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09-15-2017, 05:52 PM | #11 |
Cobra Interrogator
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Undisclosed Military Installation in Kentucky
Posts: 1,466
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GI Joe is my inspiration.
I grew up in a military family, often on military bases. When I lived in Germany, literally everyone I knew was a military child. We all shopped at the same BX, so we'd all end up buying the same toys. I don't recall a single kid that didn't have GI Joes. It was like a cultural expectation. Later, I joined the military. Most of my friends did, too. And I really love my job. It's not always easy and it's not always fun, but I find it satisfying. I feel as though GI Joe is this sort of idealized version of who I'm supposed to be. I feel privileged that I get to do things in real life that other people can only read about in comic books. Like I said, GI Joe is an idealized fantasy. The good guys are unambiguously good, and the bad guys wear brightly colored costumes so we can always tell who they are. GI Joe doesn't get stuck fighting shitty wars for morally dubious reasons. Cobra comes up with crazy schemes that get resolved within 22 pages (or 22 minutes), rather than years-long counterinsurgencies. I wish life was more like GI Joe. If real terrorists behaved like Cobra, my job would be very easy. Also, GI Joe has more ninjas and robots. Which is cool. But the point here is when times get tough and I'm asked to do things that I find challenging or even scary, I ask myself, "What Would Duke Do?" and I try my best to live up to the (admittedly exaggerated) example of what a 'Real American Hero' is supposed to be. |
09-15-2017, 06:59 PM | #12 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Burton
Posts: 96
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GI Joe for me was a friend I was an only child until I was 12 and since my Dad worked third shift and my mom working days I would come home from school and watch the cartoon and play with my toys. I lived on a highway and did not have friends on my street so getting home and playing with my GI Joe was hoe I spent most every day. On the weekends when I could have a friend over or go to someones house we played Joe. I loved how they always worked as a team and had each other back they were a family and that was important to me.
On Friday's my Mom would take me to Kmart and I would be able to get a new Joe and on my birthday or holidays I would get a vehicle and figures and playing for hours reenacting movies or ARAH episodes. I remember playing in my back yard in the flower beds or the grass having major battles with Cobra or other enemies. GI Joe also had something that many cartoons today don't and that is a moral or message in the episode or at the end and with the diversity of all the characters it helped draw more kids in and each of my friends and I had a figure we could play with. I always like how good always overcame evil and that helps kids figure out what heroes really are. I did not get back into Joe until I showed my son some of the cartoons I grew up watching and explained how I would come home and play with my toys and watch cartoons after schools until my Dad got up or my Mom would come home. Sharing those memories helped me start back into the hobby and build a bond with my son. |
09-15-2017, 09:25 PM | #13 |
The Man You Know & Love
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: In The Middle of a Late Night Crew Orgy
Posts: 28,211
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This thread is hitting me in the feels.
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09-15-2017, 09:35 PM | #14 |
crimson viper
Join Date: May 2014
Location: san antonio texas
Posts: 200
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Gi joe to me is my freedom to be me and expresses my passion to not give a fuck about all the idiots in the world politics n social media baffoons who cant even use imagination anymore or even think for themselves everything google brains but gi joe fights because they they all specialize in their own techniqe individualy they form an unbeatable force
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09-15-2017, 11:43 PM | #15 |
Hiss Tank Mechanic
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 63
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Wow. So when I first read Xerofall's invitation post, I thought okay, this is going to take me a while, to explain all my favorite storylines, favorite artists, talking about some time I was forunate enough to spend in the presence of Larry Hama, and round it out with my favorite cartoon episodes. But then I was reduced to near tears and then a strong smile reading Rolando of Gilead and Solosam's posts. Heavy stuff, but wonderful stuff. GI Joe is an incredible franchise, but sometimes it takes a forum thread like this to remind me that the rich history in the 300+ character file cards is mirrored by the rich and real histories of the fans who embraced and supported it.
The GI Joe Comic Literature discussions and debates, the collecting and trading of figures, the customization projects, the nostalgic element, and hopefully the sharing and inspiring of our children to perpetuate this awe-inspiring, multi-layered hobby, that's what GI Joe is to me. As a kid I respected Herb Trimpe the artists, as an adult I learned to far more appreciate Herb Trimpe the man, his humanitarian efforts, his selfless volunteer work at Ground Zero during the September 11th aftermath, and just his demeanor in general. On the day my twins, my only kids were born, Herb Trimpe died. I remember sitting in a chair at the hospital, that ironically shares its name with the last name given to the Cobra Twins Tomax & Xamot in Mike Costa's Cobra run, "Paoil," while my kids were merely 12 hours old, reading about Trimpe's departure right here on HissTank. A day of happiness and sorrow all rolled into one. What is GI Joe to me? GI Joe is a multi-faceted hobby, escape, release, friendship building entity that I will never take for granted again. That's what GI Joe is to me.
__________________
"A soldier's job is to do the impossible and then be forgotten," - Hawk (From G.I. Joe #1, 1982) |
09-16-2017, 12:30 AM | #16 |
Filecard Maker
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: NJ
Posts: 7,300
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An interesting question.
I would guess some of what my love of the hobby to this day is it reminds me of a much simpler time. A time when the world in general and my world in specific made just made more sense. That may come off as a bit self interested but as a kid...I only had one parent in the house, and Joe (and TFs, Star Wars, Star Trek, Pro Wrestling and so many other hobbies) provided me with an escapism, roll models and perhaps even a distraction. And maybe overall it was just a lot of fun. I mean I was a kid after all and these toys simply appealed to the base interest of that child. As a boy a lot of kids are attracted to toy soldiers...hell its why little green army men are still a thing. So maybe my interest is just that a base instinct that was meant to update and appeal to the youth of that day and age. Looking back now as the old fat (often bitter) man that I am, I can confirm that it does indeed remind me of simpler times. Before the world was so bleak...so much less fun. But more than that these hobbies are and have been a constant companion. Ones that are often more true and honest and faithful that some people I have met. They never betray, or judge or disappoint (even at its worst incarnations) but it does entertain, and pass time both good times and hard times and like a pet that never passes away...if I can steal a phrase, "G.I. Joe is there." |
09-16-2017, 01:06 AM | #17 |
Cobra Viper
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 119
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Oh wow...I feel such a kinship with you guys, reading all of these wonderful stories and memories not unlike my own. When I read the words in this thread, I actually feel them, because so many of the experiences you guys are talking about, I lived myself. So I guess that's what G.I. Joe is to me...brotherhood. If I could distill it into one word, as impossible as that seems when considering the enormity of G.I. Joe and how it has shaped and comforted me all these years, it's about brotherhood. It's about patriotism, pride in doing what's right. I might even go so far as to say it affected my ideas of right and wrong, my very sense of masculinity, love for my country, playing "army" as a boy...there are just so many things that spring to mind when I think of G.I. Joe...
I know this sounds silly, but when I was a boy, and I was all-about G.I. Joe, I had a great-uncle that visited from out of town once...I think he was in his mind-to-late sixties then, but he was my mother's uncle, and he had fought in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and that just had such a profound affect on me...I felt like I had discovered that I was related to a real-life G.I. Joe. (lol) I remember when he visited, I just had to show him my little red Tupperware container I used to keep all of my Joes and Cobras in, and I guess I thought in my silly little eleven-year-old mind that somehow he'd be impressed with my Joes, or that in some small way we could connect over these little army toys. I do remember that he was very gracious and said something about "taking care of my men", or something along those lines. I was so proud and so happy with myself, that my war-hero of a great-uncle was somewhat impressed with me and my futile little expression of patriotism and support. Of course he passed-away some years later, and I never got to see him again, but I was granted a sweet little memory of a distant uncle I could connect with and admired so much, all because of G.I. Joe. I could go on and on with so many more memories of G.I. Joe and my dad, my brothers, backyard battles, Saturday afternoons poring over the latest issue of the comics, my friends and I at school looking at the latest catalogs of exciting new characters and vehicles, my mom buying them for me...it was and is such a prominent part of my childhood and adult life, respectively, and even alot of the sentimentality I have to this day. It's an extension of me I guess, as silly as that may sound. It's a part of me for so many reasons, and I'm glad that no matter what happens in life, who may move-on without me, those that pass-away, how much things change in my life, my love for and memories of G.I. Joe I'll have forever, as long as I'm in my right mind, and I'm so thankful to have these boards full of new friends and "brothers", as it were (sisters, too?), that can remember where they were or when they first saw that "new Snake Eyes" that comes with a wolf, or asking their parents for the G.I. Joe headquarters for Christmas, or how many times they read the "Silent Issue" of the comic. You guys know what I'm talking about, because it happened to you, too, and that striking logo with those familiar white letters and red, white, and blue stripes will never stop exciting you or grabbing your attention when you see it. That's the feeling, the brotherhood I'm talking about, and I'm glad I can share that feeling here with you all.
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Fear not the weapon, but the man who wields it. Last edited by Commando73; 09-21-2017 at 10:20 PM.. |
09-16-2017, 01:42 AM | #18 |
Instigator of Intensity
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: California
Posts: 3,981
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GI Joe is what fueled my imagination and had great characters and a great storyline that I've enjoyed to this day(mainly the original Marvel comics, though to some extent the cartoon as well). It also what got me into customizing.
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I wear my sunglasses at night!!! My feedback thread: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/buy-se...shockwave.html My custom Shockwave army: https://www.flickr.com/photos/113336...57650753263375 My custom S.W.A.T. army: https://www.flickr.com/photos/113336...57650331942267 my BST list: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...st-thread.html |
09-16-2017, 01:58 AM | #19 |
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Georgia
Posts: 1,698
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It's a flexible military fantasy that can incorporate a lot of things.
Sometimes I like the idea of a military-realistic Joe force. Other times, I find the idea of robots and mutants and zombies a lot of fun. But most of all, what is GI Joe to me? Dead. It's fucking dead and until someone who cares about it comes along to change that, it's a little tombstone to kneel at. |
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09-16-2017, 05:42 AM | #20 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: LA
Posts: 15
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As with nearly all of us die hard Joes fans, I was introduced to GI Joe in 1982. But my first introduction was with GI Joe Issue #5 Tanks for the Memories. My dad bought it for me at a comic book store that was next to a movie theater. My entire life and still to this day, my dad and I go see movies together.
Well, issue #5 lead to finding the toys on the shelves, finding more of the comics, with #2 at time being really hard to find. Later, it was rush home to watch the cartoon after school. And the second greatest Christmas gift I ever got (#1 was our family dog of 14 yrs) was the USS Flagg, it was so big my parents didn't wrap it they put it outside on the porch and when all the presents were open, told me to go look out the front door. My dad and I spent the next day putting it together. It was in my room til Junior year in high school when we moved. All the vehicles were sold, I kept all my well played with figures and still have them all. And I kept my two long boxes of Joe comics (And several other boxes of Marvel and DC comics) that I bought and kept near mint. I stopped buying the toys but never stopped buying the comics til the final one, GI Joe Special in 1995 GI Joe and all comic collecting disappeared from my life. In December of 2001, on Western Avenue in Chicago, I randomly visited a comic store, which I hadn't been in one in years.(By the way, at the time I didn't know it but that comic shop was literally across the street from the Devil's Due office were Blaylock and crew where creating it.) And I saw Image's GI Joe #3 with Zartan on the cover and it was on. I walked out with issue #2 and the convention exclusive. Of course missing #1, I went home and turned on ebay which I had just figured out. And the never ending search for Joe was on in full force, the first purchase was the trade M.I.A. which is issue #1 & #2, second was actually issue #1. Then I stumbled upon YoJoe.com and the comic section plus the Devil's Due Forum. And a GI Joe comic book completeist was born. UK Action Force, yes please, Find Your Fate Joe books, oh yeah, Coloring books, sweet and HOLY COW GI Joe comics printed in other languages. OH, my GOD, 16 years later I just bought a complete set of GI Joe Indonesia comics last week. Years later, I was asked by the now gone Joe comic site JoeReloaded.com to some summaries for those Reloaded issues. And did I love writing those from the very first word typed. Even later, I became the YoJoe.com senior comic book editor and created the International GI Joe Comic Section and still every week, now hundreds of summaries later, update the section with every IDW book they release even those Revolution Transformers titles that are part of the universe but don't have Joes in them. GI Joe comics are my passion, every day. And if all that GI Joe was not enough in my life. In 2007, by then living in LA and working regularly on big budget Hollywood films. I got a call to work on Dark Sky, the working title for Rise of Cobra. My first day on set was watching Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow (Stunt doubles) fight in the balcony scene in The Pit. I literally found a corner to hide in exploded with joy, composed my self and pretended it was just another job. Which it was not. I saw Sienna Miller in black leather, I mean the Baroness, in person, saw that Cobra Commander mask in person, touched SE & SS swords and spent 3 months literally watching GI Joe live. My name is in the credits. So GI Joe and most specifically collecting GI Joe comics has come to be a massive part of who I am as a 45 your old man. Whenever I go to the comic book store to get my Joe comics, its all big smiles, when a package comes in the mail its like Christmas every time. Joy. That is what GI Joe means to me, and it has meant joy to me since 1982. Last edited by antarctica; 09-16-2017 at 06:08 AM.. Reason: spelling and grammar |
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