GIJOE Round table

[Nestlé]

Hey guys.

This is a thread to talk about what has become of GIJOE at Devil's Due. *Whether you read the book or not please give your input.

I have been buying the book monthly and since they started America's Elite (Their new JOE comic series) I have had quite a few problems with it.

Worse, I don't feel like they care.
A friend of mine named Shane sent them an email a few months back respectfully telling them his concerns with where they were taking the book and what they could work on.
He also mentioned that "bad fan mail" never seems to be published so he "dared" them to print his. *...
And they did.
Kind of.

Rather than printing HIS letter they REWROTE his letter, making him sound like a huge fan and signed his name.

WHAT THE HELL!?!??!?! :shock:

Though Shane demanded an appology, it was never printed.

That was 4 months ago.
This month I sent them a letter letting them know that I felt disappointed with what the book has become.
The reply I received was that I was wrong. *And that they receive more mail saying that there book is great. *Who tells their fans that they're wrong!?!?! :?

Anyways...

This is just how I'm opening the debate.
What does everyone else think?

[Meteoro]

That's a real bad choice. *Fans' opinions should be respected or they can have an ungly turn around. *You know, with the era of information, everything can spill through the net ;).

I'd recommend your friend to badmouth them on the net :D

By the way, good to see you, nestlé!

:cool1: M :cool1:

[Nestlé]

Good to see you too M. ;)

I've been around... *Mostly in the Video game forum.
For awhile I was going to come back to RPing, Jeff and I were discussing some big plotlines, but since he's kinda taking a break too they never really went ahead. :oops:

My friend has already gathered together a band of followers who are leaving the book, so we'll see how that turns out.

[Sprouse001]

im a huge fan of G.I.Joe. i was pissed when they killed Lady Jaye. now they might be killing someone else. i think the stories are good but the fans opinion is what makes a book sell. Devil's Due should be lucky people buy there stuff. if it weren't for people buying there stuff, they would go out of business.

[Meteoro]

Good to see you too M. ;)

I've been around... Â*Mostly in the Video game forum.
For awhile I was going to come back to RPing, Jeff and I were discussing some big plotlines, but since he's kinda taking a break too they never really went ahead. :oops:

Yup, I've seen your name pop over the video game forum ;). *But since I don't play video games, I was kinda "off topic" per se :P.

And well, as for RPing, I've been impressively lacking as of late. *Unfocused at best and can't pull myself to keep stuff flowing :oops:. *But I'm still hanging around. *:whaat:

:cool1: M :cool1:

[Nestlé]

While I found Lady Jaye's death disappointing,. I found it more disappointing how many people they BRING BACK FROM THE DEAD. *They make it seem like being shot in the back only "knocks a person out." *After all, Cobra Commander & Hawk were both shot, Colton & Cobra Commander (& The Crimson Twins) were all ASSASSINATED by the Red Shadows, yet here they are...

Not to mention the disappointment of them bringing back Wingfield who was a nobody character when he was shot in the back 20 years ago... *And he's back too...

[Meteoro]

Heehee! *It's as if you were talking about the X-Men. *You know, they never die for good.

:rofl: M :rofl:

[Nestlé]

Well, that's actually something the letters guy said:

He said "It's a world of gamma rays and radioactive spiders, anything can happen!"

The thing is I'm not buying a book about spiderman or the Hulk... *THIS IS A MILITARY BOOK.

[Mattson]

Before the relaunch in its new title, I had found that GI Joe had stalled plotwise and wasn't worth the cash. Add in I had backlogged about 2-3 issues, I just gave up buying it and now that sounds like a good move. Based on what you said Nestle, I'm glad I did. It seems the company is too much ego and too little respect for the fans.

Also, if you're looking to get back to RP, I've got plots waiting for a few big ones to end and others to return.

[Nestlé]

I'd say what you just said DEFINES Devil's Due right now, LM.
Though I think they really got the wheels going after awhile by introducing The Red Shadows and other examples, everything they were on the verge of attaining in the series is now... *Trash.

As for RPing, Somewhere along the lines my character's RP SL intertwined itself with Jeff's. *Though that wasn't really a permanent choice I would probably want to resolve that before moving on.

That, of course doesn't really speak for SG who was kinda my stray character who had nothing to do with the others.

[Dagda]

Well, Elixia is running towards the Orphanage currently if SG wants to chat with her again.

[Sprouse001]

the only thing they have done right is Snake Eyes: Declassified. i was impressed with that.

[Nestlé]

Interesting that you should bring that up Sprouse.
I think SED is probablyt the best thing they've done... *But still I find myself having problems with it. *For instance, in the first issue did you notice what SE's name is? *SNAKE EYES. *His dad calls him SNAKE EYES... *What the hell? *I would understand if it was jokingly or something, but that was a meaningful conversation where a nickname wouldn't apply. *Also, he didn't have the personality to fit "snake eyes" back then. *Even in the war, when everyone used their real names (including Storm Shadow) they still call him snake eyes. *Does that make sense? *Lt. Snake eyes reporting for duty!!

Also, I think they had a great opportunity to go deeper into the characters that served with Tommy, SE & Lonzo in the war (as some of them... *1 of them :oops: *came back as a major character in the JOE SL).

I realize I might be being picky, but with how the company has treated my friends and I they would have to do something amazing to keep me on. *I've gicen them 3 months.

[girch]

I'm glad you brought up GIJoe on here, 'cause I'm in the same boat as you.

I've been getting the title since Devil's Due started running with it, and I've bought everything with the Joe name under DD (except the ninja digest thing they did, since I read my brother's copy and nearly gagged). *For quite a while now, I've been dissatisfied with their work, starting back with the early Frontline books and then continuing into the continuing series. *The only thing of theirs I actually somewhat looked forward to was the Reloaded title, which, in their supposed infinite wisdom, they canned.

I don't know why I've put as much money into them as I have, since I never really connected to anything they put out except for some moments in Reloaded. *Call me a sucker, nostalgic, or just willing to give second, third, and 35th chances. *Now you can call me poor. *And happy, since their books are pretty well done.

When I went to my store last, Sigma 6 was sitting there. *Sadly, the sucker in me gave them another chance -- but will never do it again. *After reading that abomination, I watched two episodes of Sigma 6. *I died a little inside.

I can't place all the blame for the suckiness of Joe on DD (though there is a lot that I can), as I'm sure it was Hasbro that killed things like Reloaded and started up the crap that we call Sigma 6 (and don't even get me started on the card game) and that DD didn't have much say on that matter. *Even though Hasbro is in charge, DD is to blame for the gargbage stories that came out in a lot of the books...

I'm just mindlessly ranting right now, so I'm going to stop. *Maybe I'll have something more coherent to say about this later.

[Nestlé]

Well, surprisingly, I DISAGREE with you on a couple things Girch.

Where we're on the same base with DDP and all of the trash they've tricked into buying.
We're also on the same page in the declaration that the Joe DVDs (such as VvV & Spy Troops) BITE.

I, however, have a certain respect for Sigma 6. *Hear me out before crucifixion though.
EVERY 80's cartoon that has been re-released, whether it's HeMan or Transformers has had a MAJOR make over for todays kids. *Now, I may not dig anime, but that's what kids like nowwadys. *Sure, as an adult you could sit down and pick the cartoon apart, but... *Seriously... *Do you even REMEMBER how bad the old Joe cartoon was? *I bought the seasons on DVD... *Believe me... *Snake eyes cross dressing to disguise himself in a band as a backup singer is HORRIBLE.

Also, the Joe card game... *I have to confess that I am on the artist team who still adds to the dead card game at:
http://www.missionfaces.com
Though Wizards of the Coast didn't care at all for the liscence and had it forced upon them by Hasbro they hit on something that had lots of potential. *Seriously... *Give it a chance, you might like it.

[girch]

Honestly, I've never brought myself to watch the old cartoon. *I've heard some horror stories, though (snakemen/aliens? ick. though the idea of venomized troops makes me think back to that...). *

My problem with the S6 cartoon wasn't that it's anime (I like anime -- well, the good stuff, anyway :P), but that it's so...brainless, I guess. *A major problem I had was the ninjas, and how the writers lost all sense of reality with them (who needs motorized transport when you can literally run like the wind?). *I see your point that this is what the kids seem to like, but along those lines, I can't help but think that the GIJoe cartoon in 5 years will just be fuzzy teletubbies with Joe faces, incoherently babbling "pikatikiwiki" with a random "the army rocks!" and "guns are fun!" thrown in.

Now, if the original made a mute, masked ninja go undercover as a singer, then maybe Sigma6 is in good company after all... :P

I agree with you on the card game -- it's a keeper. *I used to show up every once in a while on the WotC Joe board, and I think I've posted once on FACES. *I just got going on OCTGN recently, so I'm thinking I'll be over on FACES a little more often to try to find some people to play. *My brother is on the dev team (Vyn) and I know Hourfather as well. *It's hard to play Joe when you only know three other people that play... :?

Slowly but surely, the fanbase is expanding. *I introduced my sister's boyfriend and he wants to track down a box of boosters now! :D

[Nestlé]

Hey, that's cool Girch!!

Actually, the person I mentioned earlier who was totally mistreated by DDP was a friend of mine named Shane (who calls himself Silent Master @ FACES.) *HE contributed some of the most amazing cards from the FoF expansion.
It's a small world, eh?
Speaking of "eh," I noticed your info says you're from Canada. *Where?

Oh, and you're right... *Avoid the old cartoon. *Obviously I did not remember how bad it was when I bought the DvDs.

Sigma 6 may be brainless, and they may have destroyed characters like Tunnel Rat, but I would suggest watching the first 5 episodes before you make a verdict. *At FACES we've had this conversation many times and that seems to be the verdict. *Love it or Hate it you should watch the first 5. *They're all one story arc, and you don't really know what you're getting until you watch all 5. *Personally I like the show, but does that mean I've watched more than the 5? *... *Nope. ;) *:p

[girch]

I remember seeing him on the board. *I'm assuming he posted his story up there, because it sounds somewhat familiar. *It's horrible that DD would do a thing like that.

I gave it two episodes when I sat down with it. *I'll try to track down the other three and give it another chance.

I'm smack-dab in the barren wasteland we call the prairies. :) *Winnipeg, to be precise. *Where do you hail from?

[Nestlé]

Well I reside in the "money making prairies."
Alberta.
I thought if you lived near enough I could hook you up with quite of few JOE card players... *but 14 hours is a little on the long side for a drive to play cards. ;)

As for the episodes, we actually have all 5 on the FACES site for download. *I can give you the link if you'd like.

[girch]

Ahh, the Sovereign Kleindom of Alberta. *14 hours, eh? *Hmmm... *Though what I hear from my ex-pat politics prof, maybe I don't want to make the trip. * ;)

That link would be great. *I'm surprised there are only 5 episodes so far. *Any official reason they haven't made more?

[Nestlé]

Yeah... *I don't think anyone here actually LIKES Klein, but he makes us money. :oops:

There is actually a whole season of Sigma 6, we just only have the first 5 episodes on the Faces site. *(And cooincidentally whenever I see it on TV it's one of those 5 (weird).)
The link is:
http://www.missionfaces.com/sigma6/

Cheers. ;)

[girch]

Thanks a lot! *I'll take your advice and give them another try.

[Sprouse001]

i got the 1st issue of Sigma 6. i wasn't very impressed with it.

going back to what Nestle said about Snake Eyes: Declassified, now that you mention it, they never did say his name. even his daddy said something about "Snake Eyes". when he was in Vietnam and Stalker and others were talking about him they refered to him as Snake Eyes. maybe Larry Hama never meant for him to have a real name.

[girch]

maybe Larry Hama never meant for him to have a real name.

In that case, Devil's Due shouldn't be doing a "hey look! *we're gonna tell you the origin of Snake Eyes!" story then. *That sort of tells me that they're going to give me all the details that have been hidden for years.

[Sprouse001]

i also dont like how they got rid of all the other Joes. i liked the wide variety they had. now they have only a few. bring them all back.

[Nestlé]

Are we back on S6 again?
In SE declassified (if that's what we're still talking about) the first issue was a huge disappointment, cause the ONE thing they could do right was flesh out some characters in the squad like Kamakura's dad... *But NOOOOOO.
"Hey we hate "snake eyes"
BAM BAM
"Oh no!!! *We're dying!!!"

Please. :roll:

[girch]

i also dont like how they got rid of all the other Joes. i liked the wide variety they had. now they have only a few. bring them all back.

Oh no, not while Uncle Hasbro is on watch. *I'm guessing it's 'cause kids can't focus on ensemble casts anymore, so um, we may as well fold up their flags...