Games - G.I. Joe

	Games - G.I. Joe

G.I. Joe is an American cartoon soldier. The character was created by David Breger when he was asked to create a comic strip for United States military magazines during World War II. Breger came up with the title "G.I. Joe" from the military reference "Government Issue". His strip debuted June 17, 1942 in the military's YANK magazine and Stars and Stripes newspaper. In 1945, United Artists released a movie titled The Story of G.I. Joe , directed by William Wellman and starring Burgess Meredith as acclaimed war correspondent Ernie Pyle.

In 1964, the character G.I. Joe became a series of military-themed action figures produced by the Hasbro toy company. The toyline began with the aptly named G.I. Joe. Two years later, Hasbro began featuring members from all branches of the armed forces. The name, G.I. Joe, no longer referred to one specific character but to a toyline brand.

Incarnations

The following G.I. Joe toys came out:

G.I. Joe (1964-1969)
G.I. Joe Adventure Team (1970-1979)
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
(1982-1994)
G.I. Joe: Hall of Fame (1991-1994)
G.I. Joe: Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles (1995)
G.I. Joe: Hall of Fame limited exclusives (1995-1997)
G.I. Joe Extreme
(1996-1997)
G.I. Joe: Toys R Us Exclusives (1997-1998)
G.I. Joe: Classic Collection (1995-2004)
G.I. Joe: The Real American Hero Collection (2000-2002)
G.I. Joe vs. Cobra (2002)
G.I. Joe vs. Cobra: Spytroops (2003)
G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom (2004-2005)
G.I. Joe: Sigma 6
(2005-Present)

G.I. Joe (1964-1969)

Hasbro toy company's first "action figure" was introduced with the name of G.I. Joe. They were 12" tall and represented the four branches of the military: Army, Navy, Air Force & Marines. The toyline was dedicated to one character named G.I. Joe and later on, the line featured vehicles, accessories, talking soldiers and six foreign soldiers.

The 12-inch G.I. Joe was licenced to several countries: :to the UK company Palitoy, appearing as Action Man :to the Spanish company Geyper appearing as Geyperman :in Germany as Action Team :in France as Group Action Joe :in Brazil as Falcon

G.I. Joe Adventure Team (1970-1979)

These were the years of the Adventure Team and the Kung Fu grip. It was also the period where there is a departure from its traditional military settings and began wading in to more fantastic concepts such as the introduction of the Intruders, alien invaders who are the Adventure Team's arch nemesis. With rising oil prices in 1977, a cost-saving measure of "shrinking" G.I. Joe to 8 inches was implemented with the name of Super Joe. The Super Joe series had the characters turned into superheroes. Finally in 1978, G.I. Joe was discontinued for the same reason Super Joe was introduced, the rising cost of petroleum.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (1982-1994)

After a few years of absence from the toy shelves and with the help of the Star Wars 3.75" figure successes, G.I. Joe was re-introduced in a 3.75" format. This toy series lasted through 1994, producing over 500 figures and 250 vehicles and playsets. Cobra was the main enemy force during this toy lines run. Each toy figure included a character bio, called a "file card." Many subsets were introduced during the 12-year production. To supplement the toy line, a cartoon series was produced for television, first by Sunbow Productions and later by DiC Entertainment, while Marvel Comics published a comic book series that featured many of the toy characterizations.

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero was renamed for the European market. The toyline and the accompanying television show and comics were renamed Action Force
, presumably to make the toyline appear more international and less American-centric.

Sgt. Savage and the Screaming Eagles (1995)

Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles were put on the toy shelves in a 4" size, World War II-based theme. This was the only year Sgt. Savage and his Screaming Eagles were produced. The series shared the same logo as the 3.75 inch G.I. Joe but it contained little of its theme. The enemy force was the Iron Army, cybernetically-enhanced WWII style criminals and robots. There was only one cartoon episode featuring Sgt. Savage that was available only on VHS.

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