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G.I JOE
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by
MIKE GAGNON
April.30 - May.6, 2009 |
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This weekend, Hamilton will play host to toy, cartoon and comic book enthusiasts from all over North America, attending the first ever Canadian G.I. Joe convention.
Owner Michael Heddle and his staff of fansite JoeCanuck.com are busily preparing for the “Canadian Joe Convention”, being held at the Hamilton Convention Centre, Saturday May 2.
Heddle explains how Hamilton became the Canadian home of an American icon. “The Convention really started as just a small group of local collectors that wanted to get together and meet fellow collectors in their area back in 2002. The original gathering consisted of just five or six people, and it took place in a toy store I once owned, with a dinner later that night. Ideas were tossed around to make it a bigger event; in 2004 that happened in the basement of Sherwood Bowling Alley at Fennell and Upper Ottawa in Hamilton, Ontario.”
The show was originally known as the “Canadian G.I. Joe Meet”. 2009 marks the first year that the show has graduated to full convention status.
Heddle and fellow organizers noticed that the attendance and fan base was growing each year. Before long the show had become so popular that Hasbro Canada, the Canadian division of Hasbro toys, owners of the toy line, started to attend the show as well. “Now we communicate with Hasbro Canada on a regular basis, and even had their help on creating our exclusives for this year’s convention,” Heddle beams.
The show is the only one of its kind in Canada. Apparently the popularity of the military action figures with the residents of Hamilton makes the city the perfect location for the show, attracting fans from all over North America.
“The obvious choice was the Hamilton Convention Centre this year. The hotel we used in 2008 barely contained everyone that attended. A much larger location was a must,” Heddle proudly boasts.
When asked why an American icon such as G.I. Joe is so popular in Canada, event organizers each had there own take:
“For me, G.I. Joe was never ‘just’ an American hero. I grew up playing with the toys, and many of those came with Canada stickers and Maple Leaf flags instead of Ol’ Glory. So, while I knew G.I. Joe was an American–made team, it was always something that had Headquarters and squads around the world. I enjoyed the storyline in the comics that Marvel started in 1982 and ended in 1994. The stories there, to me, were ‘serious’, while the G.I. Joe cartoon that aired after school were considered ‘fun’ side adventures. Well, to me they were; some fans would disagree and say the cartoons are G.I. Joe to them, and the comics aren’t. It’s what makes us Joe fans so unique!” says Heddle, who aside from being head organizer, also writes and edits for JoeCanuck.com.
“G.I. Joe, as it was portrayed in the cartoons, was not about being ‘American’ but was more about good guys vs. bad guys and working together to prevent evil from spreading,” Joe Canuck staff member David Mumby shares.
Mumby’s fellow staff member Ryan Costello Jr. offers his own take: “It seems weird that the Real American Hero would be popular in Canada, it’s true. Canadians tend to dislike American flag–waving. But there are a lot of things about how G.I. Joe was written that made it more universally appealing. First of all, the main villain, Cobra Commander, was American. There was never talk about fighting ‘a threat to America’ because the biggest threat was an American. Also, the comics had a group of manipulative U.S. generals that the Joes knew were taking advantage of them. There were a lot of stories where the Joes had to try to follow orders without furthering an American agenda they disagreed with. Once the U.S. propaganda is separated from G.I. Joe, everyone, Canadians and otherwise, can just enjoy it as a fun concept with original characters and some great stories.”
Heddle admits that there are probably larger numbers of fans in places like Vancouver or Toronto, simply due to larger populations, but he wants to keep the show closer to home for as long as he can. “If the fans love their hobby, in this case G.I. Joe, then a 40 minute, or seven hour drive shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Especially when you consider what they’d pay for parking in Toronto, or plane tickets nowadays,” Heddle says.
Interestingly enough, Heddle has found that a large number fans and website members reside in other major Canadian cities such as Montreal, whose fan numbers rival Hamilton.
G.I. Joe has been around for over 45 years, first released to toy stores by Hasbro Toys in 1963. The original Joes were 12–inch poseable soldier dolls aimed at young males. The toy was discontinued in 1978 because of a rise in the cost of plastics. Hasbro soon revived the line in 1982, creating the modern 3 3/4–inch action figure G.I. Joe that most children of the ‘80s are familiar with today.
2007 marked the 25th anniversary of Hasbro’s modern 1982 revival of the toy. To celebrate they launched a very successful line of commemorative 25th anniversary toys.
Nei Ruffino is an artist and professional colourist for DC Comics. Ruffino painted several pieces of art Hasbro used in the packaging for the 25th anniversary line. “Being involved with the 25th anniversary toys has been really cool! It’s always a cool job to be involved with something that already has a sort of legacy,” Ruffino says of the gig. “I was a digital painter for this project; another artist would draw the illustrations and I would digitally paint them, trying as best I could to match to old style of the box art.
“I’m not surprised to hear about a Joe con; actually, I’ve created a poster for a Joe con before with the same artists that did that box art. What does surprise me is there being enough fans within a non–American place to run a convention,” the L.A.–based artist commented.
It’s a big year for the 45–year–old elite soldier. Aside from the first–ever Canadian Joe convention, Paramount Pictures’ new feature film based on the toy line will hit theatres on August 7. The film adaptation of Canada’s (and America’s) favorite toy soldier stars Dennis Quaid, Marlon Wayans, Channing Tatum, Rachel Nichols and Ray Park as everyone’s favorite special forces unit. With an extensive ensemble cast of heroes and villains, and fan fervor at an all–time high, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra is promising to be one of the biggest summer blockbusters of 2009.
The convention itself offers a handful of goodies and prizes for Joe enthusiasts, including door prizes and a chance to win tickets to the film’s August release.
Admission for the Canadian Joe Convention is just $5 for kids, $10 for adults, and a $15 V.I.P. pass gets you admission, badges, extra ballots for prizes and other exclusive goodies and offers. Doors at the Hamilton Convention Centre open at 9 am, Saturday May 2. V [MIKE GAGNON]
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