In our last exciting episode, Tim flew to Texas, missed lunch, talked with friends, and got helpful book advice!
SATURDAY—–
Click all photos to enlarge.
Continue readingThe DFW G.I. Joe & Action Figure Show 2025 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 2 of 3
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The DFW G.I. Joe & Action Figure Show 2025 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 1 of 3
INTRO—–
The story of me attending the 2025 DFW G.I. Joe and Action Figure show begins in September of 2023 when I went to JoeLanta, which you can read all about elsewhere on this blog. Greg Brown helped run that show, was friendly, and one of several people who asked if I was attending “the next show.” Not the following year’s JoeLanta, but the next G.I. Joe convention in an informal circuit of smaller regional shows, like Kentuckiana, ToyLanta, or DFW, whatever that acronym meant. I was already committed to two other annual G.I. Joe conventions, plus a film festival every September. Trips are great and I never regret attending a con because there are always book people to meet or catch up with, but trips add up and can be tiring. Every flight or drive to a hotel is a weekend I’m not at home working on immediate projects, or at my store.
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Remembering Alan Hassenfeld
Between posting my four JoeFest ’25 articles and starting to post my Dallas-Ft. Worth G.I. Joe ’25 articles, Alan Hassenfeld died. I did not know him, and only briefly met him twice, but he appears throughout my book, and his fingerprints are all over G.I. Joe across several decades. It felt appropriate to write something about him here. This is a place where some folks come for G.I. Joe information and opinion, though there are certainly better articles on Hassenfeld from journalists, his friends, and people who worked with him.
Continue readingFiled under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
JoeFest 2025 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 4 of 4
In our last episode, Tim bought astronaut napkins, serenaded a crowd of 40, and drank terrible booze.
[Part One/Thursday] [Part Two/Friday] [Part Three/Saturday]
Click all photos to enlarge. “Mark” with no last name is the host of Talking Joe, a podcast I co-host.
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JoeFest 2025 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 3 of 4
SATURDAY——
[Part One/Thursday] [Part Two/Friday]
In our last episode, Tim spent hours at a toy convention looking at, sorting, and buying comic books. Then, he tried to talk to everyone he could.
This is the big day. Whereas Friday is set-up for vendors and just a few hours of shopping, plus two panels, Saturday at JoeFest 2025 was eight floor hours, from 10am to 6pm (with an early entrance for folks who paid extra), plus eight panels and other activities, and that’s all before the evening’s planned and unplanned socializing. But a day like this goes by fast. Blink and you’ve run into a long-lost friend, looked at two dealer tables’ worth of march, and then it’s time for a panel, and three hours have zipped by.
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JoeFest 2025 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 2 of 4
FRIDAY——
In our last episode, Tim flew to Augusta, ate food, and saw people!
(Three reminders, “Mark” sans last name produces a weekly podcast that I co-host. The “toys for sale!” photos are out of order and a way to break up all this text. Click any photo to enlarge.)
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JoeFest 2025 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 1 of 4
INTRO——
Going into JoeFest, held in Augusta, Georgia, I was excited. This would be my third year, and I had made more friends, so the socializing would be, should be, a little easier and enjoyable. Attendance at 2023’s show was 10,000, and I heard an estimate that 2024 was 12,000. Would this year’s be higher, as more people hear about the show and maybe the Skybound comic books get more people (back) into G.I. Joe? Yes. I don’t have a number, but I do have confirmation that this year’s attendance was over last year’s. Neat.
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Con coverage incoming!
It’s June 2025, which means G.I. Joe conventions! I’ve got photos and thoughts galore, and will be posting con reports in the coming days and weeks!
Filed under Convention Reviews, General Musings
Snowcat ’85 Art Comparison
It’s sure been awhile since I posted here!
Today’s post has three pieces of art. All come from the 1984 “G.I. Joe Briefing Book” a thick three-ring binder of photocopies and memos that some folks writing for the Sunbow cartoon had. It was reference for all the character and vehicle names and looks, a page or two for each. Many entries start with a high-contrast black and white photocopy of some Hasbro package art, followed by a black and white photocopy of a Marvel Productions color model cel.
Continue readingFiled under Animation, G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art
A Real American Book! 2024 Year in Review
An artifact of being a teacher and having Winter Break is that my 2024 book-writing year ran late February ’24 to early February ’25 rather than a normal January-December. First up, the non-book things:
Continue readingFiled under Book Behind the Scenes, Writing Process
A Real American Book! 