Before Cesspool became the lead villain for Cobra’s half of the 1991 Eco-Warriors subset, Kurt Groen pitched this unnamed character, a pirate oil baron.
I’m not sure what he’s dropping, something with a Joe logo — a pouch? Spirit’s ponytail? Later, when Groen colored this, he added a backpack with an oil-shooting weapon, looking ahead to the water-squirting weapons that each Eco-Warrior came packaged with.
Filed under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
In 1988 Hasbro released a stunning G.I. Joe figure called Hit & Run. Here’s a not-professional photo by me for context.
No flesh tone, just green and black camo all over — his hands, his face, and his clothing. Fun fact: Hit & Run is [EDIT: one of] the only Joe[s] with whites-of-his-eyes. All other figures 1982-1994 are flesh tone plastic with a paint detail in black, brown, blonde, or red for eyebrows and retina. [EDIT: Two others have whites-of-eyes].
Here’s his turnaround, drawn by Mark Pennington, with machine gun, duffle bag (taking the place of a backpack), and accessories.
Many Joe fans know that Real American Hero ended in 1994, and the planned 1995 line was scrapped, although images of package artwork and product samples have circulated. Did you know Hit & Run was destined, in a way, for a return?
Indeed! According to this memo from Greg Berndtson, Hit & Run, whose figure was never recolored or re-released, was going to be re-used for the ’95 line as the Stealth Tank Driver! REVELATION. Here’s his turnaround.
You’ll note it’s just a photocopy of Hit & Run’s, although a few specs have changed, which I have highlighted for clarity. This looks to be early enough in the process that our new tank driver doesn’t yet have a codename, or if he does, as of June ’94 that’s happening in Marketing and Legal and the R&D guys don’t have the final name.
So what would he have looked like? Kurt Groen’s breakdown tells us, even if it doesn’t show us:
Using these codes as a guide, I’ve taken the liberty of coloring that sculpt input myself. So here for the first time ever is what the unnamed Phantom X5-3 Stealth Tank driver would have looked like:
I’ve taken a small liberty here. For clarity I used a dark grey rather than black, and I’m approximating “LT YELLOW GRN.” “IVY,” as well, but that’s less up to guessing. After the sidetracks and excesses of ’91 – ’93, the ’94 line was getting back to basics and ’95 would have only continued the trend. That it never happened has always been a little sad, although the Real American Hero line certainly surpassed all expectations by lasting twelve years. I hope you’ve enjoy this look behind the curtain at what may have been.
Fun fact: Hit & Run is the only Joe [EDIT: one of only two] with an ampersand in his name that doesn’t denote an animal companion. Law & Order was Law, the MP, and his K-9, Order. Spearhead and Max is the point man named Spearhead and his bobcat, Max. Well, that’s the word “and” rather than an ampersand, but you get my drift. Hit & Run is this guy’s whole name, ampersand-ed idiom and all.
[EDIT: Thanks to Tolan, who caught my two errors, as noted in the comments below. -Tim]
Filed under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
…And we’re back. Sorry for the radio silence. Thanks to visitors who keep clicking over here.
Today’s post features Zartan’s swamp skier, the Chameleon. No one ever called it by name in the TV show, and offhand I don’t recall it appearing in the comic, though if it did, it would have been around issue #25, and I don’t think anyone called it by name. Here’s Wayne Luther’s design art for it, dated September 13, 1983.
Here also is a photocopy of a photocopy of an early sample of the Chameleon. That figure looks like the HISS Driver, but I’m unsure.
Why the HISS Driver, you ask? This photo must predate any production samples of Zartan back from China, and likely any handmade samples, so for reference, any figure was placed on the vehicle. HISS Driver debuted a year before Zartan, so one was on hand. (Or whoever it is.) These photos were sent to the TV producers, writers, and artists, and probably also the Marvel offices for comic book reference.
The water cannon was used in episode #6 of G.I. Joe, but I don’t recall ever “using” it when I played with my G.I. Joe action figures. As the Chameleon was not a robust construction, and was always falling apart, I stopped including it in my G.I. Joe games soon after getting it.
There were two TV ads for Zartan and the Chameleon. One for issue #25, all animation. Here’s the toy one, which uses some of that animation:
Filed under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
Having a ninja commando on the team was just the start. In 1988, G.I. Joe got a real-life samurai in the form of Budo. Here’s his action figure sculpt input sheet.
Figure art, above, by George Woodbridge. Accessory art, below, by Mark Pennington.
Filed under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
In the 1980s Sunbow Productions, based in New York but with an office in Los Angeles, oversaw production of the animated G.I. Joe cartoon. Because the show was so intensive — dozens of characters, props, vehicles, and locations, the show bible and “briefing books” were by necessity large three-ring binders filled with photocopies of model sheets, sample dialogue, photos of toys, and lists of names. All in an effort to properly and correctly feature and advertise Hasbro’s product. Today’s post is two photocopies of memos to the west coast producers and story editors, likely from Terri Gruskin in NY.
You may find posts like this — without artwork, or imagery of characters or people — to be dry. But I find such documents fascinating. In this case because it’s a reminder that the whole process was a series of revisions and rolling changes. And even though the memo is unsigned, it’s a concrete document showing a decision being made, and representing the dissemination of that decision.
Also, mid ’84 appears to be when Tomax and Xamot’s names were finalized. (Without Hasbro documents it would be unfair to call this definitive, but presumably there wasn’t a lag between the decision in Pawtucket and the directive in Los Angeles.) It’s notable that the TV ad for Marvel Comics’ G.I. Joe issue #37 (printed in spring 1985, but the ad was in the works 6 to 12 months prior) refers to them only as “evil twin brothers,” so their names were in flux while (presumably) Legal cleared them.
Filed under Animation, G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes
Not much to say about this, except that it hangs on my wall and is a wonderful piece by Ron Wagner and Bob McLeod. It’s been great to see Wagner back on G.I. Joe at IDW, and there are twenty books from Marvel and DC I wish Bob McLeod were inking. His talents are stellar, and it’s unfortunate he’s not active in the industry. Click to enlarge:
Part of the thrill of this image is that it pairs the obscure Spearhead (and his lynx, Max), who never showed up on the G.I. Joe cartoon and barely appeared in print, with the slightly higher profile Tunnel Rat and Airtight. And it’s replete with mood, and just wonderful, wonderful spotted blacks. Here’s a detail.
Here’s a great example (not from G.I. Joe) showing how much decision-making can go into inking. McLeod’s website has numerous before and after examples, some where he maintains the style of the pencil artist, others where he’s given more leeway and adds much of himself. And then another page of such examples.
Filed under Comic Books, G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes
Prose recollections of my life as a G.I. Joe fan continue next week. In the meantime, to celebrate Jim Sorenson’s announcement about his book of G.I. Joe animation model sheets (I helped out a little bit), today’s post features the model sheets for the two boys in PSA #34:
Thanks again to YouTube user PSAGIJoe for uploading the original public service announcements.
I love this one for its mild message about nutrition, rather than the more severe topics of theft, vehicular injury, and death by asphyxiation, as well its catalog of animation mistakes: the color pop on Lifeline’s backpack, the terrible animation of the trio biting and chewing, Lifeline’s ability to talk without chewing, the oddity of bumping into a special forces operative single-handedly juggling fruit while… waiting for us? Also, that weird apple vending machine thing.
Is this just a poorly designed shelf? Are those apples floating in zero G? Is it a graphic of apples printed on the front surface of an apple vending machine? It’s in no way important, but to me it strikes of the cultural divide between America and Japan (or Korea) crossed with an impending deadline. I don’t have the storyboard for this PSA, but I’ll guess that the backgrounds weren’t fully fleshed out. Photocopies went to the animators overseas, where retail stores are a little different, and some talented background painter whipped up this contraption:
Anyway, here’s Terrell Williams and “boy,” all ready for their close-ups.
They’re unsigned, so I don’t know who drew them, but looking over the list of G.I. Joe model designers, I’d guess Carol Lundberg, John Koch, or William Draut.
Filed under Animation, G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes
This is a fun one. Between the occasional Wizard or ToyFare article, G.I. Joe fan website, and Hama’s own Facebook page, it’s not too hard to find shots of Larry and G.I. Joe toys. It is hard to find any where the toys outsize him. But then the USS Flagg outsizes us all.
I don’t know where the original Polaroid (seen here as a photocopy) is from, but I have a lead I can look into (and should have already!), but my guess is either at Hasbro in Rhode Island or Toy Fair in New York City, February of 1986 or 1987. Probably not the Marvel office in NYC. Less interesting, but still a captured moment in time from the same series is another angle, sans Hama.
Filed under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
In this Ted Pedersen-written episode of G.I. Joe from 1985, “Satellite Down,” the Joes track a lost satellite to somewhere in an “unexplored region” of Africa. There they meet a tribe of primitives called Primords, who worship the satellite as a god. And Storm Shadow and Spirit fight!
Here’s Russ Heath’s original artwork (pencil on animation bond — I cropped out the punch holes) for one version, unused in the episode, for the Primord Chief.
Filed under Animation, G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes
To comics fans, Bart Sears means Justice League Europe, C.O.P.S., his “Brute and Babe” column for Wizard Magazine, Turok, X-O Manowar, Spider-Woman, and more recently a Legends of the Dark Knight double-sized issue and some Indiana Jones work. Sears was also at Hasbro in the late ’80s. There he briefly worked on G.I. Joe, and designed the company’s C.O.P.S. line. Here’s his presentation painting, seen internally and not part of any package design, for Charbroil. Unfortunately it’s a color photocopy, so it’s much contrastier than the original artwork.
Filed under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
A Real American Book! 
