About this Site: My Vision of G.I. Joe
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The first time I saw G.I. Joe, I was in childhood heaven; here was an action adventure toy that was made for me---an action figure to fulfill all the endeavors my imagination could create, a toy that I could play with either alone or with a friend, a Real American Hero that could put my sister's Barbies to shame (numerous were the times that the Joes attacked Barbie's dreamhouse, much to my sister's chagrin.....Yo Joe!)The first time I saw a commercial for the G.I. Joe comic series, I was in awe--not only could I play out the adventures of a Real American Hero, but I could also now read about them. Soon after my introduction to the comics, I discovered the G.I. Joe cartoon; I was hooked.
This site is an extension of my, and hopefully your, fond childhood memories of G.I. Joe. The website consists largely of Joe and Cobra bios, created and compounded from information found on the character's packaging cards. The exact continuity of these bios are unimportant to me; I'd rather have fun compiling them and hope people enjoy reading them than try to carefully merge the events of the comics with those of the cartoon into some kind of comprehensive history (as a rule of thumb, I personally discount all the StarBrigade/Cobra-La/Eco-Warrior crap and stick to the traditional Elite Special Missions Force/Covert Terrorist Organization outlook---sorry if this offends anyone.) If you have any questions or comments about these bios, please contact me. Also please take a moment to check out my wish list to see what cards I am looking for, as well as request write-ups for you favorite characters.
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When we were kids, we made ourselves a promise. We told ourselves that we would never grow up, never let go of the things that were important to us (action figures, ice cream, and Saturday morning cartoons), and never, EVER get caught up in the day-in, day-out world our parents existed in. The older we get, however, the further these promises seem. Action figures give way to taxes; cartoons are lost to the daily problems displayed on the evening news; ice cream gives way to fat-free anything....have to watch the cholesterol, after all. In short, we find ourselves grasping for a past that too often becomes lost in the shuffle.While growing up, one of my favorite things in the whole world was G.I. Joe. I loved the action figure line; I still have many fond memories of my friends and me playing for hours upon hours in mock combat battles that no one truly died in (too bad such is not the case for real wars.) I was the proud owner of numerous action figures, although, like any other kid, I had my favorites. I was also lucky enough to have a number of the vehicles, including some of the playsets.....I like to think of myself as "privileged," not spoiled by my parents. A friend once told me that he enjoyed coming to my house because I had all the neat G.I. Joe toys, which means a lot to a kid going through all the normal awkwardness of adolescence.
I also have many good memories of the Marvel comic book; I have been an avid comic book fan for as long as I can remember (while other kids were sitting on their parent's lap listening to Curious George, my mom was reading me Batman), so it stands to reason that my love for Joe toys and comics would eventually meet. G.I. Joe was the first comic book I ever subscribed to, which says volumes about by fondness for it. As with the toys, I also had my all-time favorite G.I. Joe comic stories, as well as my favorite covers. Even to this day I can remember the details of reading the final issue, #155, of the series.....the odd twist in my stomach as my eyes wandered across the final pages, the sound of the Atlantic in the background and the cool ocean breeze blowing across my face.....it's almost funny to think that reading that story was one of the most memorable things from that particular summer vacation trip.
And, of course, there were the cartoons. The shows were a great mix of action, light humor, and wonderful characterization; in retrospect, these elements and the level of animation made it one of the most revolutionary cartoons of its time. My all time favorite episodes were the multipart mini-series. When the first mini-series came out, I used to wake up at 6 am on Saturdays to watch it. A couple years later, I could view the other mini-series and the ongoing series weekdays in a time nestled conveniently between my after-school snack and dinner. I think that I could hear the theme song some nights in my dreams.
While looking back at my fondness for G.I Joe, I am once again reminded of the promise I made to myself back then, and I find myself smiling as I carefully revise it. Time must march on--people should not find themselves forever caught up in a day when things were simpler--yet it is still good to hold onto a bit of your childhood as you grow up. It is for this reason that I hope for the return of my favorite Real American Heroes to television and that I scan the toy department shelves for a piece of yesterday. Is this issue as important as saving the environment or fighting poverty? Of course not.....but we all must do whatever we can for those things that matter in our life, whether they be great or small.
Given time and resources, I hope to expand my current listing of Joe and Cobra biographies. Which biographies get created next are based in part from survey results and from input by visitors to this site. If you have a particular Joe or Cobra you would like to see a bio on, e-mail me at: [email protected]; please put "Wish List" in the subject heading.
Below is a listing of cards and pictures that I'm looking for. If you have any of the packaging cards from the following characters, or good, high quality stills from the cartoon or scans from the comic, please contact me at: [email protected]. My apologies if I don't use some pictures. Thanks to everyone for their contributions.
File cards needed
1993Roadblock
Wet-SuitJoe drivers/pilots/mail-in's:
Deep Six
General Hawk
1994
Joes:Beach HeadPictures needed
Big BoaCroc Master
Crystal Ball
Raptor
Airborne
Dial Tone
Doc
Falcon
Flash
Footloose
Frostbite
Grand Slam
Iceberg
Leatherneck
Lifeline
Lowlight
Mainframe
Muskrat
Quick Kick
Rip Cord
Sci-fi
Short-Fuze
Thunder
Toll Booth
Tripwire
Wet Suit
Zap
I'm also hoping to add more materials to the Joe and Cobra Headquarters sections. If anyone has high quality scans of the blue prints for or other images of the following, please contact me at: [email protected]
U.S.S. Flagg
Tactical Battle Platform
Terrordrome
Defiant Space Shuttle Launch
Mobile Command Center
1992 G.I. Joe Headquarters
Please keep in mind that I need rather large images to then crop and use for my purposes.
I feel prompted to apologize in some sort of way for this website--not for its subject matter, but for the novice of its webmaster. This is the first website I have ever created, and I fear that it shows. Like anything else, I hope to learn more as I go along and to improve the quality of this site; until that time, I hope that the thoroughness and care that has gone into the bios more than makes up for the overall layout of the material. Please read the disclaimer for more information.