Saturday, February 19, 2011

Yo Joe: Portraits of a Boyhood Obsession.



The other day and for whatever reason, a friend and I were talking about the GI Joe aircraft carrier, a mutual object of desire as kids, which lead me to looking it up which lead me HERE. A nicely photographed, comprehensive catalog of most every Joe I spent countless hours as a kid obsessing over. For all of you who spent a portion of your formative years memorizing each Joe's File Card and arranging them just so, this post is for you. Let the wave of nostalgia wash over you. Also, some photos comparing Joes from the 80's to their more recent counterparts.
All photos from BurningAstronaut's Flickr stream. Go check them out. And thanks to BurningAstronaut for permitting me to post them here.







































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































(all photos courtesy of BurningAstronaut)

15 comments:

  1. thwanyFebruary 19, 2011 at 12:42 PM

    haha classic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Creative SilenceFebruary 19, 2011 at 12:45 PM

    This post made my day. I grew up in the era when these were out and I was an avid childhood collector. Thanks for this, tons of great memories!

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  3. AdrianoFebruary 19, 2011 at 12:48 PM

    I had alot of these. Bringin back memories

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  4. Halo EffectFebruary 19, 2011 at 5:28 PM

    Best dude hands down.

    "Halo Jumper"

    I need that....

    ReplyDelete
  5. jamesFebruary 19, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    Halo Jumper was actually a huge part of the conversation b/w GT and I that got me searching.

    ReplyDelete
  6. D.L.February 19, 2011 at 7:19 PM

    While that Flickr feed is great, the true mother lode awaits you at the address below...

    http://www.yojoe.com/action/

    The site also features all of the 3 1/4" vehicles for your perusal. Rest assured, the U.S.S. Flagg receives ample coverage.

    Chuckles was always my favorite Joe. Dude was a sartorial gunslinger, too. Hawaiian shirt with cargos? Ballsy.

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  7. The Halo WayFebruary 19, 2011 at 8:52 PM

    Actually Zartan was my all time fav and the dreadnots.

    I remember sending away for Hooded Cobra Commander.

    Gt's friend and ours (bryan) had the hovercraft, which i was pretty envious over.

    Great post James.

    See you soon,
    Halo

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  8. nooseFebruary 19, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    That's effing great!! GI Joe was an integral part of my child hood. I collected every figure from their release in '82 up until '89. I've still got them. I still remember almost shitting myself when my mom brought home Zartan for me. Never got the goddamn aircraft carrier tho.

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  9. Yankee-Whisky-PapaFebruary 19, 2011 at 9:01 PM

    Destro had the world's best shawl-collar, and Cobra Commander had a mean double-breasted uniform.

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  10. AnonymousFebruary 20, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    Thanks for reminding me how awesome these are! I had a professor at RISD who worked at Hasbro back in the day and he told us they would create GI Joe characters in homage to the other designers there. His was Doc (the one with the stretcher, 17th one down). Looks a lot like him, actually.

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  11. JunctionedFebruary 21, 2011 at 10:22 PM

    Storm Shadow all day!

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  12. CMFebruary 22, 2011 at 5:16 PM

    First time i ever punched someone was when another kid broke my Cobra Ninja, man it took me forever to get him. Great Post thanks for the spark to the memory banks.

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  13. CMFebruary 22, 2011 at 5:17 PM

    Storm shadow (cobra ninja)

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  14. AnonymousMarch 9, 2011 at 10:50 AM

    Had about 75% of the figures pictured. Never got the aircraft carrier, but drooled over it in the pages of the Sears Christmas catalog.

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  15. AnonymousMarch 17, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    This post is amazing
    I have every figure in this photo

    dope

    I like that ripcord has a closer pic..he needs the detail shot.
    ha

    nerds rule.
    **screw the aircraft carrier..the cobra terrordrome was ILL

    ReplyDelete