Happy 50th Anniversary, G.I. Joe!

This year marks a milestone in one particular toy line that has existed for quite some time. I didn't realize it until I came across this article: Yahoo!

Believe it or not, I grew up on G.I. Joe, not just watching the animated TV series (and the subsequent animated movie, which I haven't see in years). When I was little, I had a few of the 3.75 inch G.I. Joe figures during the 1980s and 1990s. But, I was also even more lucky than most kids during that time. My Dad grew up with a few of the 12 inch figures, and had allowed me to play with them when I was little (this was back before toys from the 1960s became as collectable as they are these days), which included the astronaut and space capsule (and the record that came with both). Nowadays, though 12 inch figures are sitting in my Dad's display cabinet in his man cave (one of them happens to be a rare figure now: a Russian G.I. Joe figure, which my Dad has managed to recover some items that came with the figure, including its full outfit). I've still got some of the small Joes I've had when I was little, and was lucky enough to pick up a grab-bag of 1980s G.I. Joe figures that were missing some parts (which I've recently got, just need to get the O-Rings for them). I've been looking at the recent releases of the figures primarily for customizing purposes. I haven't gotten around to seeing the G.I. Joe live action movies yet, but I will admit, I've watched this awesome music video that paid tribute to John Carpenter's The Thing.


Long story short, Happy 50th Anniversary. Yo, Joe! (Or COBRA! if you're into that).

GI joe was a mainstay for me as a kid as transformers were more expensive and thus a holiday gift mostly or birthdays but i'd get joes all the time. I actually got all of the original animated seasons and movie for christmas in 2012. Eventually legos replaced them as a random item to get but for a long time it was joe stuff. I remember saving up the flag points for mail aways and i remember the small set i got the day i got home from having my tonsils out. To be honest i think my dad had more fun with them than i did lol. i don't think he had them growing up or if he did they didn't survive like most of his stuff did. I'm currently collecting the hardbacks of the original Marvel comics. Larry Hama is still writing the new stuff as a continuation of the marvel series so i may start getting those.

I was not into the 3 3/4" GI JOE. I had the 12" ones in the 70's too and I loved those.

The 3 3/4 Joes were a staple of my youth and a surefire nostalgia fix to this day. Happy birthday GI Joe!

I grew up on the 12" figures and toys. Man, some of that Joe stuff was bigger than I was! To this day still like my toys big!

I have a weekly routine where I get home from work friday night, wait til my wife crashes out, and then get get out the vodka and catch up on my shows.

I have a few drinks and start with "The Soup"...

Then I'll watch a few of the half hour sitcoms I may have missed during the week... or any I've downloaded and need to catch up on (East Bound and Down or something in that vein)...

And then, around 2:00 am, when I'm nice and drunk/toasted, I put on Netflix and watch 80's animated G.I. JOE.

It's the best.

Nothing beats watching a Native American and a Ninja fight over a piece of a weather controlling machine in a cave that's filling with water.

Wait... no... Them noticing the rising water, agreeing to not fight and then sitting in that water to solve their problem beats that.

"We must meditate on our situation"

I could just never get past the part where when EVERY plane explodes--there's the parachute! 80s cartoons were just too PC for my blood.

I'm 49 and still have the two original 12" G.I. Joe figures and footlockers that my older brothers (they're 55 and 56) played with and passed on to me when they got too old for them. The figures, clothes and assorted weapons and items are all in great shape, but they painted the footlockers back in the 70's, ruining them. :facepalm I used to have the yellow G.I. Joe helicopter that I got as a kid for Christmas, but it got tossed or given away at some point. I need to go online and find a couple of footlockers to replace the painted ones.

I wish the love for old school GI Joe would lead them to make GI Joe: Resolute a regular cartoon and not just that short miniseries. It was the 80s cartoon for grownups.

iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit's FRIDAY!

Get ma drink on and find out what's goin down with Cobra on Netflix.