There’s just under a week to go for the After Action Report: The G.I.Joe Comic Book Collecting Guide Kickstarter campaign. With that said, now’s a great time to jump in, as the campaign has already reached initial funding, so this book is going to press! To celebrate, the team behind the book have shared word that fan favorite Marvel Era artist, Rod Whigham has agreed to do the After Action Report: G.I. Joe Comic Guide Volume #1 cover! Check out the rough draft:

In case you missed the details on this new initiative, from Roger Taft & Josh Eggebeen comes –

Quick Summary: 

The first volume of After Action Report will cover all English language G.I. Joe (and directly related titles) comic books officially licensed by Hasbro, published by Marvel, Marvel U.K., Blackthorne, Cyclone and Dark Horse, from the years 1982 to 1996.  The After Action Report book will be an in-hand guide book that is both a checklist and photo guide to all the versions of the comics that were produced. In short, After Action Report: G.I. Joe Comic Guide, volume #1 will include every official English language publication in the comic book format known to exist from the first issue of G.I. Joe A Real American hero, to the final issue of G.I. Joe: Extreme. 

Book Specs:

After Action Report will be a fully colored book printed on 100# paper in a Soft Cover Perfect Binding format with a visible spine very much like a traditional comic book Trade Paperback. 

 Size: 8.5×11

Binding: Perfect Binding (Softcover)

Paper Quality: 100# paper (Subject to change)

Pages: Approximately 144

 How did the idea of this book get started?  

Roger Taft has been collecting G.I. Joe comics, toys and all kinds of crazy accessories since he was kid, and now as an adult kid he buys and sells toys for living at his shop, Atomic Age Artifacts: Antique & Collectible Mall.  His passion has always been G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero and he has always used guide books to find and collect all parts of the toys.  Over the decades many great G.I. Joe collector books have been produced for the toys only – covering all of the different eras, sizes and types helping thousands of Joe collectors complete their collections.

No one has ever made a book just for collecting G.I. Joe comic books.

So it’s always been a dream of Roger’s had to have an in hand guide book to use as a resource when hunting for comics in long boxes at conventions.

And along comes Josh Eggebeen, fitting right into the mix of Roger’s dream.

Josh as a kid collector of anything G.I. Joe, got all the toys and sold most of them but never sold his beloved G.I. Joe comics or figures.  He was a G.I. Joe comic Completist before he even knew what that word meant.  And like most collectors, took a break from collecting in the mid-1990s.  With the return of G.I. Joe comics by Devil’s Due in 2001, Josh returned to collecting comics full speed ahead and remains determined to get them all.  By the mid-2000s both Roger and Josh were helping YoJoe.com with the comic section, which is how they met.

Fast forward to 2020 during the COVID shutdown, Roger pitched the idea of his G.I. Joe comic guide book to Josh and now here we are with a Kickstarter.  

Now You Know and Knowing is Half the Battle.

 Why make this book?  

The G.I. Joe community is very different then most other toy collecting communities in that we have lots of people who spend hours, years of their life dedicated to preserving all aspects of G.I. Joe, especially the behind the scenes history of the brand.  Roger and Josh are willing to do just that, spend the next couple years creating several books that cover all of the different versions of Marvel, Devil’s Due and IDW eras of G.I. Joe comics, the amazing variant covers, history of their creation, the creators’ stories, the international versions and basically preserving the comics part of G.I. Joe history. 

The first book up to be completed and funded is the After Action Report: G.I. Joe Comic Guide: Marvel Era Volume #1. These are the comics that started it all.  The Larry Hama stories that have become legends and multi billion dollar selling characters.

 After Action Report Volume #1 includes these comic series: 

From Marvel Publishing:

•  G.I. Joe A Real American Hero (ARAH) #1 to 155 + Special
•  ARAH Special Missions 
•  ARAH Yearbook
•  ARAH Order of Battle
•  ARAH G.I. Joe and the Transformers
• Transformers Generation 2
• European Missions
• Tales of G.I. Joe
•  Marvel Digest G.I. Joe
• The Trojan Gambit
• The Treasury Edition

From Blackthorne Publishing

• How to Draw G.I. Joe
• G.I. Joe in 3-D

From Marvel UK & Australia

• Action Force
• Action Force Specials
• Action Force Annual
• Action Force Monthly
• Transformers and Action Force/G.I. Joe
• Incredible Hulk Presents
• G.I. Joe Australia

From Dark Horse Publishing

•  G.I. Joe Extreme Series 1
•  G.I. Joe Extreme Series 2

During the Marvel era there were typically 2 to 5 versions of every issue published. These versions include Direct Market, Newsstand, Canadian Priced, Australian Priced, 2nd, and 3rd Prints, plus insert and other random versions.  And only YoJoe.com has come close to documenting all of these editions to help collectors know what to look for. After Action Report will be an in-hand guide book that is a checklist and photo guide to ALL the versions that were produced.

It will help collectors fill their gaps they didn’t even know they had.

 Enter After Action Report Multiple Volumes: 

The After Action Report intends to be series of volumes that covers every known Hasbro related G.I. Joe comic book ever produced. Each volume will have it’s own Kickstarter as we move through the series. 

The first volume starting with the Marvel era will be a catalog of every known version of any Hasbro authorized comic produced between 1982 and 1996.  Included within the book will be highlights for issues that have significant histories like #21 Silent Interlude, special issues like Dark Horse Preview Ashcan, unique issues with inserts like Mark Jewelers advertisements, trading cards or posters, lots of history and short interviews with the famous G.I. Joe creators and artists.

Every cover will be scanned and restored to be presented for each Volume which will be approximately 144 pages in Trade Paperback format.  The possibility of creating several volumes per Era has been discussed but the plan as of now is one volume per Era except IDW, which will require multiple volumes. 

Certain key issues will have a splash/highlight page that will give the history of the issue in much more detailed way.  Additional, splash pages will have interviews of the creators of the Marvel comics helping explain the history of G.I. Joe comics.

Every good guide book has a legend and After Action Report has created logos to help the collector quickly understand all the different versions of the covers.

The last few pages of After Action Report will have a condensed removable checklist that includes all versions of all of the covers listed in the book.  The exact look is still TBD but likely in Excel spreadsheet style. 

And each Volume of After Action Report will have exclusive original cover art by one of the prominent G.I. Joe artists that have worked on G.I. Joe comics over the decades.  And of course we will have a variant cover.  Several artists have already been contacted but at this time have not confirmed a timeline for completion of these custom covers. This area will have constant new updates as the book gets closer to completion.

 The Time Frame: 

As of the debut of this Kickstarter, at the beginning of September, over 800 covers of the Marvel era have already been scanned. The books format and design have been created and solidified. What is left to do is the input of information and covers into the design of the anticipated 144 pages of the book. Both Roger and Josh will be working on the pages inputting the wording, cover scans, book formatting, etc. starting in Mid-September until it’s complete.

The fall of 2020 will be focused on the page creation process, editing and more editing.  The goal is to have the book finished for publication by the end of November. And in backers’ hands for Christmas of 2020.  

As 2020 has proven to the world the best laid plans can be changed very easily by events.  So let’s hope the second half of 2020 is much more normal then the first half. 

YOJOE!!!

Stay tuned for more updates.

Below is glimpse at our stretch goals and additional pledge options that include the Ashcan* exclusive for Kickstarter and Joefest (Given out on Sept 4th, 5th and 6th).  

 * An Ashcan is 4 page digest size promo booklet color or black and white used to promote a comic book.  

 ASHCAN PREVIEW

Risks and challenges

As with any printed project the actual printing is a risk. Because this is our first published book we have consulted with several other GI Joe collector toy book authors on the printing process and chosen a proven printer based on their recommendation. Roger and Josh will be working hard to get the book completed on time but life and daily work may cause delays in the goals of this project. World events and printers may also cause unforeseen delays.

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You can get in on the campaign here:  After Action Report: The G.I.Joe Comic Book Collecting Guide

Let’s help these fine Gents push this project over the top! Best of luck to Roger & Josh on the road ahead!