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I could never be sure what mush-mouth Talking G. I. Joe was saying, but he was still one of my favorite toys. Around the time he came out, Habro rolled out the Adventure Team–the direct ancestor of the modern G.I. Joe (Real American Hero) incarnation. In addition to the talking Joe, we had Bullet Man (who had metal arms and came with this string from which he could rocket across the room) and the Atomic Man (*Cough, cough! Steve Austin!*).And long before Cobra Commander, the Joes faced a different foe–the Intruder, an armor-wearing caveman. I always felt a little sorry for the Intruder because he was all alone in his hatred of the Adventure Team. Did he have Destro or Major Bludd to back him up? Nope. Who did he have?A rubber shark and a vulture.Those were the only other bad guys Joe had to deal with. A vulture!? Why do you need a bionic (oh, I’m sorry–atomic) arm to battle a vulture? Also, the Intruder was a short little guy, and that endeared him to me … mainly because around that time my older brother liked to tease me by singing “Short People Got No Reason to Live.”
Category : Slave to Nostalgia
A new Broken Frontier column has been posted, this one about the rip-roaring 35th issue of Micronauts!
Category : Distractions
As a kid, I loved little plastic soldiers, cowboys, safari animals, and dinosaurs. You could buy them by the pound in sealed plastic bags, haul them out to the backyard and set up sprawling adventures. The sandbox became a desert battleground. The base of the old oak tree, a prehistoric cave system. The patio, an airfield under assualt by a fiendish coalition of Nazis, thunderlizards, and lions. If I needed a swamp setting, I just ran the water hose in the grass for a few minutes–and later endured punishment for muddying up the lawn. There are probably thousands of tiny green infantrymen buried in the back yard of my childhood home. Eventually, many of my crack squadron fell beneath an insidious device created by a mad scientist–a giant magnifying glass that focused the sun into a beam of plastic-melting energy.
Category : Distractions
Sometimes, I was more excited about the ads that ran for Dungeons & Dragons in the early 80s than I was about the comic books in which they appeared. Each ad revealed one small portion of a much larger story. I doubt the entire tale was ever told, but I remember at least five installments. The trio of heroes encountered dragons and shambling mounds and green slime and werewolves. And who says D&D is a violent game? These adventurers never hurt anyone! I’d love to see all of the ads in order one day.
The second part of my Micronauts retorspective has been posted at Broken Frontier. Hope you enjoy it!
Category : Distractions
Rom the Spaceknight was a pretty cool toy, and the ad features my all time favorite superhero catch phrase.
“Rom has come … evil is on the run!”
I must have drawn pictures of a thousand heroes of my own creation, all with the “evil is on the run” tagline.
I never had a Rom action figure (although I liked the comic) but my little brother received one under the tree one Christmas. I’m convinced I was supposed to get the toy, but there was a mix-up on Santa’s part. After all, I was the older brother. Surely I should have been the one entrusted with such a high-tech piece of equipment.
Rom had a flashing chest plate and eyes, and he made different noises for each of his weapons. He also made cool breathing and jet propulsion sounds. But most amazingly, Rom could answer simple yes or no questions! One bong means no, two means yes!
“Rom, should I have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch?”
Bong! Bong!
“Hot diggity! Thanks for helping me choose a delicious meal, my armor-plated buddy.”
“Rom, should I swipe my little brother’s allowance money so I can buy a Slurpee?”
Bong!
“That was a close one, Rom! Thanks for being my moral compass!”
Category : Distractions
Over the weekend, I was chatting with some folks about some of the toys we liked as kids. The conversation frequently turned towards the advertisements that appeared in magazines and comics. Half the time, I liked the ads better than the actual toys. I thought I’d take a few posts to mention some of my favorites. First up, Big Jim …
I think I had one Big Jim action figure–Dr. Steel with that karate chopping metal hand. But who needed the actual toys? I taped a cardboard wrist band covered in magic marker buttons to my arm and commanded my forces, just like Big Jim himself. Or I used my bow and suction cup arrows and pretended to be Warpath. Few people know this, but my little brother is named Jim because of Big Jim. In fact, when my parents asked for my input on my little brother’s name, I suggested Tonto Jim Bunn, because I thought the Lone Ranger was pretty cool, too, and having a brother named after the Ranger’s sidekick would make the pretend western adventures all the more entertaining.
I found conflicting information on the artwork for the ad. It certainly looks like Jack Kirby, and some sources say he drew the ad. I’ve seen some other reference, though, that says it was illustrated by someone copying the King’s style.
Either way … here’s to Big Jim–the coolest action figure I never had!
Category : Comics, Interviews and Reviews
This week’s column has been posted at Broken Frontier, beginning a multi-part retrospective of the greatest comic series of all time–The Micronauts!
Category : Comics
My friend Chris Samnee recently posted a drawing of Terry Hammett, the Freakhunter. A few years back Chris and I got together and discussed ideas for comics we could work on together. Freakhunter was an I liked, but I wasn’t sure if anyone else would think my bring-’em-back-alive bounty hunter was as much fun as I did. Chris liked the character, though, and ran with it. After I saw his initial designs, I knew no one else could ever draw Terry. As Chris notes, hopefully one day we’ll be able to bring our vision of Freakhunter to the comic-reading public.
