What's on JOE Mind?

This week we are joined by HissTank.com honcho Fran (aka Destro) to talk to him about the New Jersey Collectors' Convention and learn a little history on how the HissTank community got its start.  Its an interesting interview - you should listen!  Due to a slow news week, the team discussed many points of view while trying to answer Tim from KC's question about Hasbro distribution. Speaking of distribution, apparently it is working in some areas as Greg, Justin and Gary review each one of the new Renegades figures with the general consensus being that these are AWESOME!  Gary encourages a thread on HissTank concerning wanting a Sideshow Navy SEAL Torpedo figure - how sweet would that figure be!?  Oh, and the Hits for Tots campaign rolls on at full speed.  We'll be making some less fortunate children and the US Marine Corps very happy this holiday season! Also this week the show announces not one but TWO contests.  Here are the details: First, from HalloweenCostumes.com, we have a $75 gift certificate for a lucky person who "Likes" our Facebook page.  To enter, hit up our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/whatsonjoemind and click the LIKE button at the top of the page.  It's just that simple!  If you have already "LIKED" our page, do not worry, you are already entered, so you are good to go!! Be sure to tell your other friends who like Joe!  We will pick a winner next week! Second, from friend of the program Gary Head, we have not one but TWO cases of Joes for a lucky winner who is NOT located in North America.  That's right, no one from the US or Canada is eligible.  This is an international care package consisting of 1 case of Wave 1 and 1 case of Wave 2!  All you have to do is answer these 4 easy questions about the show and email them back to us at whatsonjoemind@gmail.com.  A winner will be pulled in a blind draw from all those who submit correct answers.  Here are the FOUR questions: 1.)  Fictionally speaking, on Chuck's Facebook Fan Page - What the Chuck?, Chuck is "BIG" in what country? 2.)  FILL IN THE BLANK:  Justin just reviewed the most recent convention set.  The name of the set is Mission {BLANK}. 3.)  THIS IS A TWO PART QUESTION.  PART 1: What was the last international country that Greg visitied and in turn was imprisoned and later rescued by Chuck with his Snake Eyes sword?  PART 2:  What was Greg eating and drinking when Chuck found him in jail? 4.)  In what country was Gary in when he watched the 2011 Cricket World Cup? Good luck to all that enter.  We'll be sure to post everything again on our Facebook page for max exposure.  Next week will be a fun show as we will be joined by Kevin Watts.  Don't let this show slip you by though - go ahead, start listening will ya?

Hey, what can we say, it was a slow news week, but we still delivered some high quality community content; or at least we tried to!  First we are joined by Cole Sickler, the Community Manager from Crave.com to talk to us about their unique social networking marketplace and how they plan to engage the Joe community.  Greg gives his first hand review of Yo Joe: A Real American Hip Hop Musical in Chicago.  We get some listener mail about the IDW series which sparks some decent discussion.  Topping the news and hot on the heels of Wave 1, the first of the anticipated Renegades figures begin to appear.  Hasbro made a surprise announcement that they will appear at the New York Comic Convention - will they FINALLY show us those long rumored 7 packs?  Lastly, Chuck talks our ears off on his latest purchases, Justin wants to do a Thundercat's podcast, and Gary is sick.  It can't get any better than this - CAN IT??  Its all the Joe news from the last week; squeezed down to less than an hour.

This week we are joined by Steve "Megatron" Phillips of the Geek Cast Radio Network to talk to us about our new affiliation AND turn the tables on us by getting a chance to interview the WOJM team for a new audience of listeners.  Greg adds to his softball league hit count and in the process ups the number of toys we will donate to Toys for Tots this holiday season.  In the news, a bound edition of all of the classic Marvel GI Joe Yearbooks are up for pre-order on Amazon. We "ohh" and "ahh" over the unveiling of the new membership incentive figure from the GIJCC and we also get some new info concerning how the club will bill and ship your figures if you join their subscription program.  Lastly the team goes over the highlights from the latest round of the Hasbro QA, including the future of the Data Viper and the long rumored 7 packs.  Once again we are joined by everyone's favorite "British Dude", The Fwooshcast's Craig.  Stand by for another 90 minutes of Joe commentary, news and reviews...and a little humor, albeit bad.  Enjoy!

Think you've seen and heard everything there is about Joe?  Think again!  This week we are joined by Jay Gish, director of Yo Joe - A Real American Hip-Hop Musical.  You have NEVER heard Joe like this before - ever!  We even have a clip to share as we talk about the production with Jay and Dave Stecco who plays Gung Ho's alter ego, "Full Bore."  After, we empty the mail bag - or at least put a nice dent in it.  Believe it or not, we even talk about My Little Pony.  Find out which Joes we like that got little or no love from the comic and cartoon, get our opinions of the line for the next 5 year and hear our guesses concerning who we would like to see in the GIJCC's subscription program.  Speaking of the GIJCC, the staff lends a helping hand by encouraging an over anxious fandom to show a little patience.  As they say, good things come, to those who wait.  All of this, plus hurricanes, Craig from The Fwooshcast and Greg starts off our Toys for Tots campaign on a good foot.  Oh, and we have a special episode #21 planned - it Chuck's SILENT EPISODE!  No...but seriously, its cool, but you will have to listen to find out what it is!

Its our first CUSTOMIZER SPECIAL!  This week we are joined by Richard of Ratfink Customs and John (aka the infamous 'PLuv' and friend of the program), admin of JoeCustoms.com to talk to us about the fine art of Joe customizing.  If you are a customizer or any type of artist for that matter, the first hour will be bliss for you.  In hour 2 we get down to the latest news of GI Joe 2: Bruce Willis will be Joe Colton,  Jonathan Pryce returns as the President of the United States and we find out that Extensive Enterprises will be part of the movie!  On the GI Joe Collectors' Club front, finished images of the first two subscription figures are now public - is the fandom liking what it sees and most importantly of all, how many will buy it.  Lastly, Chuck gushes like a little girl over getting a free SDCC Skystriker.  Believe us, the extra day to edit this is worth the wait!  Enjoy!! Next week, we will shift recording nights to Wednesdays for the next 5 or 6 weeks.  In most cases, the show will be posted a day later than normal.  Also, Episode 19 will be dedicated to your listener mail, so write or call us with your questions: whatsonjoemind@gmail.com or 262-515-WOJM (9656)!

Ever wanted to learn what it is like to make your own GI Joe film?  This week you get to find out at the WOJM crew has an exclusive interview with filmmaker Mark Cheng to talk to him about his GI Joe fanfilm, Operation: Red Retrieval.  Find out first hand why his latest trailer and put the online community abuzz with excitement.  Have you heard Justin's 3-part interview with The Fwooshcast about Sigma 6 yet?  Get a preview as Justin and The Fwooshcast's own co-host Craig discuss their near 4 hour talk.  In the news we go over the start of filming of GI Joe 2 and get our thoughts on the new look of Dwayne Johnson as Roadblock.  Next we breakdown the latest from the GI Joe Collectors' Club about their highly anticipated and highly debated figure subscription program.  Did you get your RoC mail away Cobra Commander yet?  Some of us have and Gary takes you through what the stamped code means - supposedly.  Gary also shares the details of his new 1:1 scale XMLR-3A replica rifle from Pit Viper Studios.  All this and Greg shows some backbone while getting cut on by Chuck for playing softball- yeah, you read that right...  Bonus points if you can name the closing music.  It's next on WOJM!!

This week the WOJM Team is joined by not one, but TWO special guests.  First the team sharpens their pencils and get an education in Classic Joe 101 as Ace Allgood from The Trenches 12" Forum gets the fellas back in touch with their Joe roots.  We also learn that the more stuff changes between both scales, the more they remain the same - ultimately both sides of the hobby have a lot more in common than we know.  In the news, we review the latest GI Joe 2 news, including Dwayne Johnson in weapons training for the film AND a recent rumor of Bruce Willis possibly joining the cast as Joe Colton.  Those of you who are starved for new product, IT IS ON THE WAY and we oogle at the leaked pictures from China of Wave 1 and Wave 2 of the 30th Anniversary line.  Finally we interview Christopher (aka Sidewinder) from the GI Joe Review Podcast - the grand daddy of all Joe podcasts.  We learn about his vision to start the podcast and he tells us that new episodes are on the way!  As Greg promised, it is a longer episode!  Enjoy!

After weeks of a constant new barrage, the team gets a welcome breather and a lighter show agenda.  First we review our voicemail to discover Chuck's new fan, Herb from Rhode Island.  Next we dip into our mailbag to read a letter from listener Rob about the old website Mike's Forgotten Joes.  In the news we discuss the latest casting of Mouse in the upcoming Joe sequel AND we have a release date to look forward to!  Moving on we discuss the work of Yetibrew Designs and their awesome new augment parts for the Dragonfly.  Finally we review what we have gotten in over the last couple of weeks and then call it an early night.  You DO NOT want to miss this!

You have debated it.  You have patiently waited for it.  While the debate might continue, the wait is over.  In an exclusive interview, the guys at WOJM interview Chris from MMI.  We find out the origins of SKO, the meaning behind its name, their plans for a comic and the line beyond wave 1 and many many answers to your burning and hot button questions.  Fans and critics alike should have a listen.  We guarantee you will learn something out of this.  So sit back and have a listen at this Special Edition and mostly GI Joe-free recording of What's on JOE Mind! NOTE: We will post our regular edition, episode 15 later in the week!  Until then, enjoy this one!

It was a rough Tuesday for the fandom as bandwidth issues prevented many from obtaining their SDCC goodies.  Add to that a lackluster showing of our favorite toy at comic con and the series finale of Renegades made for a very very moody fanbase.  The WOJM team tackles these issues and more in their own light hearted way - or tried to anyway.  This week we are joined by modern era "documentarian" Gary Head as we interview this unique member of the community.  He helps them review the SDCC weekend fallout and rewards a lucky listener in our latest contest - Joe Haikus!  In our show segment, the team reviews a handful of answers to your SKO questions in preparation for next week's exclusive interview!  Plus we try to call Hasbro Toy Shop Customer Service.  Will we any have better luck?  Don't miss this one!  It may be almost 2 hours, but its a lot of content and not much fat.

In this SUPER SIZED San Diego Comic Con edition of WOJM we are joined by two very special guests.  Craig from The Fwooshcast teams up with the guys as they interview YoJoe.com's admin and CO, Terry Dizard.  Find out more about the grand-daddy of all Joe sites: how it started, unique info it contains, and how any member of the fandom can contribute.  It is definitely an interview not to miss.  In the news, Chuck explains his dislike of the new Sideshow figures and we say, "HUH!?"  Skystrikers are popping up all over the country, hear where they are at and what the community thinks of them.  In our Renegades review, Justin and Gary are beginning to realize that this ride is almost over - will all questions and loose ends be tied up next Saturday.  Lastly, it is SDCC week!  What, if anything new, will we see AND will there be anything on Hasbro Toy Shop on Monday?  Stand by...all this and more - INCLUDING a new contest to coincide with next week's guest - on WOJM!

GI Joe in the mass media topped the news of the week with the announcement of Ray Stevenson being cast as Firefly in GI Joe 2.  Renegades winds down toward cancellation, er...sorry Hasbro, we meant to type HIATUS.  The crew comments on both.  In the show segment, we are joined by Jay Hunger of the COIL Club to talk about the second annual COIL Con and GI Joe Swap Meet in Kokomo, Indiana.  Jay will tell us a little about the day and the COIL Commando figure exclusive to the event.  Back by popular demand the fellas return to the IDW comic universe for discussion and you may be surprised which Joe title line they like the best (or not).  Finally we wrap it up by drawing the name of the winner of our 2011 30th Anniversary Pre-Prod Skystriker contest.  All this including Gary corrects himself TWICE, Chuck mutes his mic, Greg dodges proposing to his girlfriend and we find out that Justin simply isn't as big of a Red Sox fan as he says he is.  It's the ALL-STAR game edition of WOJM!  (Perhaps next week we will talk a little Formula 1, Cricket and Soccer for our foreign listeners?)

From 2010 to mid 2011, the GI Joe Pursuit of Cobra line from Hasbro tried its best to carry the flag of the hobby after marginal movie and retail product sales.  Understandably, retailers were gun shy to reload on the American Hero because in their eyes, the movie line was simply not selling.  With a little luck, persistence and possible divine intervention from a dedicated brand team, the line we now know as PoC made its way to retail, but in a form changed from the initial vision shared with us in Kansas City 2009.  Gone were the movie cards, movie actor likenesses and the spring loaded weapons.  Enter new and familiar characters and vehicles with slick retail packaging and increased tooling and detail.  PoC became an award winning brand based upon the Hasbro GI Joe Brand Team's attention to detail and willingness to add that little extra to make the Pursuit of Cobra stand out against tough competition on the 3.75" retail landscape.  Still, we were lucky to get much of that as some items didn't make it to traditional retail channels or got cancelled all together.  At the end of the day, the tale of the tape shows this: 34 single carded figures, 12 vehicles and many satisfied fans.  In this special edition of WOJM, the team reviews the line and goes over the highs and the lows of a series that seemed to be unfairly placed on Hasbro Life Support from day 1.  If PoC is a barometer, can we expect more of the same with the 30th Anniversary and GI Joe 2 lines bring us?  We'll see, but until then, sit back, relax and have a listen to this Special Edition of What's on JOE Mind!

While Chuck blames Justin for last weeks freudian slip, the team regains composure to tackle a hefty agenda.  First is MAIL CALL where we dive into the mail bag and read off some listener mail, including that from the UK - who we assure him, he's not alone in his country.  On to the news, we talk about the upcoming Waves 1 and 2 of the 30th Annie line, spend some time talking about The Rock, Ninjas and the casting of Lady Jaye (or as Gary said, "eye candy") and wrap it up with a considerable discussion about the latest subscription news from the GI Joe Collectors' Club.  This episode was so full of info, instead of super-sizing it for you, we recorded off a Special Edition discussion about the Life and Deth (typo on purpose) of the Pursuit of Cobra which we will post later in the week.  So until then, enjoy this regular edition!  Greg says you will like it!

The gang is back together! Chuck goes over his clandestine rescue of Greg in Canada which leads to an unfortunate slip of the tongue by Chuck. Getting down to business Greg finally gives his Canadian Joe Con report. We dip into the mailbag to read some listener mail from Japan and once again discuss the OCS ARAH Project - is O-Ring evolution a bad thing? In the news, Greg takes us through the details of the 2nd Annual COIL Con and Sideshow Snake Eyes Statue. The team reacts to the good news from the GIJCC concerning the cancelled mail-away Rise of Cobra Cobra Commander figure w/ HISS Drone being made available to members. We review the latest episode of Renegades. Why is this show getting cancelled (er...we mean put on 'hiatus') when it is FINALLY getting good - thanks HASBRO! Rounding out the news we discuss the latest GI Joe 2 castings as Justin kindly reminds us that the Blind Master was originally black, so the casing of RZA is very appropriate. In our first debate segment called "Watch Yer Flank!", we react to the latest Seibertron Twincast report that eventually JoeCon and BotCon will be one. Gary reacts harshly as you would expect. Is it a good idea or bad idea? Lastly, we give out the details on how YOU can win a PRE-PRODUCTION 30th Anniversary Skystriker. Remember folks, it is said POUTINE - by another other name, it simply isn't french fries, gravy and cheese curds. Got it? Good...enjoy!