Tag Archives: Leatherneck

July 25, 2013 · 1:18 AM

1993 Leatherneck test shot

While I was glad to see my favorite Joe Marine, the ’86 Leatherneck, get an update in ’93, I wasn’t thrilled by the color scheme. It’s interesting, but it doesn’t say “Marine” to me. But it’s unfair of me to want that since this update isn’t a Marine, or just a Marine, but an Infantry/Training Specialist and Marine Drill Sergeant. And maybe such a person would wear burnt ochre, yellow, and teal. So while the G.I. Joe line was moving back towards realism in the Battle Corps subset in ’93 and ’94, that wasn’t a guarantee that Leatherneck, one of the more realistic-looking figures of the ’80s, was going to stay realistic. To be clear, though, I do like the design, just not the color choices. My first reactions are the words “giraffe” and “banana,” and I’d only want to have that for some fanciful Jungle-Viper.

Which is why I was so struck by this test shot. Continue reading →

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Filed under G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Toys and Toy Art

Tagged as G.I. Joe toy development, Leatherneck, test shot

December 31, 2012 · 6:14 PM

“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.

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

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.

Things will get a little more interesting with batch 7 when the final animation deviates a little from the storyboard.

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

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Filed under Animation, G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes

Tagged as Barbara Petty, G.I. Joe cartoon, G.I. Joe storyboards, Leatherneck, Steve Mitchell

November 12, 2012 · 10:37 PM

“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 5

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.

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

“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 4

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:

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

“The Rotten Egg” storyboards batch 3

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: