Customer Reviews

The Complete Encyclopedia to GI Joe (Complete Encyclopedia to G. I. Joe)

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

 

 

Vincent "San Repro" is at it again. This book is filled with reproduction "prototypes" which the author fails to mention are complete fakes that he created. There is a tiny disclaimer toward the back of the book which claims there are reproductions. However, in the body of the book, the author misleads collectors by showing several pictures of reproduction items that are passed off as the original. This book is a complete sham and a disgrace. Any longtime vintage collector will see right through it.

If you are looking for a truly great book on the history of GI Joe, I suggest you read John Michlig's books. They have all authentic prototypes from the actual creators of GI Joe.

While Santelmo's book is valuable for all the interviews with early GI Joe creators, collectors who have not had experience handling rare items can be easily misled by the many photos of so-called "prototypes" which were "re-created" for the book. Because the "re-creations" are not clearly marked there is significant concern that when these surface in collecting circles they will be thought authentic because of their association with the book. The price guide is also virtually useless as it undervalues some very rare pieces and wildly overvalues some more common ones. Buyer Beware!

It seems very strange that Santelmo adds to an otherwise useful collector's guide a whole bunch of material taken from John Michlig's book, GI JOE: THE COMPLETE STORY OF AMERICA'S FAVORITE MAN OF ACTION. Why not do inexpensive updates to the collector information without all the poorly written "history" at the beginning? 592 pages? Under half of those pages are useful.

The collector book by Derryl DePriest is much better, leaner book for collector's, and the Michlig book is a better book for the history of the product.

This book for some reason includes re-creations of proto-types. How do you recreate a prototype? Sounds like a dumb idea to me. ...I don't know, but I liked the book mostly because of the interesting photos of GI Joes, and the information that it added to what I already know. The parts of the book (like the value guide) which I thought were garbage I just skipped over. There are lots of entertaining photos in the book, and interesting information too. Is it some kind of Collector's Bible for GI Joe? No, I don't think so.

Yes, Mr. Santelmo took some liberties in mocking up his own "prototypes". And yes this was a big error in judgement on his part, since he is supposed to be documenting historic events and materials. The obvious issue here is that he instantly loses some of his crediblity. What pieces are forgeries? What information gaps did he fill with his own interpretations? Hopefully, if there are future printings of this book, the offending photos will be removed.

I get the impression that he listened to too much of his own hype and figured nobody would mind if he utilized some of his skills as an artist. I for one find his chest thumping to be rather off-putting as well. Most of us will never be able to own anything like his collection and we really dont need to have that thrown in our faces.

All that said, there is a truckload of information stuffed into this book! Speaking from a casual collectors viewpoint, I've found that no one book covers it all. But if your looking for photos of practically every item and piece of paperwork associated with G.I. Joe (and even many of the people that were behind the scenes) this is the place.

As for the forged prototypes...Seriously, how many people are directly affected by by that?...a dozen? two dozen? And shame on you people anyway. If those pieces do exist, they should be in a museum somewhere, not in some over-funded collector's livingroom. G.I Joe was/is a beloved toy and he was meant to a source of enjoyment. All this in-fighting, self-promotion, greed, and snobbery is a blemish on his name.

Interesting to a point, but not what I was looking for. I wanted more about the storyline, not the product line. But for collectors of the actual toys, this is a perfect fit.

At first, I only wanted to see the new figures. But then I looked at the 60s figures and wanted the 40th Anniversary sets. I agree, the "prototypes" were fake but the book was still good. It is the only book I read. A great edition to your collection. Buy and Enjoy!

This guy thinks collectors want to see his own creations of what rare prototypes are. What a complete waste of time. Collectors want to see the real thing. Most of the "rare" prototypes in this book are fakes that Santelmo forgets to tell the reader. This book would be useful if you are interested in conterfeit items!

This is the latest, 3rd Edition of the very popular "Encyclopedia" of GI Joe collecting. This 1" thick, 512 page book has more than 1,000 black and white photos, and a super 48 page large, sharp, full color picture section. It has a very useful, complete table of contents making item location easy. Values are provided. I found this volume most interesting and useful. GI Joe fans will find it of value, just as the popular previous editions.

While some hardcore collectors and professional critics have found some small points to pick at in this book, most reasonable collectors will find it to be just what it purports to be: A very good standard reference guide to one of our all time favorite toys G.I. Joe. So find a comfortable chair, turn off the TV, flip open the book and get reacquainted with a old childhood friend G.I. Joe.