G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero

[anarky]

IDW's supposed to be reprinting the original series soon (again), this time in proper reading order. But the current reprint volumes will be done soon (and I think they'll still be in print, as the upcoming reprint series is hardcover and these are paperbacks).

There's another Amazon 4-pack for Renegades with Storm Shadow, Duke, Snake Eyes, and some made-up Ninja Viper (I say as it they're not all made-up, but this guy has no basis in the toon that I can remember). The Ninja Viper is a repaint of Storm Shadow, and I'm apparently one of three people on Earth who found Storm Shadow. Duke and Snake Eyes look like the same-old, same-old.

I figure that, if the pricing is reasonable, I'll get both. Then I won't need to get the other Retaliation figures individually, and will have extra Renegades Duke, Storm Shadow, and Snake Eyes for trade or customs.

BTW, if you want either, let me know. I've got Prime, so I get free shipping, if you don't mind waiting until my next Vegas trip for them.

[Ran]

Let me know when the comic comes out.

I think some of the ninjas from the movie line are based off that Renegades Stormshadow. Its hard to believe how hard it was to find a couple of those waves. Luckily I had no intention of getting that Stormshadow. I've passed on all of those other Renegades figures. I'm trying to keep my collection somewhat streamlined by not getting every version of every character.

[anarky]

I love troop-building Cobras and ninjas. I have several Storm Shadows that I don't actually use as Storm Shadow. If I ever get a nice display set up, I want to have a scene of Scarlett, Snake Eyes, and Storm Shadow (as a Joe) throwing down against a fuckton of ninjas (led by Firefly and Zartan).

And I'll admit, I've got quite a few figures for custom fodder without actually knowing what for. Especially ROC Cover Girl, Baroness, and Scarlett, simply because female figures are normally so few and far between.

Looks like October 2 for the first volume of the "Complete Collection," with fifteen total planned. Of course, there's no confirmation that GIJoe & The Transformers will be included; it's shitty as hell, but unfortunately sort of a prerequisite for a few issues around #130. Actually, scratch that. All you would need to know is that the Joes have some idea of what Transformers are and they blew up Bumblebee on accident prior to rebuilding him (as, you know, a favor for accidentally killing him) into Goldbug.

The paperbacks are actually cheaper unless you pay full price (fifteen volumes for the main series, four Special Missions, and one Yearbook). I've seen several of the older ones remaindered for half price or less at a Crown Books store in San Diego, but, unfortunately, it's one I don't get to often. If you want, I can check next time I'm in the area.

[Ran]

Dang. Comic books are expensive. I didn't know Crown Books was still in business. There used to be one in Riverside. I'll take the further discussion of this into the comic section. Come to think of it, I might have a GI Joe vs. Transformers book at my parent's house. Next time I'm there, I am going to grab that box and the box of Legos. The box of comics probably has some of my brother's comics in there, too. The Legos are a mix of mine and both of my brothers, so the sets span the late 70s to mid 90s.

I wish I got into collecting GI Joe slightly sooner than I did so I could have picked up a few more 25th and ROC figures. Buzzer being one, not to mentioin TRU Benchpress and Firefly. My daughter wants to play with the female figures, and she's limited to what I have, which are 3 Scarlets, Dialtone from the TRU 5-pack, Lady Jaye from the DVD pack, and the ROC Baroness.

I went through my Cobra bin today. Could have sworn I bought 2 Shock Troopers. Guess I was wrong. Also, I have 3 POC Alley Vipers, but I thought I only had 2. I also couldn't find the helmet to my Corba RPG trooper. I'm going to check to see if it ended up in my other bin later. If it isn't in there, I'll be glad you talked me into buying that Cobra Air Trooper so I have an extra helmet.

[anarky]

Crown Books isn't the original. Someone bought the name, and it's a closeout store. They only have one location in SoCal (maybe California, period), and it moves periodically. In the time I've lived here, it's been in Moreno Valley, then Temecula, then the Tyler area of Riverside, and currently (at least last time I checked) in the old Borders in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego. (Not sure how many other locations it's had in between those; that's just the ones I've actually seen.) It seems that they get some "new" clearance books every so often, but mostly keep moving the same clearance crap no one wants from place to place, hoping someone in the new city might want something like a handbook on picking a dial-up modem for your TRS-80 (sadly, no joke).

[Ran]

Looks like there are a bunch. Two of them are near my parent's house. http://www.crown-books.com/locations/

[anarky]

Interesting point at HisStank I hadn't considered: the Cobra Commander VI figure is using the Crimson Guard body in black.

The Python Crimson Guard figure has a black helmet with a silver mask. It looks like he's still available relatively cheap, since, well, who wants a friggin' yellow Siegie?

Use the CC body and PCG head and voila! Instant "Shadow Guard" figure with no painting required. Such a character hasn't appeared before in anything, to my knowledge... except a cardback shown at a convention a few years ago, for a figure that never materialized.

Edit: Take that back. The Shadow Guard did actually appear in Valor vs Venom, not that that line counts for much.

[anarky]

And... fuck.

Looking for:
maybe Snake Eyes IV (blue)
Duke (both color schemes, not losing any sleep if I miss either)
Shipwreck (same as above)
Storm Shadow III (black and white)
Storm Shadow repaint (T'gin-Zu)
Cobra Commander VI (black)
both Cobra Troopers (as many as possible)

One per case, shitty distribution to stores I don't go to ofte, figures people want. This is going to be a bitch.

[Ran]

Cool mini-Soundwave at the very bottom. I'll probably get most of them except for the blue Cobra Commander. Might get 2 or 3 black Cobra troopers.

Where and when are these things supposed to be showing up?

[anarky]

Likely summer, likely discount stores (Dollar General, Family Dollar, and maybe Big Lots). No one knows.

I don't believe there are any Dollar Generals here. One Family Dollar is being built in the next town over; I'm assuming it won't be open before these hit. I've already started hitting Big Lots, since no one knows; I could be the first to find them and they wind up being impossible to find, who knows?

I'm guessing any that don't sell will end up at the Marshalls family of stores and/or Ross like the discount VvV figures that didn't sell. Trouble is, I see all of these, or at least all the desirable ones, selling like hotcakes during an Ethiopian famine.

[Ran]

A bunch of Dollar Generals opened here over the past year.

Was the guy in the picture with Soundwave named the same guy you posted in the Comic thread?

[anarky]

Yes, indeed. Kwinn the Eskimo (never let it be said that Hama doesn't have a corny sense of humor), who was supposed to come out earlier this year but probably never will. He has two different outfits in the comic; this is the second one (obviously not in a story set in the Arctic, which is why an Eskimo is wearing shorts).

Soundwave is from this years Comic-Con exclusive, so chances are no one but scalpers will ever get one.

[Ran]

Someone on Hisstank suggested using the Avengers Black Widow as Cover Girl. I might end up getting it.

[anarky]

Hmm, can't delete my double post? Any of you worthless cartoon characters wanna help a brother out?

[anarky]

That's a nice-looking figure. Any idea how it compares scale-wise to the Joes? If nothing else, slapping a Cobra logo on her would be awesome.

Of course, it looks like an official Hasbro photo, so the real thing probably is shit.