Toy Aisle Trolls > Blunderblast

March 9, 2010 | Poe

Toy Aisle Trolls is a feature highlighting acts of vandalism to in-store toy items. If you find a ruined package, a stolen figure, a swapped-out figure, or any other such acts, take a photo (cell phone photos are fine if they’re not blurry) and email them to poe AT poeghostal.com. Also, please note: I’m deliberately being over-the-top with my condemnation of these people–I don’t actually wish bodily harm upon them. Just severe mental anguish.

Today’s TAT comes courtesy of Poester Mysterious Stranger. (more…)

2010’s Impossible to Find G.I. Joe Exclusive Will Be…

March 8, 2010 | Paul

As most die-hard Joe fans already know, Sargent Slaughter is the 2010 San Diego Comic Con exclusive for the G.I. Joe line. This is both awesome and maddening, because you’re either going to have to go way out of your way at the convention to try and get one (and you probably will fail anyway) or you’ll have to be lucky enough to get one when it pops up on Hasbro Toy Shop after the convention. To make things even harder, good old Sarge comes in two flavors, regular:

And extra gunny:

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Show and Tell > G.I. Joe in the Indiana Jones Crib

February 8, 2010 | Paul

Hey everyone, Paul here again. Like almost any collector I feel like I must share my shame with the world, so this time I have something that I really enjoy. It’s a re-purposed Indiana Jones playset full of G.I. Joe action.

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Paul’s Peg > Action Figure Arcade Fun

January 25, 2010 | Paul

How would you like to be slapped in the face with awesome? Well how’s this 3 3/4ths action figure scale arcade cabinet that was posted on Hisstank:

By Crom, that is an amazing replica of the classic Star Wars arcade cabinet. It was created by a crafty customizer who also got a Mortal Kombat II cabinet if Star Wars doesn’t do it for you:

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5 Questions With > Prof. Henry Jenkins

January 11, 2010 | Poe

One thing I’ve always wanted to do with PGPoA is discuss not just the latest toys or the machinations of various toy companies, but also the nature of of our hobby and, in particular, the way the toys regularly intersect with media since the days of the “half-hour commercials” in the 1980s. And so it’s with great pleasure that I present this interview with Prof. Henry Jenkins. If you’ve never heard of Professor Jenkins, I think it’s your duty as a geek to become familiar with his work.

Real Name: Henry Jenkins
Specialty: Educator
Base of Operations: henryjenkins.org
History: Henry Jenkins is the Provost’s Professor of Communication, Journalism, and Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. He arrived at USC in Fall 2009 after spending the past decade as the Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities. He is the author and/or editor of twelve books on various aspects of media and popular culture, including Textual Poachers: Television Fans and Participatory Culture, Hop on Pop: The Politics and Pleasures of Popular Culture and From Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games. His newest books include Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide and Fans, Bloggers and Gamers: Exploring Participatory Culture. He is currently co-authoring a book on “spreadable media” with Sam Ford and Joshua Green. He has written for Technology Review, Computer Games, Salon, and The Huffington Post.

1.) An easy one first: what were your own favorite toys as a kid? Did you have any action figures?

I think you could say that I was raised on the cusp of the era of action figures. Many of my favorite toys were extensions of media properties that mattered to me. For example, I love, to death, a rubber King Louie figure which was produced to coincide with the release of Walt Disney’s The Jungle Book. I had many stuffed figures who embodied cartoon characters or cereal box icons — some of which had pull cords which activated phonograph recordings hidden in their bellies. I had a series of small plastic figurines which embodied key characters from the Hanna-Barbara cartoons, and a company called Soakie distributed bubble bath in plastic cases designed to look like popular characters as well. We collected these and used them to block out little plays. (more…)

Paul’s Peg > New Joe Card Art?

January 1, 2010 | Paul

How’s this for total speculation? Here’s some possible new G.I. Joe card art that surfaced on 4chan.

Now the only reason I’m posting this here is that I would totally dig this art. I’m guessing that it’s probably a fake, but who knows? I really would love to see the return of a more classic card out, since I’ve never liked the Rise of Cobra stuff. I don’t expect a return to the look of the 25th anniversary style, but dang it all, I miss it. This is a nice middle ground that might catch my eye a bit more as I’m looking for toys I can’t afford. What do kids think?

Thanks to: The Terrordrome

Joes for Tots > More Cool Peeps

December 21, 2009 | Paul

Joes for Tots entries are still coming in, but if you haven’t donated yet there is still plenty of time to help out. While many places are closed for actual toy donations, you can still donate even a small amount online. Aside from helping someone out and possibly getting a nice bonus, remember Poe offered up a sweet unmasked Dark Knight figure as well. Remember, you have until the 31st of December to submit your entry!

Anyway, I thought I’d share a few more of the photo entries I’ve received. This time the theme is pulling some of the entries that qualify as, “The Ladies of Joes For Tots.”

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