Please Recommend a GI Joe Book

[Marvelmania]

I'm looking for a good GI Joe book that might be on the same par as Ben's Mego book (as hard as that may be). Mostly I'm looking for something covering the AT line. Any recommendations?

[thunderbolt]

There is the New Official Identification Guide to Gi Joe andI've got a more historical type book simply called GI Joe author is Michlig.

[BlackKnight]

Is there a Book with pics of the 3 & 3/4 inchers ??? ... I'd really like one myself.

[Riffster]

Amazon.com: Ultimate Guide to G.I. Joe 1982-1994: Mark Bellomo: Books

[jds1911a1]

so long as Vincent Santelmo didn't write it you should be fine with any of them.

[david_b]

I met John Michlig about 10yrs ago, he's a local in my area (Milwaukee, WI). SUPER-NICE guy, I had him autograph my FAO vintage Astronaut book set.

He had a falling out with the Joe creator, since the figure/book 'gift box' idea was his, but the creator disagreed, and reaped $$$ profits when he sold the idea to Paramount for the Star Trek 12" Kirk/Picard figure/book sets.

John Michlig's Identification Book for the 12" line is SUPERB..! Awesome huge pictures of all the vintage figures, excellent write-ups as well. My only wish was that he included more of the vintage Joe box art, but he focused more on the actual line and uniforms, rarities, etc. Excellent, excellent coffee table book!

david_b

[palitoy]

The photos in this book are awesome


Great Packaging shots in this one

[saildog]

so long as Vincent Santelmo didn't write it you should be fine with any of them.

Good advice or if you do buy one of his guides, caveat emptor. I got one, but only because it was from the $3.00 pile and I wanted to read the interviews with folks that worked at Hasbro. From what I've read, the prototype pictures are a complete sham and he lifted a lot of the information from someone else's books.

[MysteryWho]

The pics in the Joe book Palitoy mentioned are great.
I have this book. It doesn't have any packaging shots.
http://www.gijoeelite.com/f_itemPart...rPart=GIPUB-15

[Megotu]

I have the John Marshall Backyard Heroes book. Great book and oddly readable for the words too. Great photos of toys and packaging. Ignore all the valuations though...Definitely pre-eBay in style.

[Marvelmania]

Thanks for all of the great suggestions! I'll look into the ones that's been mentioned and definitely pick up a couple!

[cjefferys]

I have the first book that Brian mentioned. Great photos and very detailed info (but the focus on this book is almost entirely on loose stuff, almost nothing on boxed items). The photos in this book are so cool that I just had to buy it after flipping through it at a book store, and I don't even collect Joes!

[Joe90]

DePriest's Collectible GI Joe is a good book...



Santelmo's Complete Encyclopedia is flawed but still has some good, factual, information. Saildog's right about the great interviews.



James DeSimone's New Official Identification Guide to GI Joe and Accessories. There are some mistakes, but this was an early GI Joe guide.



Another early book, but fairly comprehensive is Killian and Griffith's Tomart's Price Guide to G.I. Joe Collectibles...


Cross referencing these books with each other should help a lot, plus Michlig's two books on GI Joe, GI Joe: The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action and GI Joe: The Story Behind the Legendare a must have...



Another good source are the reprinted Salesman catalogs...

[Neutron X]

Can someone fill me in on the scam Gijoe prototypes? Is this about the Tokyo Japanese Window boxed Gijoe sets?

[Joe90]

Can someone fill me in on the scam Gijoe prototypes? Is this about the Tokyo Japanese Window boxed Gijoe sets?

No, the Japanese window box sets were a nicely done set of reproductions, Santelmo was upfront about them. Apparently Santelmo wanted to present some prototypes of GI Joe accessories, but he could not locate any. The talk is that he spray painted some vintage pieces to make them look like prototypes. However, I don't think these ersatz prototypes made it into the 3rd Edition.

Apart from that, I think that Santelmo's book is for the most part accurate, and definitely worth while picking up. I got a nice used version for $10.