Dr. Mindbender Gets His Fix

So after receiving my Defense Of Cobra Island seven-pack, I wanted to "fix" the straps on Dr. Mindbender. When you first remove him from the package, the straps curve inward and even look to be one piece on some of the figures. I've seen people mention heating them up and all kinds of things, but the solution is much simpler than that.


Okay, see how the belt of his harness sits above the sculpted belt on the figure's waist? Just pull the removable belt down over the sculpted one, and the straps will straighten themselves out quite well. It's a snug fit, but work it from both sides and you'll get it. That's all there is to it.


And as great as Dr. Mindbender, Night Creeper, and Alley Viper are, the real sleeper hit from this set is Range Viper. I liked the original ARAH version as a kid, and all, but I love this update. I thought it looked good when I saw him online, but having him in my hands made all the difference in the world. This is a great figure, one of the best Cobra Trooper builders in the line.

Sign Here, Please: Rod Whigham

Up next for me on Friday was Rod Whigham, artist on issues 31, 34-36, and 38-56 of Marvel Comics' 1980s G.I. JOE title. This was a great period for the book, and Mr. Whigham's art was a big influence on my ideas of what the property should be. While chatting with him, he mentioned wishing he'd done a better job with these books, but I loved every panel of every page. In fact, my display of loose 25th Anniversary/Modern Era G.I. JOE figures is going to consist mostly of a large diorama inspired by his artwork and Larry Hama's stories. I took a couple of my favorite issues, #45 and #46, to HeroesCon to have him sign.




It was a real treat to meet Mr. Whigham after so many years of enjoying his contributions to the G.I. JOE universe, especially when he was so friendly and outgoing with his fans.

Sign Here, Please: Rod Whigham

Sign Here, Please: Michael Golden

Looking back to the earlier days of G.I. JOE comics, my next stop was at the table of Michael Golden, artist of the legendary G.I. JOE Yearbook #2 cover. My best friend had given me a copy of that book, so I took it with me to have it signed:


Mr. Golden was very friendly, and he took the time to discuss his upcoming project, a rerelease of Yearbook #2 for IDW. He's already redone the cover, and he's adding several pages of artwork to the story. Hearing him talk about it made me want to see it right away, but he said to expect a late 2009 or early 2010 release. Mr. Golden also had prints available for sale, including this Cobra print which I absolutely had to buy:


As you can see, most of my Friday was spent collecting artwork and signatures on books. I'll have another classic G.I. JOE artist for my next entry.

Sign Here, Please: Michael Golden

Sign Here, Please: Tom Feister

Next on my list to track down at HeroesCon 2009 was Tom Feister, one of the artists on IDW's G.I. JOE: Origins, written by Larry Hama. He also worked on DDP's G.I. JOE: Frontline earlier this decade. Of all the writers and artists I've met from the comic industry, this was one of the coolest, friendliest guys of the bunch. And not only is his artwork fantastic, but he has a real familiarity with the original Marvel title, and a great Larry Hama story to go along with it. In addition to talking JOE, he really dug Jennifer's Question plush, which she was carrying around in her bag on Friday. In fact, he sent us over to Cully Hamner's table so she could show it to him. He was equally impressed with her Etrigan plush and Rorschach plush, which she had on Saturday and Sunday respectively. We really enjoyed meeting and talking with him, and I hope he makes it back to Charlotte next year.

I took my copy of Origins #1 with the Tom Feister cover to the convention center on Friday:


I also had to pick up one of the prints he had for sale, and it wasn't difficult to choose this one, featuring Snake-Eyes from the cover of G.I. JOE: Origins #5. I mean, it's Snake-Eyes.


Like I said, I hope to see him again at next year's convention.

Sign Here, Please: Tom Feister

Sign Here, Please: Jeremy Dale

With so many people who've contributed to G.I. JOE comics over the years at HeroesCon 2009, I had a stash of books to get signed. The first artist I located Friday morning was Jeremy Dale, artist on six of the twelve books that were included in the 25th Anniversary comic two-packs. There are no credits in the books, which were written by Larry Hama, but he recently posted a list of which ones he drew here. I was armed with issue #36½ (featuring Tomax and Xamot) and issue #7 (featuring Destro, Baroness, and Iron Grenadiers).




Not only was Mr. Dale kind enough to sign those books (and seemingly surprised that they were in as good condition as they are), but he also had G.I. JOE prints for sale. How could I resist? The guy's artwork is fantastic, so I had to add these to my collection.




Jeremy Dale is currently offering original artwork from his G.I. JOE comics, so be sure to check out his site.

Sign Here, Please: Jeremy Dale