cm (about 9.25 x 6.38 inches). Small but powerful, filled with action.
The stories they selected are: (in print order):
Issue #1 – Lady Doomsday
Issue #34 – Shake down!
Yearbook 2 – Triple play
Issue #21 – Silent Interlude
Issue #60 – Cross purposes
Issue #80 – Rolling Thunder
Issue #82 – Weeding out
Issue #152 – … just fade away
For each story, they have a short description, and a Do-you-know section (as we know, that’s half the battle).
We are here to follow orders, to try the impossible and make it look easy.
Speckled in between the stories are several filecard pages and the beautiful overview of the Pit.
Facebook copied this!
At the end, they have placed a commercial for their next installment, a second compilation with unedited stories. The origin of Snake-Eyes and Storm Shadow, The creation of Serpentor and many more. They’re calling the books that follow the Maximum Action Super Special series.
Salute!
With this salute, we’ve reached the end of this post. See you back soon and until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!
As I’ve discussed on this blog many times before, I’m always on the lookout for the more “weirder” G.I. Joe stuff that is out there. Recently I came across an offer I couldn’t resist because of the rareness, and the fact that I have never seen this before. Let me present to you, 2 (out of 4) G.I. Joe comics that have been released in Arabic.
Arab style
These comics are to be read from right to left – as they are printed like that :-). They were released in the early to mid nineties. Issue one was printed in black and white. The other 3 issues were in color. The ones I got, are issues 2-3. They match up with the Marvel issues #128-129 I believe.
First pages
There’s not a lot I could find on these comics. The fact that I can’t read Arabic is part of that, but since it was just such a small series that got released – I wonder why there wasn’t an audience in the Arab world for A Real American Hero comic book series? Pardon the sarcasm. The comics were probably released in the East part of the Arab countries (Iraq through Egypt), because the numerals on the cover are used there, in the Western part, they use the numbers like us.
Facts and puzzles
There is a spread page with some interesting facts in each comic book. And near the end, there even is a crossword puzzle included (with the solution on the next page). There is also a lot of advertisements for other comic book series.
That’s all for now. See you soon. Until then, Happy Collecting and YoJoe!
In my free time, I’m often browsing the web for G.I. Joe toys or G.I. Joe paraphernalia. Last week, I came across someone selling 2 3D printed busts of Serpentor and Cobra Commander online. I struck a deal and now they are here!
Serpentor
The Serpentor statue is displayed on a matching golden Cobra logo. Did I mention already that they are hand painted by the artist? It’s very nicely done and if you ask me, top quality stuff here.
Serpentor Up Close and Printed
Up close, you can see the typical lines left by the 3D printer, but it really is a smooth figure when you feel it. The details are very finely done.
Hooded Cobra Commander
The Cobra Commander bust is a bit smaller and is resting on a small round pedestal. The colors here are sublime!
Cobra Commander Stare contest
Here as well, on the image you can see the lines, but in person, the statue is smooth and looks stunning.
The artist’s signature
If you’re interested in getting one for yourself or maybe you’ll find other prints you like, go and check out the artist’s Instagram page over on www.instagram.com/Frenchy3D. There are a lot of Comic Book figures, movie characters, a Nike shoe, Funko Pop logo, … hundreds of very cool prints.
That’s all for now. See you again soon, until then… Happy Collecting and YoJoe!
Today the mailman came to my door again with a lovely package from Hasbro. This time around I received the Cobra H.I.S.S. Techno Viper with the H.M.S.
The box
The Techno-Viper comes in the H.I.S.S. tank color scheme and has several accessories, like a backpack, handgun, rifle and a remote control for the HM of the HMS. The HMS has 3 big missiles, legs that can be raised so it can be towed by the H.I.S.S. and a wheel on the back so it can be turned more easily.
The back of the box
Everywhere on the box, the new Cobra H.I.S.S. logo is featured prominently. I have to say that I do like it. It’s simple, but elegant and reflects the H.I.S.S. tank in the shape of the Cobra depicted. The art on the side of the box shows the Techno-Viper close-up and is – as with all the art of the Classified Series really – stunningly beautiful. Let’s hope somebody will be collecting these masterpieces into a little book someday – here’s looking at you 3DJoes :-)!
The side art and 111 number
Also on the box is the Semper Fidelis Serpent emblem. This one is not really printed on, it’s more of an embossed print, it pops up from the cardboard. Not sure if you can see it in the picture, but if you have felt it yourself, you know what I’m talking about.
Semper Fidelis Serpens
That’s all for now. See you back soon with new updates on the collection. Until then… Happy Collecting and YoJoe! (Or Hail Cobra! Or Semper Fidelis Serpens!)
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