Customer Reviews

ACTION JOE: The Story of the French GI Joe (Figurines and Toys)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First, let me begin by saying that I am a 100% bilingual French Canadian and just felt that I had to write this to express how disappointed I am by this book. Although the photos and the contents are absolutely incredible, it is really unfortunate that a publisher would allow such a poorly translated book to hit the market... And for once I am not complaining about the French version!!!

Originally written in French, this reference piece shamefully disfigures the English language with its extremely poor syntax and very basic spelling mistakes, which could have been easily picked by even the most rudimentary word publishing software. To me, the language problem was such that it completely ruined my reading experience and made this collecting tool little less than a collection of images with unreadable garbled foot notes.

On the other hand, one can tell that the author totally knows what he is talking about (when one manages to understand what the author is trying to say) and if you are fluent in French, I strongly recommend purchasing this book in its original format. It is such insight to see all the great things the French did for 5 years with the Adventure Team / GI Joe line in the late 70's, early 80's, that I think every serious vintage GI Joe collector should have this in his reference library.

So in conclusion, +10 for the choice of subject, images and layout, zero for the language level. English speaking buyers beware!!

I have a modest GI Joe collection. When I was stationed in Berlin I found Action Man, the Palitoy licenced copy of GI Joe, in the NAAFI (the British edition of the Post Exhange) and have 8 in my collection. Until "Action Joe," I didn't know that the French had their own GI Joe. I've heard about Japan's edtion, and Gyperman.

The photos were great! I reluctantly rated this book with just four stars because the English translation is clumsy. I shudder to think how my own French sounds to someone from France! The photo layouts are first rate and seem to cover the entire line. Now I know what to look for at the next GI Joe convention.