June 2021 – European Joe's

Under the dome

As with so many of the G.I. Joe news, this was first brought to my attention through The Full Force Fancast. I’ve always been a sucker for everything Joe related, especially the products that are Joe, but not really the toys we know and love. It was no big surprise that I had to add these Jazwares Domez to my ever-growing collection. I can’t seem to find them on their website though, an update should soon come online hopefully.

They have been out for a while now, originally sold as blind bag collectibles. but recently they released this boxed Series 1 set that contains 4 Domez figures: Duke, Snake-Eyes, Cobra Commander & Storm Shadow.

They really do look like Christmas tree decorations. Maybe I should have a themed tree this year? 2021 has certainly given us a lot of G.I. Joe and Cobra news.

The art used on the box is the original card and comic book art of 1982. Needless to say that was a very good choice. Almost 40 years later and it still looks as awesome as then.

Cobra Commander is on the right side (for once)

I’m really happy that I was able to find them and get them safely across the Atlantic. Let’s hope the other ones will be equally easy to find.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

#21 RAW B&W

If you’re wondering what the numbers and letters in the title are all about, keep on reading because I’ve found something really cool a while back.

See, there’s this French company called Original Comics and – aside from the regular imported (and translated stuff) – they have a series of hardcover books, European Comic Book size, of famous comics, but just in Black & White, the RAW series. The book is has a limited print run of only 250 copies.

On the front, we get Snake Eyes climbing down the large Cobra statue. Not a lot of detail on this drawing, but still a very powerful cover.

On the back, the series red banner with all the necessary information. The retail price for one of these is €29, so quite pricey, but the quality is there to warrant this pricepoint.

The introduction of Storm Shadow and the Arashikage I Ching.

The inside of the comic book, is the #21 story as we all know it, just in Black & White. The art really pops out. Below is one of my favorite pieces, the look on Scarlett’s face when she’s dumped in the pit by Storm Shadow.

Upon re-reading (well, there’s not a lot of text in this comic, can you call it reading?), I realized that while it’s all good for the story, Scarlett escaped on her own. She even had to come back to save Snake Eyes from being hit by Storm Shadow’s sword. Although, Snake Eyes does end up saving her then. It goes to show that Larry wrote the female Joes as strong and independent women who could fight their own battles. This was back in the 80’s! This comic book – and the whole series – is truly evolutionary in more than one way.

That’s it for now. Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

Something completely different

Occasionally, I come across something special related to G.I. Joe. It could be a vinyl record (see here and here), the Larry Hama 3.75″ figure (see here) or the Knockaround sunglasses (see here and here). This time around though, I found a collectible figure of Scarlett, more like a statue than an actual action figure.

The box itself doesn’t quite give away how the figure looks like, but you can see that it will be different from the action figures we all know and love. Let’s open the box and see just how she looks!

Dressed in her iconic yellow and grey, the figure does immediately pop out for other reasons. The big eyes and head, the muscular thighs and the very small feet. This really does look like an anime figure from Japan more than a Real American Hero. The figure is fixed on a black base (the small feet wouldn’t support her otherwise) depicting the classic G.I. Joe logo.

The figure is nicely detailed with her throwing stars on her left sleeve, a knife in a side pouch, zippers on the suit, pockets on her other leg and a slingshot on her buttocks. I had to take a close-up of that.

Another nice detail is in her right hand, the classic Scarlett crossbow. As accurate as ever with her shots, though she is playing Cupid in this instance…

That’s it for now. I hope to be back soon with more exciting additions to the collection.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

The very next day

As I was writing the previous post (the next day), the bell rang again and the mailman delivered the Classified Major Bludd figure. I honestly didn’t think I could have gotten that one easily, but here goes to show that you shouldn’t lose faith and never stop hoping.

Once again, the art on this box is awesome. Check out some close-ups below. During last Friday’s YoJoe June Fan Friday event, they told us who the artist behind these pieces of art are. Karl Kopinski. Check out his website for more of his awesome art.

While we’re on the topic of the YoJoe June Fan Friday event, I really enjoyed it. Sure, we’re getting another Snake-Eyes, but he comes with Timber this time around! And yes, there is the 4th (yes, the FOURTH) edition of Roadblock in the Classified series, but he does look the coolest of them all. They announced Breaker and the R.A.M. Definitely not a deal-breaker. I already have put in my pre-order for the Heavy Artillery Roadblock figure over on Amazon. I’m hopeful that I will be able to get the other figures as well. I really think the issues we have seen have been a wake-up call for Hasbro and I personally hope that we will be seeing higher production numbers and sales figures.

That’s it for now. Happy Collecting and YoJoe!

The mailman rang just once

I was quick to open the door, knowing what he was bringing for me. I was expecting my Classified Flint and Lady Jaye pre-orders and Duke, Cobra Commander and Lady Jaye from the Retro Line.

Let’s start with the Classified figures of Flint and Lady Jaye. I really like how Lady Jaye turned out. You’ve probably seen enough pictures of the figure by now, so I’m just going to post some shots of the artwork (did I mention how amazing the art from the Classified Series is?).

Moving on to the retro line figures, I’ll start with Lady Jaye. I’m not a huge fan of the art, I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something is off there. The head sculpt though is looking really good.

Moving on to Cobra Commander. Not much to say here, he’s donned in his old school battle helmet and Cobra Blue uniform. Always has been a very good look and it is done really well here again.

One honorable mention should go to the Commander’s gun. It really does look like his original gun. Nice touch!

And then finally, we have the Joes’ Top Sergeant, Duke. The card art is cool, the figure is something nightmares are made off.

That’s all for now, but I’ll be back very soon with another update. Stay tuned.

Happy Collecting and YoJoe!