Tag Archives: Talking Joe

JoeFest 2026 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 3 of 3

Catch up on Part One/Thursday and Friday or Part Two/Saturday.

SUNDAY—–

*** Reminder: “Mark” (no last name) is host and producer of Talking Joe, a weekly podcast that I co-host. He, plus family member Peter and fellow fan Simon, flew to JoeFest from England. These are generally the only people to whom I refer by first name only. ***

*** Click all photos to enlarge. ***

Realizing I hadn’t been outside in over 24 hours, and wanting a little variety in my food after so many meals at D’Agostino’s, I walked to New Moon Cafe on the main drag. It was hot and humid and I was immediately sweating, so I embraced it by sitting outside. My breakfast sandwich and fruit smoothie were great, and for some reason I also got a muffin — too much food! I had been hungry enough to set out for breakfast alone, but was texting with pals Peter and Simon (who also ate at Blue Moon, but 20 minutes after) and Mark (who was maybe going to skip, or maybe Peter and Simon would bring him food.)

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Convention Reviews

JoeFest 2026 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 2 of 3

Click here to read Part One/Thursday and Friday.

SATURDAY—–

JoeFest wouldn’t open to attendees until 9am (early bird) or 10am (general admission), and sometimes I have enough positive anxiety during a convention or festival that I wake up early. That meant there was time to check email, type notes on the previous day, and get breakfast. Doug Dellow, who I’d seen playing the G.I. Joe Deck-Building Game the night before, and I arrived at D’Agustino’s at the same time, fearing a long line. Indeed there was one, but I spotted some friends at a big table with open spots. They’d just ordered, so us crashing them was actually helping us and the hostess.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Convention Reviews

JoeFest 2026 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 1 of 3

INTRO—–

This is my fourth year at JoeFest, the largest G.I. Joe convention. There is a variety of shows. Some are small, like a one-day swap meet. One particular show is small, Assembly Required, one and a half days, with a tiny attendance (300?), but the panels and guests and excitement of a much larger show. There’s a medium or medium-small show, the DFW G.I. Joe and Action Figure Show, two and a half days, with a larger attendance (2,000?), with the best guest list in G.I. Joe fandom (comics creators and now two years in a row with seven-plus former Hasbro folks). It has panels and a guest list disproportionately big for a show of its size. And there’s JoeFest, three days, the biggest of them all, with an attendance of perhaps 13,000 people (that’s a guess based on previous years) and a con floor that several ARs and DFWs could fit inside. [EDIT: Not just the biggest Joe con in the States, it’s the biggest in the world, I am reminded.] This 9-second video shows you 90% of JoeFest:

Continue reading

2 Comments

Filed under Convention Reviews

Larry Hama and Ron Wagner Panel at AR ’24

This deserves its own post here at A Real American Book!. On November 9th, I moderated the “Living Legends: Larry Hama & Ron Wagner” panel at Assembly Required, a great G.I. Joe convention held annually in Des Moines, Iowa. These two guys are smart and funny, and it was a pleasure to run the chat.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Convention Reviews, G.I. Joe Behind the Scenes, Interviews

Assembly Required 2023 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 4 of 4

In Part One, Tim flew to Des Moines and saw friends, and in Part Two, Tim talked with people. Then, in Part Three, he talked with more people! Read on for Part Four, and click to enlarge photos!

Continue reading

3 Comments

Filed under Convention Reviews

Assembly Required 2023 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 3 of 4

In Part One, Tim flew to Iowa, chatted, dined, and played a game, while in Part Two, Tim interviewed and co-interviewed, plus some repeats like chatting, dining and game-playing. Read on for Part Three, and click to enlarge photos! [Skip ahead to Part Four here]

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Convention Reviews

Assembly Required 2023 – the A Real American Book! Convention Report / Part 2 of 4

In Part One, Tim flew to Des Moines, dined with Ron Wagner, and then played games. Read on for Part Two, and click to enlarge photos! [Skip ahead to Part Three or Part Four]

The start of my second day at Assembly Required presented the forever challenge of conventions. You want to stay up late talking with your friends, but there are also things to do and people to see the next morning, so you get less sleep.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Convention Reviews

A Real American Book! 2021 in Review

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Behind the Scenes, General Musings, Talking Joe podcast

Now Co-Hosting Talking Joe podcast

After my big interview with Mark “Funky Bunch” for a special episode of Talking Joe (between episodes 103 and 104, December 2020), Mark told me that the podcast was at a crossroads. After two years of hard work, founder Chief Stride was retiring, and Mark was considering a change in format or was a looking for a new co-host. And would I be interested? I’ll go into this more in a week or two in my big A Real American Book! year-in-review post, but the answer turned out to be yes.

Continue reading

Leave a comment

Filed under Back issues, Talking Joe podcast