G.I. JOE "A REAL AMERICAN HERO"

I remember my first G.I. JOE experience.  I was in grade school.  We went to a little Catholic Elementary school down in Laguna Beach, CA.  It's still there.  St. Catherine's, St. Nicholas.  Sometimes my father would come pick us up after school.  When he would, chances were he was swinging us by this store which had $.15 Ice Cream.  We would anticipate it.  It was heaven.  A ritual which helped to define great memories during that period of time in our little lives. 

In the store there was a pegged rack that spun like a Lazy Susan.  A pegged carousel.  The pegged carousel was usually home to the multiverse that was Star Wars.  This too was heaven.  One day the Star Wars figures were no longer there.  There were these new figures,  G.I. JOE.  I grabbed one.  MAJOR BLUDD.  My father agreed to buy it for me.  I went home, took that figure straight to the microuniverse that was our backyard and created the fabric which would later define that imagination emporium, eventually becoming the battle ground for a very real G.I. JOE vs. COBRA conflict.  I was obsessed.   I wanted every character, every vehicle, every weapon.  I loved this universe.

Can you imagine 30 years later getting the keys to this car?  Being able to build out our G.I. JOE universe?  This is unreal.  A dream come true.  Truly a mindblowing experience to have the rights to flip through the entire character catalogue  developing our ideas of how we aim to compliment this epic world, this epic brand.  And here we are.  A year in the making.  

Finally, we present to you - THE LOYAL SUBJECTS x G.I. JOE.  Available now for preorder on www.theloyalsubjects.com .

Designed by Les Schettkoe.  

We wanted to create an accessible and highly collectible version of this brilliant universe, with the fingerprints and accents of the vinyl community.  What better way to bring this whole puzzle home than a 3" Blindbox mini series!  Keep you guessing but chances are, the figure you pick will have it's own place on that coveted mantle footprint which houses the best of your collection.  Keep building your character catalog until you get the whole SERIES 1 COLLECTION!  There are chase figures too.  Three of them!  Chase 1 - 1/24.  Chase 2 - 1/48.  Chase 3 - 1/120.  The chase figures are K I L L E R.  The boys (and future girls *cough* - leak?) will come in a 16 count display.  Buy the display too, all 16 pieces!  We're offering this as well on www.theloyalsubjects.com.

So who are the characters?  DUKE, SNAKE EYES, STORM SHADOW, COBRA COMMANDER,  ZARTAN, DESTRO, GUNG-HO and SNOW JOB.  Each character comes with their signature weapon(s) and accessories.  Get this - the characters have those old school pegged holes on the bottoms of the feet and in the back.  What for?  Interchangeable back packs and equipment!  ZARTAN even comes with another FACE.  

R A D ! ! !  It's all in the details =)

So, are you guys in?  Are you joining sides?  Let's get busy!  YO JOE!  Because "Knowing is half the battle".

$12.99/ea

MR. BUNNY #2

Following up on the madness of a 24 hour Bunny love fest!  That was cool, right?  I'm fairly certain everyone was able to grab what they wanted.  If not from our site, from the host of amazing and awesome retailers who we love to call our polyamorous life partners.  We heard some very kind kudos being thrown out to the divine Rotofugi and My Plastic Heart.  It's great that the base  supports the pillars because without the pillars and without all of you, we're lost at sea.  We certainly feel challenged to create better pieces and we're definitely trying to evolve with all of your tastes.  Hopefully we all sail up stream together, in this case, to a Chaos Bunny paradise masterminded by Joe Ledbetter.  

Happy shopping, Happy Thanksgiving, Merry Christmas and let's turn this motha out!

Pssst.  One last thought or tid bit of insider info.  There's a Bunny who jumped ship.  Last we heard he sailed off over the great Atlantic to a very liberal European port town to have a little fun.  Keep it Fresh.  Keep it Minty.  We may have to follow the trail.  Might get lost ourselves =)  If we do, don't bother sending help.  We'll be swimming mightily towards greener pastures.

www.theloyalsubjects.com

INFLATABLE LIFE

It's working.  Our beautiful, Koonsian Creatures are suddenly making appearances everywhere.  Aren't they perfect semi inert creatures?  I love them.  An inflatable life.  A joyful life.  A hopeful life.  Art in space and art that interacts.  

MR BUNNY. #2

$125.00

This Wednesday, Noon PST at 

www.theloyalsubjects.com

Also, check with your favorite retailers for availability -

BAIT, Yoyamart, Rotofugi, Minty Fresh...and more...

Ships before Christmas.

ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Wow, did that just happen?  Did Elvis really leave the building?  Did we start the morning with almost 100 Lava Bunnies and end up with a bunch of empty boxes, some crusty donuts, a lot of hand shakes and a bunch of smiling faces?  I think so.  I'm pretty sure that just happened.  Nice.  That feels good.  

Conventions are crazy, even the ones in your own backyard.  We're in Atwater Village and Designer Con is in Pasadena.  Maybe a 15 minute drive from our HQ.  Closeness to proximity doesn't matter, it's still chaos.  We're ripping apart the warehouse, bubble wrapping our fixtures, getting our samples ready, making sure our loyal customers are being communicated to, packing up 17' long trucks - it's a massive effort for just a 9 hour show.  And it's only 1 day.  And it's fun!  This is just the tip of the iceberg.  We have Toy Fair coming in February.  A secret release this January in Amsterdam.  Another secret release this coming March in Beijing.  Comic Con in San Diego!  It's nuts!!  And it's all Joe Ledbetter related!  More Nuts!  Side Note - You can never use enough emphatics.  Really, the good ole exclamation mark is king.  Simple, yet effective.  People are intuitive.  Intuition created the exclamation mark.  A perfect union of design and expression.

Enough of the side track crazy train.  Let's talk about Designer Con!  Everyone happy?  I know, not everyone but we will make it our mission for you to be stoked!  It's my goal to make sure that whoever lost out on this round will be included in the next.  We are democratic, we are loyal, you are our subjects and we are yours.  We're one in the same and we know it's you guys who make us tick.  It's you guys who prop us up and believe-you-me, we are grateful to our very core.  We are never lost on that point.  We were excited to meet our friends, familiar faces and new faces, all celebrating the return of Lava Bunny, Joe's first intro into the art toy scene way back, several years ago.  It's great that The Loyal Subjects were able to produce a very identifiable and unique design, one which has resonated with a really great core group.  Even greater, it's amazing the great group of collectors who have connected with Joe Ledbetter through the years. It truly is fantastic and everyone feels blessed to have the support from all of you.  Art with an impact.  Can't get any better, can you? 

Congratulations to all of you who were able to score one, meet Joe and have Joe sign your prized Bunny.  Congratulations to Joe Ledbetter for being fierce, dynamic and truly an all around great guy!  And for kicking so much butt last Saturday!  Let's keep the momentum going.  Word on the street is, there's another Bunny going up on the market.  Something about a leak Monday?  Perhaps it'll be on sale at www.theloyalsubjects.com on Wed?  So I've heard.  Keep them ears and peepers peeled.  we got your back!

jc