A G.I. JOE Collecting Update

First of all, I ordered from CobraStickers.com for the first time at the end of May, and the decals arrived on Saturday. I didn't get time to mess with them until Tuesday night, but what a difference they made on the Target Rattlers. I didn't replace all of the Hasbro decals, but using these for everything on the bombs and the black decal at the nose made them look so much better. I got some The Rise Of Cobra JOE symbol decals for my aircraft, too. I really like the logo, and I already had it on the Dragonhawk and several other things from the movie line. Got a couple of sheets of Cobra sigils, some M.A.R.S. logos, and some Dreadnoks symbols, too. While it has no danger of being as addictive as Marauder, I have no doubt that I'll order from them again. I absolutely recommend giving their products a try if you have such a need (especially since they're pre-cut, which was a huge plus for me). I'll be adding a link to their site here on the blog.

Secondly, I finally scored some $3 25th Anniversary G.I. JOE figures at a couple of Family Dollar stores. Two B.A.T.s, an armored Cobra Commander, Wraith, and a Snow Serpent for $15 isn't a bad deal at all. I'm still hoping to find some Cobra Divers and Ninja Vipers at that price, but I'm not complaining.

And third, I took all of two photos at HeroesCon, and they were basically two photos of the same thing. Terrible, I know, but I do have photos of all the G.I. JOE books I got signed at the convention.


G.I. JOE Origins signed by Tom Feister (all three) & Merrill Hagan (#15 with Snow Job)


G.I. JOE (Hasbro) signed by Jeremy Dale


G.I. JOE: Cobra #1 and G.I. JOE: Cobra II #1 signed by Christos Gage


G.I. JOE (IDW) #0 & #6 signed by Robert Atkins


G.I. JOE and the Transformers #1 signed by Herb Trimpe

Now if only I could get a few books signed by Mike Zeck, I'd have autographs of all the best of the best from G.I. JOE comics in my collection. I'll post photos of all the non-JOE books I got signed next time, followed by some of the superb art I bought this year.

HeroesCon 2010: G.I. JOE Roll Call

I did this last year, and I figured I would do it again for anyone planning to attend HeroesCon 2010, our local convention here in Charlotte. Some of the bigger guests include Mark Bagley, Cliff Chiang, Frank Cho, Tommy Lee Edwards, Cully Hamner, Adam Hughes, Steve Niles, Tim Sale, Ben Templesmith, Ethan Van Sciver, and Hellboy creator Mike Mignola.

Superheroes dominate the scene, but for G.I. JOE fans, here's some of the talent associated with the property over the years:

• Robert Atkins - Artist on IDW's 2009 G.I. JOE reboot.
• Jeremy Dale - Artist on several of the comics released in 25th Anniversary two-packs.
• Marc Deering - Inker on G.I. JOE: Snake-Eyes.
• Tom Feister - Cover artist on IDW's G.I. JOE Origins.
• Christos Gage - Cowriter of G.I. JOE: Cobra.
• S.L. Gallant - Artist on IDW's G.I. JOE and the movie prequel books.
• Michael Golden - Artist behind the incredible cover of G.I. JOE Yearbook #2 (which he signed for me last year).
• Merrill Hagan - Writer on IDW's G.I. JOE Origins.
• Rick Ketcham - Inker on IDW's G.I. JOE.
• Eric Layton - Inker in DDP run.
• Chris Stevens - Artist on G.I. JOE: Master & Apprentice II.
• Rod Whigham - Artist on about two dozen issues of Marvel's G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero.
• David Wohl - Editor on several of the later issues in Marvel's G.I. JOE: A Real American Hero.
• John 'Waki' Wycough - Inker on IDW's G.I. JOE.

Unlike last year, it doesn't look like any of the larger publishers are going to have much of a presence this time. Check out the complete HeroesCon guest list, and get ready to enjoy one of the best weekends Charlotte has to offer all year.

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