Science fiction aspects have always existed in GI Joe, from the original laser trooper, Flash, and the Jump Jet Pack in 1982, forward. But at times they have been downplayed or pushed out of the GI Joe camp and into Cobra’s. In 1984, Zartan was pretty far out there – changing appearance at will in […]
From my childhood, there are three vehicles I remember ordering through the Sears catalog: the Bridgelayer, the Snow Cat and the Havoc. Each holds a special place in my heart. There weren’t many places to purchase toys in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories. Just a small version of The Bay and a pharmacy, Wally’s Drugs, that […]
The arrival of the new Joes in 1986 marked the apex of my childhood GI Joe frenzy. I would never be more anxious than in the days leading up to the 1986 toy releases. I was old enough to walk home from school, and I stopped at Wally’s Drugstore and The Bay, along the way, […]
Through the first four years of GI Joe, there weren’t too many figures that I didn’t see up close. Me and my friends had all of the original Joes, either in their straight arm or swivel arm incarnations. The one figure I don’t remember was the silver pads version of Grand Slam, and Listen ‘n […]
My friends and I lost our shit when the series five GI Joes showed up at the Bay in Fort Smith, NWT, around May 1986. I don’t remember having a great fondness for Cobra’s Battle Android Trooper though. There were probably six or eight figures from that series, and a couple stragglers from 1985, that […]
At Christmas in 1986, the Tomahawk became my third consecutive Santa gift from the GI Joe toy line, following the Killer Whale and Transportable Tactical Battle Platform. It was also the fifth year in a row I received a GI Joe toy for Christmas, starting with the Flak in 1982 and the Skystriker in 1983. […]
My favourite year for Joes was 1983 – they were all great years! – but 1986 was a special class for me too. Series five came out as I was losing interest in Transformers, and was a step forward from what had been a remarkable Joe line-up in 1985. The Cobra opposition in 1986 was […]
