Ever think of just dumping the whole GI Joe concept?

I'm putting this in here because it relates more to the customizing aspect of the hobby than collecting.
Something I've been thinking on for a while, though I'm not talking about the dumping the hobby as a whole, or even dumping Joe parts.

I'm thinking here about dumping the GI Joe concept (almost) entirely and going an entirely other way. I know some have, of course; branching off into fantasy, superheros, wrestling, etc. Consider that after 25 years there really is very little "new" under the sun--just about every specialty you can come up with has been covered, in some cases mutliple times. Storylines have basically turned into re-runs (when anyone cares); the line comics-wise has even been pared down somewhat. On the shelves the only Joes are rehashes of existing figures. Nothing new, nothing to invigorate the imagination (at least, not mine.)

Myself, I purged most of my existing Joe customs and left it down to a few personal favorites for display, and those that populate my current Joeverse (which pits them against the supernatural). In so doing I realized I don't need--or even want--a huge force. If anything a huge force makes it much harder to focus on anyone being a "specialist". Also I'm no longer content for them to be GI Joe; that's becoming a "past aspect" that no longer applies, as the whole Joe vs. Cobra storyline is dead in my world.

For me, it's left me to branch out into other areas. Fantasy customs to a degree; most use non-Joe parts so I'm not considering them here. I have started a science fiction line that uses 99% Joe parts (a lot of the new sculpt stuff translates very well). I'm considering any future Joes be turned into mercenaries or adventurer types when not part of my Joeverse; I've got enough parts that I there's no way to really avoid going down that road. But as far as new GI Joes...I just don't see myself bothering with it anymore.

How many others find themselves thinking this way, in terms of what their future (or even current) customs are going to be affiliated with?

Can't say I'm dumping it, just minimalizing it. My Joe team's very small; the GI Joe: Reloaded roster, plus maybe a couple members. Most of my customs revolve around superheroes, the supernatural, or the truly sci-fi (Stargate & soon-to-be Dr. Who). Cobra is still around, but I'm streamlining the organization & they're mostly becoming something to further my stories along.

Yup, welcome to the club, man. I've pretty much put the whole Joe vs COBRA canon as something that happened perpetually 'five years ago' and focus mostly on the other things in my 'verse happening 'now'. Like you say, it's all just been said and done already.

I don't know if you ever noticed, but I don't do Joe or Cobra customs. Every thing I do is Comic Sci Fi and fantasy. I keep to a simple Good Vs Evil concept complicated by the way my verse was brought into being.
The only real Army custom I've ever done is Chief. I just don't have a nack for making or need for more soldiers. The thing I always liked about Joe and Cobra was their very unmilitary like look ( different uniforms for each member ) their more a Superhero military team then a military organization IMO.

So throw off those old concepts and welcome to the non conforming.

The only real Army custom I've ever done is Chief.

Dammit, you're going to make me cry now

Well that one Army custom you made was absolutely perfect. He's still perched in a place of honor next to my monitor (I don't dare take him to work for fear someone will steal him.)


And Rob - I feel you. I was in a Joe Custom slump for a couple of years and was only making Superhero customs until the 25A line came out, then I went a little nuts on them (in case you didn't notice )

But now I've hit another impasse -- I've made all the Joe/Cobra customs that I really want to make, so I'm focusing on other "verses" using 25A parts (got a John McClane & a few LXG figs in the works...) But I'm still trying to keep the majority of those customs in my established JoeVerse (or at least have them tenuously linked.)

But I understand where you're coming from, Rob - I'm getting there myself.

Absolutely I have.

I've shifted into making my own Super-Verse with Heroes of my own creation. G.I.Joe is there but they act more like S.H.I.E.L.D than anything else. I'm also considering trimming down that team quite a bit but thats a dilemma for another time.

All in all, I love the concept of G.I. Joe and can never fully write them out. I will however, augment their story as I see fit.

Well, I'm new to the hobby, I'm new to collecting, and branching out doesn't hold much appeal to me. To some extent I've started buying select XD and bbi figs that I don't cut apart and modify (gotta use one of their new guys heads for a custom Clutch though)

Maybe in another ten years I'll think about going some other route though for now I'm going with the Joes.

I can't say as I have. Instead I simply add to it.

My Joeverse has superheroes, aliens, supernatural forces, all sorts of weirdness in it. But I could never drop the GI Joe/Cobra concept, I love it too much.

[drbindy]

I am also new, and I can thank the 25 A line for that, which is another story. But by being new, I am obviously not burnt out.

I'm into the Joe verse, but all of my customs are new characters. I really don't see myself as skilled enough to out-do whatever Hasbro will do with the real characters, so I prefer to come up with original concepts, if possible. I agree with the above comments about the Joes in my verse not being a true military organization. In my verse, I guess they are all special operatives/agents, and most simply have a strong military background. My customs are all from the same Army Ranger unit, but upon becoming Joes they become special operatives with individual autonomy, which allows for the non regulation uniforms, gear, facial hair, etc...

I think Cobra has a part in it still, but they are not the exclusive enemy. Also, mine is not so much sci-fi or supernatural, but it is more special ops than a Hero-force. I view it as part Mission Impossible (the first one, not the crappy sequels), part Bourne, part Bond, part military. I would probably say I don't focus on "G.I.Joe" as the title of the unit, maybe more a nickname. I guess I'm saying, you'll see all the key Joes in my verse, but you probably wouldn't ever hear one yell "Yo JOE!"

I also have an alternate verse that each of my customs is in, which I'll describe when I have photos, so I don't hijack this line.

Been there, done it.

Last couple of years, I maybe did four or five GI Joe customs. All the rest have been from other lines, especially from British comics/TV series/books that were unlikely ever to see the light of day as customs.
I have got back into Joes customs because of the 25th line, but once I start running out of ideas, and I complete my Joe roster how I want it, I will head back down the esoteric and little known route again.

You know I have. I think mine started the day I "matured" every Joe I decided I cared about, using the Battle Corps/Ninja Force/later mold heads on my RAH figures, giving all of them a much older feel. But instead of imagining current scenarios or dios for them, I am more inclined to have them cobat either otherworldly adversaries, or mutagenic abberations.

With Cobra, I am just about out of them save for the ones that I can't seem to unload. I might hold on to the Dreads simply to outfit a biker bar I can whip up.

But I was totally thrown over the edge when I rekindled my Resident Evil love.
So many characters to chose from, so many imaginable adventures. When I made the Lisa Trevor figure for the NJC, after reading her story about how all the virii, both mutagenic and alphabetical can be traced back to the inhuman experiments that Umbrella did to this poor girl, well, the stories wrote themselves. After the first Leon and subsequently my Ada, even if CAPCOM decides to kill them off, or end the series(a possibility I discovered), I can still imagine huge adventures for all of them. With Joe, after really getting to know the characters from the filecards and the other media, I find it hard to give it the same creative freedom, without still falling back on their histories. But I am sure I can work it out for some, if I really wanted to.

But the GIJOE/COBRA mythos for my creative enjoyment truly has waned for more interesting possibilities with other genre figures.

I can see where you are coming from, I haven't made custom in a few years, and then I only had a few figures and a vehicle - I think I would just like to get back in the game, maybe doing a fantasy or scifi figure would get me going again...

The only real Army custom I've ever done is Chief.

Is there a picture of that on the board?

YEP,

Damn, but that is one handsome killing machine......

Damn, but that is one handsome killing machine......

Well, I suppose handsome comes down to perception...

No, really, nice custom; he looks like you or do you look like him?