JoeFest 2023: Special Report

** Editor's note: This post was started on Thursday evening, 06/15/23, however I ended up having to take my wife to the ER before I could finish. So instead of completing this post before HeroesCon, I'm completing it on the evening of 06/18/23 instead after HeroesCon.

One the eve of attending the annual Heroes Convention in my hometown of Charlotte, NC, I thought I'd first recap my first ever JoeFest that was held last weekend, June 9-11 in Augusta, GA. While I've heard of this show before, it would sneak up and pass me by in previous years. Late last week however I started seeing all the social media blitz so I looked into it a little more. I had no idea that August was just under a 2 hour drive from my home so I took a look at my calendar to see if I could swing attending the show. As it turned out my family already had plans on Saturday, but Sunday was wide open. I called my older brother to see if he'd want to ride down with me and shortly there after we were on our way to our very first JoeFest!

Going in I really didn't have many expectations. I saw some awesome panels scheduled for Saturday, which I was sad that I missed, however the pictures I saw of the sales floor made the show look pretty massive. Once I got there, paid for admission and slipped on my cool rubber JoeFest band and walked inside, I was in awe. I was immediately taken back to the first few Botcon shows I attended, however at this show there was a great mixture of vendors and exhibitors. One of the first exhibitor tables we visited was Fresh Monkey Fiction. While I can't say I had heard much about them prior to the show, I did see some of the early pictures online from Friday night and Saturday at the show.

One of the lines being worked on is Operation: Monster Force. These figures look fantastic and I can't wait to see a more finished product. The werewolf character is an instant buy for me. I had a chance to talk with one of the guys at the booth and he told me this line of figures was actually being manufactured by BigBadToyStore! I was very impressed with everything that had on display.

I didn't get the chance to ask about the Zombie test shots they had displayed, but they looked equally as awesome as the Monster Force stuff. Over on the edge of their table was some 3 3/4 figures, but what really caught my eye were these small Cops 'n Crooks figures! These were done up in the same vein as Hasbro's old GI Joe Combat Heroes (remember those?). This wouldn't be the only appearance by this what I thought was a forgotten Hasbro brand...more on that in a bit.

The next booth I stopped by was the Valaverse/Action Force setup. Again, I've heard of this brand before and I've seen some pictures of their 6 inch figures, but that was about it. One side of their booth had a really cool SUV type vehicle on display that apparently is in the works. I'm not sure why I didn't snap any pictures of it though, I guess I was just in awe so much. 

The opposite side of their square shaped both had a large castle diorama with some very cool action scenes. I'm familiar with blast effects for guns and such, but blood effects? After gazing over this awesome diorama I decided to go around to the front of the booth to check out the figures they had for sale as I knew I wanted to buy at least one figure to get a hands on feel for them.

free Action Force stickers!

Being that it was getting late into the day on Sunday, the selection of figures being offered was starting to become slim pickings, but they did have some of the figures from the first wave still in stock as well as the JoeFest exclusive Warpath Eclipse. I really didn't know which direction to go, but as you can see I ended up with more than just one figure! Condor is the leader of the good faction and he had a GI Joe Steel Brigade look so I figured he'd be a good choice. If you get a good guy you need a bad guy too, right? I ended with The Bone Collector as he just looked pretty tough looking. I believe all of series 4 is comprised of women characters and this version of Eclipse I purchased was the show exclusive. I say they twisted my arm a bit, but I also didn't put up much of a fight. Look for more detailed reviews of these figures on the blog at a later date.

Continuing to make my way around the outer aisle of the show room floor, the next table we stopped at was Chicken Fried Toys. I had previously seen they were working on some western themed 3 3/4 figures, which I thought was cool, but what really caught my eye at their table was this "press release" and blister card mock up for Cops 'n Crooks! 

I had no idea that this was a even a thing. While I didn't own many of the original toys, I always thought it was a pretty cool line and enjoyed the cartoon series. Chicken Fried Toys and Fresh Monkey Fiction are tag teaming to bring back this futuristic line, this time in 4 in form. As you see above, they had the test shot for Marshall Sundown on display and looks fantastic. I believe they said they are shooting for fall of 2023 so you have time to prepare your wallets if this sort of thing is up your ally.

The next booth over was for Keone Young, the voice of Storm Shadow from the original GI Joe Sunbow cartoon. He had a nice spread of different photos for sale of him from various movies and shows he's been a part of. I got to talk to him briefly, however when he learned I was from Charlotte, NC he went on to tell me how much he hates the airport (Charlotte Douglas International)! Apparently the concourses are too spread out (which they are) making it hard to catch a connecting flight if you don't have much time in between. He also asked if I had been to Greenville, SC and asked if I've been to Retro-Toy Con. This was another show that I've not been to, but really want to go. Greenville is about a 2 hour drive for me so it's easily doable. Every year I put it on my calendar, but when November rolls around I swear something happens and I haven't been able to go. One day however, I'll make it there.

Once we made it around to the next aisle we stopped and looked at several different booths and talked to some great people. Whether it was Needless Toys or Crimson-Toys, it was awesome talking to the guys and taking a look at their offerings. Needless Toys had some great stuff available while Crimson-Toys had some freakin' awesome diorama pieces available. Definitely check out both of them and throw them some business if you see fit.

Another great group of guys I got to briefly talk with was the team behind the forthcoming Delta-17 line of o-ring figures. They had several test shots on display at their table and they looked phenomenal, check them out.

I wished I had taken more photos of the figures they had on display as they looked fantastic. They looked so good it started to fire up that competition for my wallet between 3 3/4 (4 inch) and 6 inch figures! I believe these figures will be offered through BigBadToyStore along with their own website later this fall.

The booth I probably spent the most time at talking GI Joe shop at was the table for After Action Report. If I'm being completely honest, I don't recalling seeing or hearing much about this project that first started on Kickstarter. I think in the days leading up to JoeFest I may have seen something, but overall the authors, Roger Taft and Josh Eggebeen schooled me on what their project was all about. 

While I didn't read a lot of the Marvel GI Joe comic series growing up, my older brother did and I had a few issues here and there. I was more into the original Sunbow animated show personally. However when Devil's Due was awarded the license I was "re-introduced" all over again to the Joes in comic format. Volume 1 of the After Action Report covers the Marvel era of 1982-1996 while Volume 2 covers the Devil's Due era of 2001-2008 (I got mine autographed by Josh Blaylock!) Both of these volumes are chocked full of information on the various comic seriess. The layout on each page is fantastic and what I've read so far has been great. I look forward to delving into these deeper as time allows.

I don't know if it's because this was a late day purchase of the final day of the show or if they were just excited knowing these books were going into the hands of another collector/fan, but they gave me a lot of freebies with my purchase, including several Ashcans, prints and more.

Above are some of the prints given to me. I hope to have these framed so I can hang them, but first to find a place on the crowed walls in my toy museum/room. I also was given a poster that was rolled up, but I wasn't able to get it flatten good enough to photograph.

The last items I was given were these metal bookmarks which features an image of Grunt along with a small "file card" on the back and a cool dog tag.

All in all it was a great show and one that I'm very much looking forward to going to next year. The whole show reminded me of Botcon conventions from years past. I miss attending a dedicated show as such so it was a lot of fun being surrounded by fans of the same property like GI Joe. If you are within driving distance of Augusta, GA and you are available next summer, I highly recommend putting this convention on your calendar. I believe the dates for the 2024 show will be announced on Wednesday, 06/21/23 if my memory serves me correctly. Until then, Yo Joe!

Cops 'n Crooks: Buttons McBoomBoom

Back in the winter of 2017, I created a new subcategory in the 80's/90's & more category for Cops 'n Crooks as I acquired a few figures. The first figure reviewed was none other than Big Boss himself. I didn't think it would take this long before I made it to the next figure, but here we (finally) are!

Anytime Big Boss was shown on the screen during the old DIC animated show, his bodyguard, Buttons McBoomBoom wasn't far behind. This had to be one of the coolest figures released in the series thanks to his gimmick, however I know some fans weren't happy with the difference between the figure and the animation model. None the less this figure is highly sought after by many collectors to this day and after I picked him up I can see why.

Buttons McBoomBoom comes with his trademark red fedora hat, a cap firing tommy gun and a large musical instrument case to carry his gun. 

Hidden behind the suit flap on his chest is a smaller set of guns that folds down and out. Sadly this flap has lost most of it's tension on my specimen and won't stay closed...which I believe is a common flaw with this figure. Behind this suit flap is a very intricately detailed cavity filled with circuits. I loved the fact that even when Buttons was unarmed, he was still armed!

I had very few Cops 'n Crooks figures as a kid growing up, but I remember them fondly. While I found the figures (and vehicles) to be fun toys, this is one on those lines where the animated show was far better than the toys they were essentially advertising for.

Cops 'n Crooks: Big Boss

Hasbro's short lived action figure line, Cops (or Cops 'n Crooks) seems to be overlooked by a lot of collectors these days. There are only a handful of toys and vehicles in the series and they aren't that expensive on the secondary market. Even certain sealed figures can be had for less than $20.00 if you are patient.

While my memories of this franchise are more of the animated series by DIC than the toys, I do remember when I was younger I won the Ironsides vehicle at an event hosted by the NBA's Charlotte Hornets team. My memory of why I was at this event is foggy at best, but I do remember playing w/ that toy and loving the aspect that it used real rolls of caps to create "gun fire".

Every hero needs their bad guy and his cronies and Cops was no exception. The Crooks in the series were led by Big Boss. I always thought of Big Boss as a mixture of Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget and Boss Hog from the Dukes of Hazard.

Hasbro did a great job with his action figure. Released in 1988, this action figure seemed to have more detail and articulation than I remember other action figures released around it's time. Plus Big Boss had his trademark girth which also helped him stand out from others.

Big Boss was a mobster. I think it's easy to see this with the slicked back black hair and the suit. Even his face screams the mob. Look at the detail sculpted in the face. His brow and his smug smile...absolutely stunning.

Big Boss came packaged with two accessories: his cap firing cane and his pet weasel.

You read that right. A pet weasel. Three points Hasbro for creativity! This is a small, hard plastic figure with no paint applications or any kind of articulation. Think old green army man type of figure.

Big Boss' left hand has been replaced with a steel prosthesis hand. According to his bio card this is considered to be a dangerous weapon. Hasbro used a chromed hand to replecate this and had great results. I'm surprised that the hand is still so shiny after nearly 28 years.

As I mentioned before, this figure is loaded with detail. He has rings sculpted on his right hand, that sadly show wear to the paint. The wrinkles sculpted on his suit gives you the impression that his belly is just a bit much to be held in by his suit. 

Now I have no idea why anyone would want to pose their Big Boss action figure like this, but hopefully this gives you an idea of how well articulated these figures were. The head can rotate some, but the slightly raised collar does hinder this a bit. His arms can rotate a full 360 degrees at the shoulders. He has a bicep swivel and hinged elbow joint. Even the hands can rotate all the way around at the wrist. There is also waist articulation. His legs have a good range of motion, hinge joint for the knees.

When I acquired a lot of these figures I was surprised at the level of detail and articulation. Considering these toys are as old as they are I found these attention to detail pretty impressive. The television show portrayed the Crook characters to be pretty dumb and some of the voice actors that portrayed these characters laid it on a little thick at times (Berzerko). Hasbro thankfully made some very interesting figures based on these characters. I will say one of things that I remember about these toys (and was reminded with Big Boss) is it seems the plastic used hasn't aged well. The plastic seems light and brittle to me. Perhaps I'm just imaging this, but it's not on GI Joe or Transformers level. Dispite this, the Cops 'n Crooks toys are still fun toys and takes the cops and robbers theme to a whole new level.