Final Countdown – 3.75 Joe: Creating G.I.Joe A Real American Hero Vol. 6 Kickstarter Campaign

It’s the final countdown for 6th volume in Dan Klingensmith’s 3.75″ Joe: Creating G.I.Joe ®: A Real American Hero™ series on Kickstarter! With just 3 days left to go, the campaign is at 84% of its funding goal. With your help, we can push it over the top and add this awesome new title to our collections!

G.I. Joe® is one of the most recognizable and well known action figure lines in history, yet there is no full story showing the creation process of the G.I. Joe®: A Real American Hero™ brand that ran from 1982-1994.

What are you pledging towards?

The release of “3.75 Inch Joe: The Special Forces Team that forged an American Hero” book series, Volume 6! The sixth book in the series, “3.75 Inch Joe: The Special Forces Team that forged an American Hero (Volume 6)” is an 80 page, 9”X10” library of designs and stories ranging from 1982-1994, including some unproduced concepts! This fully colored book will be printed on 100# paper in a Soft Perfect Bind format with a visible spine like a graphic novel. Although there have been many books written about G.I. Joe®, what makes “3.75 Inch Joe: The Special Forces Team that forged an American Hero” series unique is the fact that the information shared within the book comes from exclusive interviews with former employees who worked on the G.I. Joe® brand. Some of the things to expect include:

• The inspiration and influences behind the different figures and vehicles straight from the designers’ point of view…

• Alternate names for figures and vehicles pulled from Larry Hama’s dossiers or from the original concepts themselves…

• Insider stories from former employees ranging from Marketing to Engineering regarding the changes that occurred during the design process…

• Conceptual designs and photographs that will show the progression and different stages of creating a figure or vehicle. This includes concept pencils and inks, sculpture sheets, color studies, color presentation art, models, and much much more!

Which characters and vehicles will be included in Volume 6?

•Grunt• Tripwire • Falcon and Viper Gliders & Grunt and Viper Pilot • Wildbill • Dragonfly• Zartan • Swampskier & Dreadnoks • Buzzer • Ripper • Torch • Thrasher • Mainframe • Falcon • AGP • Nullifier • Budo • Hardball • Downtown• Alley Viper • Subzero & Freefall • Heavy Duty • Eco Warrior Flint • Eco Warrior Cesspool • Ninja Force Dojo • Ninja Force Slice •Anarchy Solider & Unknown figure•

SPECIAL NOTE:

• Grunt (3 separate spreads…6 pages total)

• Wild Bill (2 separate spreads….4 pages total)

• Dragonfly (3 separate spreads…6 pages total)

• Zartan (2 separate spreads…4 pages total )

Rewards:

There will be 11”X17” prints available of the two-page spreads which will be printed on 100# paper. They will display beautifully framed or in a shadow box where you can also display your favorite Joe or Cobra toy that fits within these dimensions! (page numbers will be removed)

Where did this project come from?
Although I purchased my first few pieces of pre-production artwork in 2005, it was not until 2009 that I got the idea of exploring the origins of the G.I. Joe®: A Real American Hero™ brand. The concept of the book was to learn more about the process of making G.I.Joe ® at that time and recognizing all the individuals who participated in its creation and continued success from 1982-1994. The book concept itself did go through several changes over the last few years, but it eventually came back to my original idea of showcasing the original designs and any stories related to them or the product itself.

To make the book series more affordable, I made the decision to break it down into smaller volumes. My goal going forward is to release 1-2 volumes a year. Although the format will look similar in each volume, the content will be different.

Written by Kirk Bozigian, former Vice President of Hasbro Boys Toys, the introduction to the first four volumes starts with a look into the origins of G.I.Joe ® in 1964. Volume five on will cover the process it took to make the figures and vehicles for the G.I.Joe ®: A Real American Hero line!

Why do we need this book?
According to New York Toys and Hobby World, the 1985 series of G.I.Joe was ranked the best selling toy in America. The Complete Encyclopedia to G.I.Joe, by Vincent Santelmo, states it was estimated that, “Hasbro sold the equivalent of two G.I.Joe/Cobra series figures to every boy in the nation between the ages of 5-12” in 1986”.

When it comes to the G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero era, there have not been books produced like the ones I have completed and the ones I continue to work towards releasing. When you look at society today and the draw toward collecting, many people prize things they either owned or have fond memories of from their childhood. It does not matter what people collect, people like to revisit their childhood and escape from reality and the stresses of today’s world. For those of us who played with G.I.Joe in the 1980s and 1990s, my book will allow you to tap into those memories and appreciate the amount of creativity, time, and energy it took to make G.I.Joe: ARAH an iconic toy brand.

Do you need to be a G.I. Joe enthusiast to enjoy this book?
The answer is simply, no. This book appeals to anyone who enjoys learning the process of toy design, industrial design, product design, engineering, marketing, as well as many other disciplines involved in developing a product. It should also appeal to fans of the comic industry seeing that several of the designers who worked on G.I. Joe in the late 1980s and into the 1990s were graduates of The Kubert School, a school founded by comic artist and teacher, Joe Kubert!

What is the plan and what is the schedule?
Once the campaign is funded, the pledges will take approximately two weeks to process. Once they have been processed, the order will then go to the printer, who will need 3-4 weeks to print the book. Books and prints will be fulfilled by Steel City Publishing, LLC following the same time frame as shipping for the book.

Publisher Information and Copyright Information
Publisher: Steel City Publishing

*Every effort has been made to locate the copyright holders of some select material used in this book. Should there be any omission, we apologize and shall be pleased to make the appropriate acknowledgements in future editions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Neither the author nor the publisher are sponsored by or associated with Hasbro, Inc., or its affiliates. G.I.Joe, all associated character, vehicle, and group names, and their respective likeliness’s, are trademarks of Hasbro. © 2018 Hasbro. All rights reserved. Hasbro Inc. assumes no responsibility for the content of this book. This book is a result of the author’s independent research on the subject matter and is intended to provide information for collectors.

Images shown were provided by those who worked on the G.I. Joe brand and by collectors.

Risks and challenges
I don’t expect any delays with the printer. If there are any delays, everyone will be updated.
Due to any unforeseen circumstances after the cutoff date of February 24, 2019 for which Steel City Publishing, LLC needs to cease selling the book, a full refund will be provided.

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Make sure to get your pledge in here: 3.75″ Joe: Creating G.I.Joe ®: A Real American Hero™ Vol. 6