Category Archives: G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes

Andrei Koribanics Interview Link

Andrei Koribanics Hasbro signature

Sorry it’s been so long since the last update!  To tide you over for a few days (just a few days, I promise), Matt Dillon of Leaky Suit Brigade has just posted an interview with Andrei Koribanics, Hasbro G.I. Joe designer who drew some art I posted here a few months back.  Nice work, Matt!

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Unproduced G.I. Joe Vehicle – Borer

G.I. Joe Unproduced Borer by Andrei Koribanics close-upAndrei Koribanics freelanced for Hasbro in the mid-1980s.  Besides today’s Borer art, I’ve also come across a figure concept by him (that may end up in Chapter 14 of my book) and the presentation painting of Sgt. Slaughter’s Renegades (in Chapter 6).  Leaky Suit Brigade has a tiny interview with Koribanics, and should have a longer one up at some point. Continue reading

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“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 6

Sorry for the delay!  Back to blogging!  Thanks to all the visitors who clicked here while I wasn’t posting.G.I. Joe season 2 storyboard to animation still comparison "The Rotten Egg"

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More storyboards from writers Steve Mitchell and Barbara Petty’s “The Rotten Egg,” this time pages 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24.  Sorry, I don’t know who boarded these, but when I do I’ll update this sentence.

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 020

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 021

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 022

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 023

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 024Things will get a little more interesting with batch 7 when the final animation deviates a little from the storyboard.

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Cobra Night Raven designs by Steve Reiss

Cobra Night Raven by Steve Reiss tease image for Tim Finn's G.I. Joe blog

Steve Reiss attended CCS, the College for Creative Studies, before it had that name, back when it was called Society of Arts & Crafts in Detroit.  It had long been a school with a reputation for vehicle design.  After Reiss joined Hasbro in 1985 he was soon designing G.I. Joe vehicles, like the stunning 1986 Cobra Night Raven, based on Lockheed’s also-stunning SR-71 “Blackbird.”  For your reference, here’s the real thing:

SR-71 NASA photo by Judson Brohmer as comparison to Steve Reiss G.I. Joe Cobra Night Raven toy for Hasbro    And here are Steve Reiss’ six pages of designs, the basis for a rough, three-dimensional model.

Cobra Night Raven design pg 1 by Steve Reiss for G.I. Joe 1986 toy line

Cobra Night Raven design pg 2 by Steve Reiss for G.I. Joe 1986 toy line

Cobra Night Raven design pg 3 by Steve Reiss for G.I. Joe 1986 toy line

Cobra Night Raven design pg 4 by Steve Reiss for G.I. Joe 1986 toy line

For play value, Reiss added a one-person drone that latched onto the top of the larger jet:

Cobra Night Raven design pg 5 by Steve Reiss for G.I. Joe 1986 toy line

And here’s the parts breakdown.

Cobra Night Raven design pg 6 by Steve Reiss for G.I. Joe 1986 toy line

The final toy is black with opaque red accents, and the clear red cockpit windows are a lovely, extra detail.  The Night Raven is also quite long, and I recall always needing two hands to support it.  It’s one of the most attractive products in the entire Real American Hero product line — elegant, sleek, and aggressive.

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“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 5

G.I. Joe season 2 storyboard to animation still comparison "The Rotten Egg"

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15] [16-19] [20-24] [24A-28]

More storyboards.  This time it’s pages 16, 16A, 17, 18, and 19.

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 016

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 017

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 017A

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 018

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 019

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15] [16-19] [20-24] [24A-28]

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Larry Hama’s Fury Force Helicopter

Close up of Larry Hama handwriting from Fury Force helicopter pencil sketch

Told at many conventions and in many interviews is the prehistory of G.I. Joe, how Larry Hama pitched a military comic to Marvel called “Fury Force.” He sketched out six heroes — covert military types — along with a motorcycle, a van, and a secret base underground base. And later grafted it onto Ron Rudat’s G.I. Joe action figure designs, and made it the through line for the monthly G.I. Joe comic book.

Fury Force had a helicopter, too.

Fury Force helicopter sketch by Larry Hama

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Unproduced: Towed Artillery Missile System

Unproduced G.I. Joe vehicle concept, TAMS, 1984

Sorry for the delay in posting.  School starts and trips accrue in September.  To get back into it and take a break from “The Rotten Egg” and my exciting internship today we’ve got Rich Rossi’s color rendering of a vehicle concept, the Towed Artillery Missile System, which I’ll call the TAMS for short.  In all honesty I don’t know anything about it, so we’ll play the reasonable assumption game.

Concept art for Unproduced G.I. Joe vehicle, TAMS, 1984

Drawn in ’84, it would have been pitched for ’86 or ’87.  But often concepts would get shot down, only to resurface later, or inspire a later idea.  In 1988 a different vehicle showed up, the similarly monikered RPV, or Remote Pilot Vehicle — boy did the names not flow for these two.

G.I. Joe RPV vehicle 1988 catalog scan

I don’t wish to draw a straight line between them, that one inspired the other, but it’s safe to say they both filled a specific price point, play pattern, and concept.  But notably the TAMS seats no driver and carries no figure, even by precarious foot peg.  And to further differentiate it from the RPV, by ’88 scale, detailing, and concepts were getting exaggerated and moving away from strict military realism.  The structure of the TAMS more resembles the detailing on earlier vehicles like the FLAK and the ASP, shown here.

G.I. Joe catalog scan details FLAK and ASP

There’s a stronger sense of parts and bolts and hardware, whereas the late ’80s styling smoothed out edges and surfaces.  Since these catalog scans aren’t too enlightening, here are links to much nicer photos of each, from the fine folks at yojoe: the FLAK, the ASP, and the RPV.

One thing’s for sure — Real American Hero had no shortage of small artillery accessories.  These were great for populating a small-scale battlefield with variety, even if they weren’t as much fun as “regular” vehicles like Jeeps and tanks, or as story-driving as a headquarters playset.

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“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 4

G.I. Joe season 2 storyboard to animation still comparison "The Rotten Egg"

 

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15] [16-19]

Something that simultaneously delighted and bothered me as a kid watching G.I. Joe was how obvious certain traps were that the Joes walked headlong into.  Whereas in Larry Hama’s comic-verse, a Cobra military academy in the next state over would have felt right at home with Broca (note the anagram!) Beach and the Cobra Consulate Building.  But here CEC was trying to have it both ways — secret and yet in plain sight.  So it bothered me then, though amuses me now, that Leatherneck tools over on the Silver Mirage, outnumbered a thousand to one, and is actually surprised when what are clearly bad guy cadets turn out to be bad guys.  But Barbara Petty and Steve Mitchell crafted a strong script with great characterization, that delivers something new for the series — a rivalry begun in the past — and manages to be filled with tension and action — mostly sans weapons, while eschewing the “regular” Cobra Command.  No small feat.  Clunky animation, yes?  (See still above, YIKES)  But great boards, of which here are five more pages:

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 011

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 012

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 013

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 014

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 015

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“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 3

G.I. Joe The Rotten Egg storyboards TEASE

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15] [16-19]

Back to the storyboards for the Season 2 episode, “The Rotten Egg.”  These pages below are drawn by two or three artists, unusual for a Joe board as one artist tended to handle each act.  There may have been deadline trouble, or a change from the director (or Hasbro) necessitated altering shots, and perhaps whoever originated these had already moved on to the next episode.  What is certain is that Mike Vosburg drew some of what’s below — everything but the Wet-Suit close-up on the first page, the top tier of the second page, all of the third page, the first two panels of the fourth page, and probably none of the final page.  Vosburg’s figure work (see big panel above) is angular, and he spots blacks — no sketchy pencil lines, no rounded or bulbous anatomy.  Vosburg is a tremendously talented artist, a post for another day, but for fun trivia I’ll point out he was the only artist who both drew the monthly Marvel comic and also storyboarded for the daily cartoon.  Coincidentally, to boot.  Pages 7D, 8, 9, 9A, and 10:

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 007D

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 008

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 009

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 009A

G.I. Joe "The Rotten Egg" Season 2 storyboard page 010

Next five pages!

Pages [1-5] [6-7C] [7D-10] [11-15] [16-19]

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Sgt. Savage by Joe Kubert

Sgt Savage G.I. Joe detail by Joe Kubert

As the Real American Hero line was winding down, Boys Toys in Pawtucket had in mind something new for late 1994.  It would be bigger than 3 3/4 inches, and it would look back to World War II rather than the slightly futuristic angle G.I. Joe had carried for twelve years.  Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles were greatly inspired by Nick Fury and his Howling Commandos (Marvel Comics), and Sgt. Rock and the Combat-Happy Joes of Easy Company (DC Comics), so much so in fact that Boys Toys VP hired Sgt. Rock artist Joe Kubert to draw the initial designs, package artwork, and insert comic.

Sgt Savage G.I. Joe by Joe Kubert

Joe Kubert passed away last weekend at the age of 85.  Amazingly, he was still writing and drawing comics, and his work only got better with age.  While the Watchmen prequels aren’t my cup of tea, I very much enjoyed the last major Rock story by Kubert, and both as a reader and retailer look forward to his upcoming Joe Kubert Presents 6-issue anthology for DC.

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