Welcome To Snoova's Corner Cafe!
Hello!!! My name is Snoova (or Dave) and welcome to Snoova's Corner Cafe, my G.I. Joe blog. I have created this blog for three main reasons - 1) to get back into writing, 2) to have fun, and 3) to join in with this great G.I. Joe community I recently discovered!!!
I've always been into several different forms of writing - I've written fiction, articles and even songs and some poetry. I studied English in college, was a writer at a local newspaper and have also done some freelance work. With the newspaper business hurting from the internet, I had to move on and don't really get to express any creativity with my current job. I missed writing and wanted an avenue to write in that could be consistent and fun as well. So... what do I write about???
For starters, I was one of those kids that really enjoyed collecting action figures. It began with Star Wars following the release of the first movie in 1977 and continued on through to G.I. Joe and Transformers in the 80's. Man, that was a good time for action figures!!! G.I. Joe was always at the center of it though! Star Wars faded from sight after Return Of The Jedi in 1983 and Transformers started to fade (for me) after their fourth year. But G.I. Joe kept going strong for a long time!
I probably stayed in longer than I should have! I was probably out by 1989 and turned my attention to music. The G.I. Joe line kept going though and a little curiosity remained on what was happening with it. I would still make that occasional trip through the toy aisle to see what was going on.
I came back as a collector in 1993. It seemed like several of my friends were suddenly back on the hunt for toys. My friend, Bobby, who I used to collect Joes with, had just gotten a house and had decided to re-collect the original Star Wars figures. At the same time, my future brother-in-law, Doug, was looking for X-Men and Batman figures. So it sounded like a perfect time for me to return as well. So I decided to continue my Joe collection. Luckily, I had boxed up all my figures and kept them in storage. So I just needed to add to what I already had.
This was a fun time for collecting!!! My friends and I worked together to acquire what we were looking for. I may have to write a separate piece on this part of the adventure. I was tracking down all the stuff I had missed in the years I had quit and it seemed NO ONE was after Joes.
Then Hasbro went and cancelled the line in 1994...? After that, my friends and I began chasing the new Star Wars figures which had returned in 1995. That ride lasted till about 2005 and by then my toy collection was massive!!! I had a whole section of my basement dedicated to displaying my figures and dioramas. Of what was on display was probably 80% Star Wars and 20% G.I. Joe.
Unfortunately, by about 2006, I was pretty burnt out on collecting... My Star Wars, G.I. Joe and Transformer collections had grown way too big! The Star Wars movies were done (George Lucas had said Ep. III was the last one), the post '94 Joes didn't interest me and in my opinion - figure quality as a whole went down while prices went up! So I began phasing out my collection. I sold a good chunk of it, gave some to friends and gave a lot to my kids. I took photos of some of my Joes before I let them go. I only kept a handful of favorite figures (SW and Joe) and boxed them up.
So I was inactive toy-wise again for the first time in a long time. This went on for many years. Star Wars movies came back and they were okay. We had a "Transformers Revolution" as I call it, as my boys got into the Titans Returns figures! But on the Joe front, things were dormant for me. There were new comics, movies and figures. But it just wasn't the same and I wasn't following any of it. I just didn't think it had the same charm it once did.
Then, about 2 years ago, a toy review of the Cobra Rat by Hooded Cobra Commander 788 (HCC788) popped up on Youtube. I thought, "Man, that toy was terrible! I wonder what this guy has to say about it?" I watched the review (he didn't like it either) and really enjoyed it (the review, not the Rat). So I began to check out more of his reviews! It was a great trip down memory lane. Almost like re-discovering everything from the original 1892-1994 line and why kids loved it so much!
Eventually, HCC788 shared a link to some of Chris Hemsworth's fantastic art for his GIJOE365 project. In this project, he was drawing every figure, one by one, in order. This was right up my alley as I liked the popular characters, but to me they were no more special than the unsung characters. Chris was covering them all!
That was G.I. Joe to me... it wasn't the Snake Eyes Show, it was about the whole gang! Blizzard was just as important as Duke in my book. So thanks to HCC788 and GIJOE365, I was back on board!!
Digging deeper, I discovered this cool G.I. Joe community!!! There are a lot of people out there adding great and interesting content. Reviews, photography, podcasts, cosplaying and so much more! I began following a few of the other fan sites out there, but I really wanted to find a way to get involved! I originally considered a podcast but I have a lot to learn in that world. Then my wife suggested I create a blog and write again. That made sense, I'm a writer right?!?! I received a lot of encouragement for this direction.
It's great to be back into the Joe World again! With all the Joe content out there it is like a celebration for where many of us come from. I really enjoy talking about it with other fans! I would love to have people join in with their thoughts or stories from their collecting experience. We all have different ideas, I don't claim to be a "know-all" on the toyline by any means. I just ask that we keep all the comments peaceful and respectful. We all have different reasons we may like or dislike certain elements of the toyline, but it can be discussed without hostility or profanity. Any such posts will be deleted.
So here we are!!! Please check it out! I hope you find something you enjoy here! I have a lot of ideas I'm putting into play! I'm just a Joe fan/collector like you... My friends and I used to set up battles or missions and talk on the phone discussing the latest wave of figures as we studied the cardbacks and catalogs. We would walk into the department stores and immediately head back to the toy aisle to see if that elusive figure had finally shown up. The G.I. Joe series was such a fun adventure for a kid!!!
Here is a rundown on some different categories I have planned for this blog:
- One And Done - This is a look at those figures that never got a second figure. There were Joes we saw in several incarnations and these here that we saw once and never again. Sometimes it was all too obvious why we never saw a second version. Others, however, it was a bit of a mystery why they disappeared.
- Through The Years - This will look at the characters of the G.I. Joe series that have multiple versions. We'll look at how they changed and evolved over the years. Some like Snake Eyes, appeared in figure form six times. Others like Recondo got two.
- Revisiting The Team - In it's thirteen year run, there has been several different sub-groups in G.I. Joe. The format varied from team to team. Here we will dig in a bit and see what was going on with these groups and maybe some possible changed that could have benefited them.
- TV Series Reviews - Here we will look at the different animated series' from the first through Operation: Dragonfire. This will be interesting as I have not seen the original mini-series in decades and some of them I have never seen. Also, I will have some guests on this one - my six boys ranging in age from 21 to 4. What are their thoughts on these shows?
- Special Edition Series - I have some cool, unique ideas cooking up for this one! It will be kind of miscellaneous, but fun!
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