G.I. Joe Classified - News & Updates

I think it's so incredible to look back at how this line started to where it is now. Let's be honest, the original figures weren't particularly well-received beyond 'omg, it's 6" Joes.' There was a lot of 'ew, why did they do this?' Mostly with the addition of weird gold armor plates and obnoxious little 'now it's futuristic!' additions. You can basically watch in real time as they scale back to something more ARAH-inspired. And it's crazy because it feels like them going back and doing the figures we WANTED from this line when it started actually allowed them more freedom to make crazy -other- stuff that we probably would not have accepted without the ARAH stuff.

So the line, by necessity almost, became this really amazing blend of the kind of stuff we would have fan-wishlisted into existence ourselves, and really cool new ideas that are layered over that ARAH-love and almost seem to share something of the ARAH design language. I can't give the Joe team enough credit for how well they integrate the new stuff into the old stuff, most of the time.

Sundown looks badass, even if I think neck tattoos are fucking dumb. Hopefully they've got at least one or two more figures to show this weekend (NINJA FORCE STORM SHADOW, LENNY).
 
Spongyblue said:
THOSE MOFO'S MADE A DANG OLE' RAPTOR!
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Damien said:
So the line, by necessity almost, became this really amazing blend of the kind of stuff we would have fan-wishlisted into existence ourselves, and really cool new ideas that are layered over that ARAH-love and almost seem to share something of the ARAH design language. I can't give the Joe team enough credit for how well they integrate the new stuff into the old stuff, most of the time.
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The line has matured in shocking ways. And I'm really impressed that they seem dedicated to adding to the mythos as much as hitting the nostalgia button. It's not just "remember when" it's new things to be excited for. The last few waves of Classified are sort of a great example of how to return to an old brand.

I don't think the initial direction was a bad idea, particularly at the time. "Old GI Joe, but modernized and slick" probably looked great on paper. And TBF they are pretty much doing that still. It's just the design language refined to where they realized that modern didn't mean mute all the colors and add tech bits on top.
 
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I am actively angry at how cool all that stuff is. Like goddammit team, I HAVE A MORTGAGE.

Of course I"m buying a fucking Cobra dino-master. He's going to hang out with Croc Master. Why would I NOT.

Cthulhu Ninja. Goddammit.

Bounty Hunter guy in a poncho? Such a huge deek on everyone who wanted Wild Bill, but he's very... okay I mean this in the best way, he's very Village People Era Gi Joe vibes. Like he fits in with Spirit and Shipwreck and crew. A stereotype but make it cool.

Goddamn fucking dinosaur with a guy with an alternate head, they're gonna get me to buy two of them aren't they those motherfuckers...
 
Y’all. DIRE-Creeper has translucent Once A Man CC arms!!!
Fuuuuck, now I’m gonna have to do arm-swaps and shit. Too much cool stuff, man! So much potential!!
 
The line's been pretty well received from the get-go. There were issues with a couple of the first figures but other than Roadblock, you couldn't find them in stores.

And I have full confidence there are Target employees still suffering from PTSD issues that stem from the craziness surrounding that first series of Cobra Island figures that came a few months later. I know I still say a prayer for the kind Target staffer who pulled two of the Cobra Troopers (still one of my favorite Classified figures) from a case in the storeroom for me during all that.

Anyway, it was a cool time, before the focus on full nostalgia took over, because you didn't know what to expect. It's what I like about today — we had no idea the Special Forces trooper, Paleo Viper and Dire Creeper were coming, and we finally got the details on Sundown. I enjoy the sized up ARAH figures well enough but I prefer the new directions they're taking things a lot more.
 
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