Customer Reviews

The Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994: Identification and Price Guide (Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994: Identification & Price Guide)

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I didn't even know about the 1st version of "The Ultimate Guide to G.I.Joe", but I followed the development of the second edition with eagerness (even pre-ordered at Amazon). This edition features full-color pages with crisp photos and behind-the-scenes information compiled and written by a true collector. His dedication is demonstrated in the attention to detail on every entry. The images are close and sharp - the next best thing to having an item in your hands. All figures, vehicles, and playsets are shown with their respective parts and weapons, and easily lost items (e.g. items you might be missing and not know it) are highlighted. Although items will always vary in cost on the secondary market, the prices are a great thumbnail estimate. While I'm not a big "variant" collector, most of the rarer versions and mail-aways are highlighted with photos in the book as well.

When I was a kid, I spent endless hours flipping through the Hasbro catalogs that came with vehicles daydreaming what I wanted next. This book has reawakened that fascination, and though I may not be buying everything in it, I've got a pretty good idea what I want to chase down. I've read or flipped through this book every day since I got it, and I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in '80s vintage G.I.Joe toys.

Having purchased the 1st edition of Mark's guide, I was eager to get his 2nd edition. Mark had reached out to the G.I. Joe collector's community asking for corrections, additions and suggestions for the 2nd edition.

Figures, vehicles and playsets, this book has it all. Many pictures of the vehicles are larger and more detailed than they were in the 1st edition, while some are smaller. Each figure's description includes a list of accessories that came with the figure.

The guide also includes "inside" info and tidbits from Larry Hama, who was the writer of the G.I. Joe Marvel comic and creator of many 3 3/4" characters as well as writer of the figure's filecards.

I suggest buying both of Mark's guides so that you don't miss out on anything. These are must haves for any collector.

Well worth the money! I just got into collecting GI Joes, great book! Now they just need one like this for Star Wars 1977-1985 figures.

Any fan of G.I. Joe would LOVE to peruse this collector's cornucopia. No stone is left unturned, and every possible variation of model (Tiger Force, Slaughter's Marauders, Eco-Warriors, etc) is explored in minute detail, down to the thumb size and eye color! Simply exhaustive. The photos of every toy are clear and of professional quality, which is a major improvement upon the first edition.

Although I have the complete series through 1987, and much of the next two years (after that I just stuck with reading the comic, as the toys became too fanciful for my taste), the reason why I am so excited about this book is not because I am interested in their value for buying or selling. It's all about the notes. Every major character has a full biography which is tied into the marvelous Marvel comic series written by the master storyteller Larry Hama. Bellomo has carried on extensive conversations with Hama, and many of their notes are shared here, giving detailed background that is not found elsewhere. Yes, this is the footnote stuff that only hardcore fans care about, but if you get excited about the thought of asking Hama questions in person, this is the next best thing.

Text is all high gloss paper, full color and tightly bound. This book will last through years of wear, almost as long as your childhood memories!

If you haven't yet read the comic, start here: Classic G.I. Joe Vol. 1 (v. 1)

One of the best works on any topic in collecting, this book combines basic product info with design history, trivia, and insightful comments. Far from dull, this book was a truly enjoyable read and covers all facets of the 3 3/4 line, including mail-aways and packaging info. Very well done indeed.

All vehicles and figures are shown with the complete accessories. This book brought me back to my childhood! I wish all action figure books were as well done as this book.

Rather than top down pictures only, most pics (esp of play sets & vehicles) are multi-dimensional. Book is awesome, such a great resource on every little bit & piece included w/each figure, vehicle & play set. Plus the descriptions are helpful & the background provided a unique look into the G.I.Joe toy line's history.

Just wonderful, and an improvement to the 1st edition (which I also purchased). If you're a Joe collector, this book is real added value and fun because of the combination of product description and detailed background info.

Over the years there have been a number of GI JOE reference books for the "Real American Hero" toy line by Hasbro. The second edition is by far the best that has been created to date. Mark Bellomo knows his stuff and the information and background data on many of the toys is really sharp stuff. This edition is greatly improved over the first edition having more pages and MUCH clearer photos of every vehicle in the line.

This is a great resource for any ARAH collector and also to COLLECTIBLES dealers as it shows every piece that makes up vehicle and every accessory that came with each figure. WELL worth the money. Also, AMAZON has it for nearly $10 less than in the bookstore.

I don't consider myself a GI Joe collector. Back in 1982 when I was nine years old I liked to buy and play with GI Joe toys. For a few years, these were my favorite toys, with Star Wars coming in a close second. Then I grew up and didn't think much about GI Joe until I saw Hasbro's 25th anniversary line in 2007. But I don't collect vintage figures, so I wasn't sure if a price guide would be of any value to me.

Having bought this book and paged through it several times, I have to say I love it! The photos are spectacular, allowing me to revisit my childhood by flipping through the pages of this book. Even though there are great sites on the Internet like YoJoe that have archives of the old figures with photos, the photos in this book are all high quality which isn't always the case with photos online. The book is also filled with trivia on the history of the figures, including prototype back story that was changed prior to the figure going to production. I don't know of any place online that you'll find all of that historic information collected in one place.

So from the perspective of a non-collector, only a fan, is this book worth it? Absolutely. You'll find yourself flipping through the pages like you did the mail order catalogs of your childhood... wishing you could have all of these toys to play with once again.