Published in Troika, Spring 1998

Collectible Joe
by Chris Carrel

If you're a man between the ages of thirty and forty-five, you probably had a GI Joe or two in your boyhood toy collection. The twelve-inch soldier was wildly popular with American boys during the 1960s and 1970s. Though his popularity has waned over the years, GI Joe is enjoying a renaissance as grown men are collecting the old action figure, driving up prices of the old classics and fueling sales of new models.

The first GI Joe was issued in 1964—a blue collar every-soldier based on the 1954 movie The Story of GI Joe, starring Burt Lancaster and Burgess Meredith. Officials at Hasbro developed the doll when they realized that although girls had plenty of dolls to play with, there were none for boys, meaning a huge potential market. Hasbro wisely chose to call its product an action figure—after all, boys don't play with dolls. It met with an enthusiastic response.

In thirty years, more than 250 million GI Joe figures and 115 million vehicles have been sold. Hasbro's research indicates that 2 out of 3 American boys own a GI Joe and ninety-seven percent of the nation's boys between the ages of 5 and 11 are familiar with him.
There are two distinct body types: the original twelve-inch figure which was discontinued in the late 1970s and recently reintroduced; and the three-inch figure, introduced in 1982 to compete with the Star Wars figures. In general, the three-inch line is popular with today's kids, while most collectors focus on the original foot long Joe. Hasbro estimates that the market for twelve-inch Joes is more than three-quarter adult collectors.

"I try to find the [figures and accessories] I used to play with as a kid," says thirty-three year old Kevin Epling, a video producer at Michigan State University, who has been collecting GI Joes for the past ten years. "I have three of the originals from my childhood...the rest I've picked up over the years." His collection focuses on "the Golden Age Joes," with the original body style sold between1964 and 1968 and comprising of the four branches of the armed services. Epling says his collection "grew out of a fondness or what I used to play with when I was a kid."

John Medeiros, a talent agent from Yonkers, New York, has been "re-collecting" for the last six years starting with the three figures remaining from his childhood collection. "I was missing a couple of pieces that I wanted to fill in and it just didn't stop there," he explains. The collection now occupies his home office, or what John refers to as the "Joe Room." A floor to ceiling bookshelf displays his seventy-five fully-dressed and accessorized Joes along with Hasbro's original artwork. A customized barracks and jeep commands a table in the middle of the room. "I haven't had a meal on that table in a long time," he says with a laugh.

Medeiros and Epling are two of an estimated 250,000 GI Joe collectors in the United States today, a sizable chunk of the $7.2 billion collectibles market. They are active in collectors' clubs, online newsgroups, and at the Joe conventions held each year. In the last decade, GI Joes have become a hot commodity, according to collectors. They report that it's difficult to find Joe figures at doll shows and garage sales and prices are increasing for those available. In 1964, the original GI Joe sold for four dollars. In recent years, collectors have paid as much as $5,750 for a figure in mint condition, a record price for any action figure.

Recognizing the huge collector interest, Hasbro brought back the twelve-inch GI Joe in 1994 with a special edition figure available exclusively at Target stores. The entire stock of 80,000 figures sold out in one day. Hasbro brought several new "classic" figures to store shelves, including the African-American Tuskegee airmen, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General George S. Patton, World War II Medal of Honor recipient Francis S. Currey, and a D-Day soldier.

While collectors invest a lot of money in their hobby, many dismiss those who view Joe collecting as a way to make a quick buck. "I have a problem with that," says Epling, who has invested more than $7,000 in his collection of more than forty figures, "after all...they're toys!" He adds that the GI Joe Internet newsgroup does not welcome those who see collecting as a path to profit. It has even spawned a "price police" force that warns collectors of outrageous pricing of figures and accessories.

Even with collectors' resistance to Joe capitalism, Brian Savage, owner of Mastercollector and the GI Joe Collectors Club says, "It's hard to realize a profit. If you want an investment, go see a stockbroker." Savage advises prospective Joe collectors to do it for the fun of it, "If it goes up in value, great. If it doesn't...great because you like it."
So why do grown men spend so much time and money on dolls, that is, action figures? There's certainly the nostalgia for a piece of their childhood, a time when the world seemed a little simpler and a boy's concerns were as uncomplicated as choosing between which toys to play with on a given day. Many collectors share a desire to re-connect with that special time. "There's something great about coming home from a hectic day at the office and playing with my Joes," says John Medeiros, "It's very calming."

"It's very much a fondness for a very special time in their lives," says Hasbro's Holly Ingram. "...We've talked to a lot of guys at the conventions, it's a heartfelt thing."

Sharing that passion brings collectors together and creates friendships, as well. "There's a lot of camaraderie, that's one of the things I really enjoy about this," says John Medeiros. He regularly communicates with other collectors on the Sandbox, an Internet newsgroup, and through the America On Line GI Joe chat room. Medeiros also frequents the conventions to hook up with fellow collectors. "There's nothing greater than getting together at a show 300 miles away and meeting 20 people you've known online."
Teresa Salgado, freelance photographer from Kirkland, Washington and one of the few women collectors, explains that she got drawn into the hobby through the playfulness and esprit de corps of the Sandbox. She originally tapped into the newsgroup on behalf of a friend who didn't have Internet access, and got swept up in the group's playful atmosphere. "It just escalated....it's so much fun," she says. Though she never played with GI Joes as a child, she now has a collection of thirty figures. "My goal is collecting what makes me smile."

Collectors also recognize GI Joe's aesthetic values. "In reality he is three-dimensional art," says Brian Savage. "He represents us in small scale." Though many collectors focus on the original bodies and accessories, a new trend has arisen with so-called Joe artisans who embellish original toys with new heads and costumes, allowing collectors to evolve their collections beyond the limits of what Hasbro produces. "They've done John Wayne, a dead-on Sean Connery, a Planet of the Apes head that goes on the original body...these are people that are really having fun with the hobby," says Savage.

Although the current craze for twelve-inch GI Joes is mostly an adult phenomenon, a new generation of Joe fans is being nurtured by their collector parents. It's a trend that has not gone unnoticed at Hasbro. "Our current collection is targeted to collectors," says Holly Ingram of Hasbro. "But a lot of the collectors have families and they're bringing their kids into the fold."

Michigan collector Kevin Epling is emblematic of this trend. He bought the first special edition Joes for his young son in 1994 and has watched his interest grow to match his own. "He's definitely being fueled by collector frenzy," notes Epling. "If he loses something, he's like, 'oh no, now I don't have a complete set.'"
Just as most GI Joe collectors would contend their hobby is no ordinary hobby, Kevin Epling believes he's handing something down to his son that is more than just a toy. "I really want to pass this on so that he has something more to reflect on from his childhood than just video games."