G.I. Joe was a classic military counterpoint to Barbie Dolls in the 60s.
When i was a kid, GI Joe had no accelerator suits, was nearly a foot long and had facial hair. And he also sported a really cool feature known as “Kung Fu Grip.” But that was long before the blockbuster movies or Saturday morning cartoons. And certainly before Cobra. This was GI Joe in it’s purest form.
GI Joe was the original action figure. A male counterpoint to a girl’s passion for Barbie. GI Joe came with dog tags, fatigues, helmet, rifle, even a footlocker. And he had a beard, too. But my favorite was the GI Joe astronaut, which came with a Mercury Space capsule. Now that was a toy.
Launched in February, 1964, the G.I. Joe action figures were 12 inches tall. They introduced a black model in 1965, integrating the toy force, and a female model – the Action Nurse – in 1967 (that was a flop, sadly). Kung Fu grip came in 1974.
Check out this really cool commercial from back in the day:
Then came the Saturday morning Cartoon series, Cobra, and tiny action figures with ridiculous villans, suits, and outrageous weapons. Soon, G.I. Joe was more Secret Agent man and not the G.I. he was for over 2 decades.
Original G.I. Joe’s are going for well over $100 on eBay and represent fantastic memories for those of us who had them as some of our best friends.
Hat Tip – Toy Whimsy