G.I. Joe News 2012 Edition

[truedeadman]

Via generaljoes.com:


Since yesterday the G.I. Joe fandom has been buzzing about the rumor that IDW is “streamlining” their G.I. Joe comic releases, and one Twitter use ComixAce even mentioned the fact that they would be trimming down to a single title.

Obviously lots of concern was immediately voiced, specifically about G.I. Joe: Cobra, which many fans consider the best of the current running comics, to say nothing about its ties to G.I. Joe. Cobra writer Mike Costa has evidently heard the concern, and voiced some reassurances via his Twitter page:

“Everyone’s concern has really been a huge compliment to me, but I want to assuage your fears: I am not leaving the Joe franchise”
What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? Seems pretty unlikely that the Cobra title would remain the only G.I. Joe themed comic that IDW does, so my first guess is that this issue has been somewhat overblown.

While there is no doubt that some streamlining is likely taking place, my guess is that it’s not as serious as some folks are making it out to be. Time will tell, and hopefully we’ll get some sort of formal announcement at C2E2.

UPDATE – Thanks to Troynos from the ComixVerse who reached out to John Barber and got even better clarification about IDW’s statements. Check them out here, and also quoted below.

“I think Dirk (Wood, IDW’s VP Of Marketing) was actually talking in vaguer terms than any concrete plan; the basic gist is that we’re aware that (in general terms) there are a lot of groups of titles from a lot of publishers where there are a LOT of titles (like Avengers or X-Men or whatever). We’re aware of overburdening the market with a lot of anything–Joe, Turtles, X-Men, anything, no matter how popular–can have an overall negative effect on sales. Plus, I’ve got to admit that the GI JOE trade paperback numbering and the several-times renumbering of series like Cobra over the years is pretty confusing… and we’re trying to not be confusing going forward. What exactly that means, we’re not sure (other than I don’t want to have a GI JOE: COBRA: COBRA CIVIL WAR: VOL 2 and a GI JOE: COBRA CIVIL WAR: VOL 2 book and have them be different books…). But it’s not really any paring back on anything. It was more about assuring retailers we’re not going to flood the market with confusing material. We had a month or two with the movie-tie-in series plus some specials where there was a TON of Joe comics out the same month; we’ll try to spread the wealth more over a longer period of time.
So there’s still going to be plenty of GI Joe; D&D has never had more than one ongoing and a limited series; Magic’s never been more than one series at a time.”
Big props to Troy for reaching out and getting clarification. Glad to hear this was misinterpreted.

[starjoesryan]

And now everyone can breathe a sigh of relief. Thanks for the info, Truedeadman.

[Grubbzilla]

I'm glad they've realized how confusing they have their trades numbered. I have a hard time figuring out the time line between the 3 series and what comes before what. Makes me glad that now I don't feel like a total idiot since I only buy the trades.

[jt3fan]

Hope this turns out to be the case.

If a lot of the concern at IDW is sheer volume of titles and confusing folks, that's on them for creating the problem. Having trades of all the various ongoings could be overwhelming, and then you add their RAH trades into "Classic" Joe, I get it.

As I've thought about this the last few days, I'm OK with them going down to one IDWverse book and RAH. If it creates better writing and more consistent quality art, then go for it. A friend of mine not on the forums commented to me the other day that he doesn't feel like the Dixon stuff is "Joe" anymore. With all the characters he's added only to kill off, I understand where he's coming from.

Regardless of what happens, I'm glad I jumped back on the ride in the last few years. I also appreciate shows like Star Joes and DC Noise (any of Darrell's other shows, too) opening me up to try a few other books. Some have stuck (The Activity, you really should read this if you have any interest in Joe at all), some haven't.

Looking forward to see what happens next...

[starjoesryan]

[jt3fan]

[the chuck]

G.I.Joe Retaliation Cobra Commander Variant Figure?!?

What appears to be a variant of some kind for Hasbro's upcoming 3.75" G.I.Joe: Retaliation Cobra Commander figure has shown up on eBay. This variant appears to be all black. It is unknown if this will be some kind of running change of the wave one Blue Cobra Commander or simply be a new figure offered down the road. The eBay auction shows the figure still coming with a blue Cobra staff which would lend one to think it might be a running change, but that is not confirmed in any way. For now check out the image below and as we learn more we will be sure to pass on the information to you.

http://toynewsi.com/news.php?catid=9&itemid=18554

[starjoesryan]

[the chuck]

[the chuck]

Amazon.com G.I.Joe Renegades & Retaliation Box Sets Revealed

GeneralsJoes has scored some images of what appears to be Amazon.com exclusive G.I.Joe Renegades and Retaliation box sets. The Retaliation set will include figures of Cobra Commander, Duke, Roadblock and Snake Eyes. This has been said to be some kind of preview or early bird pack for Retaliation even though Retaliation toys are already being reported as showing up at retail outlets. The Cobra Commander pictured on the box is wearing all black as seen in the movie, so it's possible this is where the variant Cobra Commander we showed you last week might show up.

The Renegades set will include re-issues of Storm Shadow, Duke, Snake-Eyes and a new Cobra Red Ninja. These are based on the now defunct Renegades animated series. Check out boxed images below. No specific release dates have been announced for either set.

here is the link with the images: http://toynewsi.com/news.php?catid=9&itemid=18580

[jt3fan]

ARAH, Special Missions, and Yearbooks put in hardcover in reading order? Holy crap!

http://www.amazon.com/G-I-JOE-Complete- ... 039&sr=1-1

[truedeadman]

[truedeadman]

[the chuck]

[Sandman]

[jt3fan]

[jt3fan]

[the chuck]

[starjoesryan]

[starjoesryan]