So a couple months ago I happened upon Carson’s hard work and diligence on his site 3Djoes.com. In addition to the fantastic roto-photography, he has also endeavored to chronicle the art of G.I. Joe and has just barely added a second volume to what I hope can be a collection of all that “A Real American Hero” has offered over the last 30 years.
In his newest volume, which is gearing up for sale the first of next year following a successful Kickstarter, we get a look at the G.I. Joe line of 1984-1985. And as anybody who owned Joes in the 1980s can tell you, those years make up some of the most formative of what the line has been known for ever since.
Many of the Sunbow-centric characters and their appearances would come straight from this era of the line, and the sheer amount of figures made during this time could be rivaled only by Star Wars, and that contention probably holds today.
But it wasn’t just the figures that made these years so legendary, it was the deluge of vehicles, and, of course, the most ambitious playset ever attempted.
To cover the massive amount of material, Vol 2 jumped up nearly 20 pages from its predecessor and manages to cover not only the toy releases, but the mass-marketed tie-ins, like books, puzzles, and the like.
And it has been in my experience that seeing some of these for the first time in decades, if ever, is the real prize of work like this.
As with the first volume, everything is presented in excellent color and size and can be every bit as useful as a reference as it is just for nostalgic value. I may be a little biased, since I’ve come to regard Carson as a friend as well as a great archivist, but I’m pretty sure anyone who is even a casual fan of G.I. Joe should add this (and Vol 1) to their collection.
To check out the entire book in preview format, click here. Amazon and iTunes e-books are currently available, and check back for the print versions, which should be available shortly.
