Category Archives: Marvel Comics

GI Joe Classified Gnawgahyde, Porkbelly, and Yobbo

by

4

Watch the video review HERE.

I was shopping after Christmas, and saw this GI Joe Classified…the coolest one I’ve ever seen!

Before this I had two GI Joe Classified figures. One Cobra Commander, and the other Sgt. Slaughter. Both of those are characters I have a connection with. But Gnawgahyde as a specific character I do not. But you knew immediately what he was about. A Dreadnok.

On the old cartoon, Dreadnoks were a group of criminals operating for Cobra under Zartan. I thought they were cool as a child…every one of them had the air of Crocodile Dundee. And they lived in the Everglades or somewhere similar. None seemed as smart as other Cobra characters, but now as an old teacher, I believe their smarts were just from a different place. Cobra troops for instance blindly follow orders. These guys were apt do do whatever they wanted in spite of orders. I didn’t get it as a kid, but as an adult they I understand them to be a group of mercenaries.

So why did I think this was the coolest GI Joe Classified I have ever seen? Keep reading!

PACKAGING

You can see clearly in the box what is here, and now you know why it caught my eye!

In most of these, you see the figure first…it is usually the most central idea…but in this product a warthog takes that real estate. The SpartanNerd has TWO pet pigs. (There’s a photo of one on this blog entry.)

Here’s a little “stream of thought”

My eye saw the pig, then I looked clockwise as one does, and saw the monkey, then the bow…my eyes jerked over and saw the man.

This window box shows everything you need to see. I guess they used more blister bubble packaging because of what they saved back when they tried the windowless packaging. This box is all black. All business.

The back gives us a photoshop of the figures and some details. Gnawgahyde stands in the rain with his pets. (I wonder if his mother took this photo)? Details pointed out are the snake tattoo on the side of his head, the nose ring on Porkbelly, and Gnawgahyde’s vest and two necklaces. Also his stats are over on the left side. (Those red triangle things). We aren’t given any other bio, however. No traditional “file card”

The side features the same stats images.

The other side gives us a nice image of all three characters. That number 125 is the character number in this series. Gnawgahyde probably won’t get one, but someone like Snake Eyes likely has five versions. Each version will have the same number.

So there is a QR code. My thought was…this will lead me to some content, probably the file card or at least some bio information. NOPE…It was a dead page.

Behind the figure is Cobra graphics, that make a nice backdrop.

FIGURE REVIEW

I used the backdrop that came with this set, and also Cobra Commander’s as the floor.

What do you get in the package?

  • Gnawgahyde figure
  • Porkbelly figure
  • Yobbo figure
  • Compound Bow
  • Quiver with one removable arrow
  • Hat
  • Sniper Rifle with case
  • Pair of daggers
  • Wearable machete

So this GI Joe classified comes with a TON of stuff!

As mentioned, the vest is removable, and he also has a removable animal tooth necklace and some dog tags.

Gnawgahyde is a tall boy compared to Cobra Commander. But…I mentioned before that maybe Cobra Commander has a Napoleon complex. (Joepedia says that Gnawgahyde is Cobra Commander’s most trusted Dreadnok).

PICTURED GI Joe Classified Series Cobra Commander and Gnawgahyde.

So much to talk about.

Gnawgahyde has a few tattoos. The aforementioned snake on the side of his head is joined by the obligatory “anarchy” symbol on one shoulder, and on the other a skull with a snake and a knife. (I like to joke with my chorus students I am going to put this image on our t-shirt. And then I saw this)! If you don’t have Gnawgahyde’s hat on his head, and you don’t look closely to know better, you might think he has scraggly remnants of hair combed over all pathetically. (I say this in jest…I am voluntarily bald because I hate my bald spot).

The two necklaces. One is something like Kraven the Hunter might wear, and could honestly go on any barbarian figure. The dog tags don’t have any paint.

The arm machete. What an impractical weapon. I guess it is more believable than the “chain sword” that Buzzer traditionally sports. (The only other Dreadnok name I can recall). If you use this to chop trees, it is just going to flop around and be less effective than a traditional machete.

PICTURED: GI Joe Classified Series Sgt. Slaughter and Gnawgahyde.

The daggers can be stored in his belt sheath behind him or on the one in his boot.

The bow is surprisingly rubbery, and joins the hosts of bows I have that can’t have a knocked arrow. It’s too floppy. This one has a plastic string molded, necessary for it to appear correctly. But pretty much Gnawgahyde has to be posed with it before or after a shot. The bow and removable arrow do have some paint. There is a removable “ballast” on the bow. ( I looked this up and still don’t know the real word. Stabilizer? Rod damper?)

The quiver is a backpack with a peg. It is molded with a curve to fit his back. It has an oversized clip to store the bow or gun case. The little loop is for that “ballast.”

The big surprise for the SpartanNerd was the details of the sniper rifle. It came with a case that has molded spots for the weapon. And the gun has four parts…the main gun, the bipod, the scope, and the noise suppressor. And each part has a spot in the case.

I don’t personally have a lot of knowledge about guns, especially of this type. But my son certainly does, and when he saw this he was completely shocked. His words…”I didn’t know they were making GI Joes now with real weapons!” He told me that this was the general sniper rifle used in the army. And immediately we found the model: Remington M2010 ESR (Enhanced Sniper Rifle).

This inspired him to go out and buy some GI Joe Classified figures of his own, and you can see those in the video I posted.

THE PETS

Are they pets? Do you really think Gnawgahyde puts out a food bowl for these guys?

Porkbelly is very nice, and is fully articulated. He is in fact more articulated than Super7 Ultmates! Snake Eye’s “Timber” wolf. (A figure that costs a lot more). Porkbelly has a torso bend on a ball joint, legs that splay out, joints on each knee and ankle, and articulated tail, two joints on his neck, and a jaw that can open!

PICTURED: Super7 Ultimates! Snake Eyes pet wolf Timber, and GI Joe Classified Series Gnawgahyde’s pet Porkbelly.

Yobbo is the exact opposite, but nicely painted anyway. He is the kind of toy you might get out of a teacher’s prize bucket. But his tail is very rubbery and can be posed any way you want just be careful not to stress it. He can sit nicely on top of Gnawgahyde’s hat or on Porkbelly’s back.

PICTURED: McFarlane’s Raw-10 Cy-Gor, Figura Obscura Sun Wu Kong The Monkey King, and GI Joe Classified Yobbo.

SPARTANNERD’S RATING OF GI JOE CLASSIFIED SERIES GNAWGAHYDE, PORKBELLY, AND YOBBO

Is there really a question? 5/5.

Great sculpt in line with other GI Joe Classified figures, and also great paint with what are probably tempo graphic tattoos.

A great set of accessories, including two animal companions.

No stupid problems. Great articulation. Looks great to pose and photograph.

The package is ok if a little bland. But you can see everything in it. It isn’t the product’s fault that the QR code didn’t work.

He adds a lot to the SpartanNerd’s collection. Especially with Porkbelly and Yobbo. They can go anywhere, with any other figure I have. It might be a little odd to have a warthog with a nose ring in the wild or a monkey with an eyepatch. But why not?

Do you agree or disagree, Hub City Geeks? Do you have any GI Joe classified series? Should I review more? I have to say the allure of them as compared to Super7 Ultimates, for instance is pretty strong. They are easier to get and you get more value for your money.

TRANSFORMERS #10 FEATURES A LETTER BY THE SPARTANNERD!

by

0

Below is what I sent in to “The Matrix of Lettership” in reference to Transformers #8 after I was moved by the character development. This was an issue about grief. This letter was printed in issue #10.

Dear Matrix of Lettership,

I have been reading comics for years and years.  I barely remember not reading comics (I am 45.). But I’ve never written in.  This is my first time.

When I saw advertisements for the Energon Universe reboot…I was very excited.  But Transformers now stands a head taller than all other comics in recent memory.  I mean…since Flashpoint and The New 52.  Since McFarlane’s Spider-Man and Spawn 1-100.  And it works better than the comic book versions before it for some good reasons…you are bringing real life to these characters.  Every one introduced so far has some reason for you to care about what happens to them.  From Megatron in the hands of Cobra Commander to Soundwave taking revenge against Starscream for kicking Ravage.

But issue #8 is plumbing some even deeper depths.  There is real grief from Carly and Spike.  And it all weighs so heavy on Optimus.  I wonder if personal experiences from the writers are going into this character development?  I know it spoke to me because I have had some intense grief in the past few years.  But one panel in particular stuck out.  I felt like this small panel should have been a cover.  (Can it be?  Is there a way?)  Optimus sits beside Jetfire, who is barely alive and evidently on his way out.  He says “I cannot see the stars anymore.” And “Don’t leave!  It’s so dark.  Please…”. 

Yes.  We all read it.  But for me, it struck a nerve.  I have sat beside too many dying saints who just needed or would have wanted someone to be there.  You mentioned the issue was very hard to write and you didn’t know why.  I think I know.  There was so much conscience in this work.  From this touching panel to SkyWarp changing his mind to Thundercracker wishing to spare the humans.

I think the last book that got to me like this was Action Comics #13 WAY BACK in the New 52 (The Krypton issue.)  The moment between Optimus and Jetfire also reminded me of “I don’t feel so good Mr. Stark!”  And we all sit there feeling so many emotions as Tom Holland/Peter Parker fades away.  It weighed that much.  And full disclosure, I never have been that big of a fan of Jetfire.  (Loved the Revenge of the Fallen version). You made me care.  Mission accomplished!

Here is the printed response I received from The Matrix of Lettership

Thanks so much for recognizing myself in the pages, [SpartanNerd], and for recognizing the struggle! By no means do I try to put my actual feelings into TF, but we all have things we go through that influence how we feel about the world, and it’s my personal opinion that storytelling is very bland and one note without this individual human perspective. I’m hoping that TRANSFORMERS is a little like a reader taking some “DWJ goggles” and seeing what the filter does to the world around them. I’m trying my best to put myself in the worlds’ shoes, and what better way to do that than with Optimus friggin Prime? Maybe that’s embarrassing to say out loud. OH WELL.

NOTES AND THOUGHTS (for the benefit of friends who don’t regularly read SpartanNerd.Com)

What happened?

Comic books traditionally have a “letters page” at the end, where readers can write the creators and provide feedback and ask questions. Transformers has named their letters page “The Matrix of Lettership” which is a riff on the “Matrix of Leadership” item that Optimus Prime has installed in his chest. (Also, in case you don’t know…this item is a symbolic totem offering the wisdom of the past to the chosen leader who has it…It is a great honor to have it then!) Usually the feedback offered by fans is positive, but sometimes constructive criticism is offered. I have no idea how many letters were sent in to Transformers, but I bet they get a ton. (Letters nowadays means e-mails). But I CAN say that it seems like every issue of Transformers on this Image/Skybound run has gone to reprints. I’ll be getting every variant cover I can now of issue #10 since I am published out there to readers of Transformers comics.

I am very blessed to have my letter printed. The topic of grief is one that I am soon to be leading church devotions in. I read this issue right as I was being called to do that, so it hit the right notes for me.

What am I talking about in my letter? What does the response mean?

On announcing to Facebook and to others about my letter being published, I was unaware that people outside of comics wouldn’t know exactly what I was talking about, pretty much at all. For instance a librarian that I know didn’t realize it. My wife’s aunt didn’t. So here is some explanation.

Transformers- This was a toyline by Hasbro in the 1980’s of vehicles that transformed into robots. There were two teams…The Autobots and the Decepticons. The battle between the two sides was on a syndicated cartoon show modeled after what Mattel did with He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Optimus Prime was the Autobot leader and is the enduring symbol of the franchise. Other notable transformers are Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave, Bumblebee, and for purposes of this letter, Jetfire. (Transformers is the American adaptation of the Japanese “Giant Robot” genre. So they are an offshoot of Gundam.)

The SpartanNerd can list on one hand how many of these toys he owned as a kid. They were so expensive I didn’t have many. He-Man figures were $5, while Transformers were usually more like $20, except for the mini-cars. Mini-cars were the same size as Hot Wheels and featured simple transformations. These were about $5 each, but a Hot Wheels was less than a dollar, so…The point is, I didn’t have many, and most of the ones I had were Decepticons. These were Schrapnel (Insecticon), Weird Wolf (Headmaster), Scattershot (a part of Computron), and Shockwave. Eventually one of my brothers got Powermaster Optimus Prime for Christmas. It seems like one of us might have had Ratchet.

There was an iconic and tragic Transformers movie where Optimus Prime was killed and the show “jumped the shark” in my opinion then and now. Transformers regained popularity in the 2000’s when Micheal Bay began to make live-action movies using CGI. Modern Transformers toys aren’t as solid as the classics from the 1980’s, but they seem to be more categorically affordable. (I don’t have any of these, but my children did. Modern collectors versions are BONKERS AWESOME.)

The Letters.

Flashpoint and New 52 were DC Comics “reboots” within the past 15 years. Flashpoint truly re-mixed the classic characters like Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman. The New 52 is basically where the story continued after “The Flashpoint.” (It’s kind of the same story they have going on now.)

In my letter I referenced the New 52 Action Comics #13 and made a typo…that should have been the “Krypto” issue, not “Krypton.” Cut me some slack…it was 11:30 PM! This is the issue that Krypto gets locked in the phantom zone while the planet explodes. But he is like an angel watching Clark Kent grow up. Until eventually they learn to use the Phantom Zone (this story was maybe ten years ago…I don’t remember the details,) but Krypto jumps out ready to play. The way the story was written was very emotional, and unexpected. It was a fresh take on what was sometimes a corny character.

Spawn issues 1-100…this was Todd McFarlane’s comic book character after he left Marvel. The first 100 issues are what most Spawn fans consider the best story. This still is an ongoing story, but most fans believe the best days are behind it way back in those issues. I have read these 100 issues many times. I also like an offshoot book, Spawn: The Dark Ages. All around, Spawn is kind of a combination of Batman, Ghost Rider, Hobgoblin, Spider-Man. This was a comic written for an adult audience…it left the trappings and restraints of usual super-hero comics behind in favor of “extreme” art, violence, and language. It also handled religious and social issues as “comedy” in the sense of Dante’s Inferno.

Jetfire– I remember watching the Transformers cartoon as a kid and realizing that Jetfire was a Decepticon who turned Autobot. I felt it was some kind of brainwashing or something. I mean…I was young, so this was how I understood it. the Transformers movie sequel Revenge of the Fallen portrayed him in a military museum disguised as a plane, dormant from lack of energon. He scans a more modern Blackbird to transform into when Sam activates him with his shard of the Allspark. My father thought this was hilarious on account of the writers made Jetfire into an old senile man with gas. (We watched this movie together in the theater, a rare treat as an adult and a good memory of my dad laughing). Upon hearing the state of the war, he switches sides from Decepticon to Autobot right there in front of us. But Jetfire eventually saves the day, sacrificing his spark and parts to revive Optimus Prime, making the two of them combiners at least temporarily.

In the Energon Universe, which is essentially what we used to call Transformers vs. GI JOE, Jetfire is the first Transformer we saw in Void Rivals #1. And then he re-appears in Transformers #8 depleted of energon and essentially dying. And this is the component of the story I was addressing when I wrote in. There is grief and introspection from most of the characters in this issue, not just about Jetfire, but the human characters Carly and Spike have also lost loved ones, and Spike is in a wheelchair for getting involved in the Autobot/Decepticon affairs.

DWJ goggles…this is Daniel Warren Johnson, the writer of the current Image “Skybound” Transformers comic. He is saying he hopes to portray the fantasy world of Transformers to the real modern world in a way that he sees it. He said something else in this letters column (not in response to me), that has me worried. He said “Why am I working so hard on licensed characters.” He also responded to someone else’s letter that there wouldn’t be any spinoff series while he was the writer. I certainly hope he doesn’t go anywhere! He is doing a great job of bringing alot of soul to this book! (Image has a history of taking pride in original characters. They are a mainstream “indy” publisher if such a thing can exist.)

Complaint

I have had this one for a few issues. They have printed the letters in light pink on white paper. My failing eyes gave me a lot of trouble reading this. It seems like some other Energon Universe letters had yellow on white. Come on guys!

Final Thoughts

I truly find it an honor to have my letter published. This book has been great, and the Energon Universe is new and exciting. I like how it was put in a recent GI Joe comic’s letter section…the Energon Universe is comparable to Marvel’s Ultimate comics of the early 2000’s. It is a re-thinking of Transformers and GI Joe. Void Rivals is space opera, that is beginning to trickle down into Transformers, which is a contextual story, and GI Joe is effected by it on a human military level. If you like Transformers and GI Joe, you should jump into this new universe. There is an ongoing GI Joe story not in the Energon universe…don’t get confused! The Energon Universe GI Joe books have been named after main characters so far. Duke, Cobra Commander, Scarlett, and Destro. I recommend all of these as a great place to jump in to what I hope is a universe that lasts a LONG TIME.