They probably won't get it shipped, but there has been speculation all along that they get it manufactured and shipped to the distributor all at once, or at least in big chunks. Then they do the two at a time.

Then again they may handle this last one completely differently.

_________________

The good news is that there's a lot of secondary cons that are doing a great job and are collector focused. With the void of joecon maybe they'll will pick up there game a little bit to satisfy us all.

I'm a dreadnok nut, I just wanted that heartwrencher set to get done. like to at least have seen pics.

_________________

It seems like the Club was pretty self sustaining and could have continued with out much involvement from Hasbro. I don't think it would have cost Hasbro anything to let the club keep the convention going. So I don't think they would pull the license unless they had plans for it.

It's all about the shared universe, y'all. Hasbro is looking at the Billions Disney is raking in with the MCU and the Billions they're paying for the toy license and wanting a source of all-incoming Billions, too. They're going to want to control the message of these to-be-connected properties while minimizing the financial risks of the roll-out. If they're smart they'll do away with dedicated Cons entirely and take their message where the crowds are by getting big floorspace at SDCC, NYCC, etc. Running their own independent Con is just a big financial risk where they'd be trying to draw crowds to them when the only guarantee is that they'd get the same people that would've gone to Bot/JoeCon anyway, which simply aren't big enough crowds on the scale of this multi-Billions shared universe venture to be worth doing.

I just don't see any scenario where Hasbro running their own Con makes financial sense for them.

_________________

Well, keep in mind that FSS 5.0 isn't necessarily tied in specifically with the existence of the Club. I have no idea what the terms of their deal with Hasbro are, but it might allow for FSS 5.0 to be shipped even in 2017, after the Club ceases, especially given the lead time necessary in developing and creating the actual figures. This could well be something Hasbro is allowing the Club to do so FunPublications doesn't end up taking a severe loss on the manufacture of figures that they couldn't distribute. But that's entirely speculation on my part.

I tend to agree that if -- and there has yet to be any formal announcement, although it does seem likely -- the Transformers and G.I. Joe Clubs are coming to an end, that Hasbro isn't all that likely to do much with them. I can see them doing something with Transformers, since I suspect they regard it as a more viable product at the moment than G.I. Joe.

But as was pointed out, as far as Hasbro's "in-house" product lines are concerned, it's getting to be all about marketing them as a shared cinematic universe. That's going to be their emphasis.

Now that doesn't explain why they can't let the Clubs continue, unless for whatever reason they just want to circle the wagons and bring everything as in-house as they possibly can.

I just hope they let Larry Hama's Real American Hero title continue through IDW. If that gets scrapped, then it really is all over as far as I'm concerned.

I'll be interested to see who the Club announces for FSS 5.0.

Is it time to bring out the DETH OF TEH LINE meme again?
https://www.change.org/p/hasbro-save-gi ... m=copylink

_________________

I know a lot of people have major issues with the club, and they've made some missteps I don't like, but overall, it was a nice thing to have. With message boards, start-up figure and accessory companies like Marauder, and independent cons, it's not as necessary, but still a nice security blanket. Even when there was no Hasbro product coming out, I knew there might be some Club offerings I'd enjoy. I also think the nature of the beast with things like fan clubs/cons, leads to a lot of disenchantment/disenfranchisement, as everyone has an idea of how they would do things, if only they were in charge. This assures that for every action taken, there will be several people who are unhappy. I also think Brian, and probably most of the others, involved in Funpub are just a bit burnt out. It's probably time for the torch to either be passed or extinguished.

Sadly, the target market for the club is aging out, as well. When looked at in the harsh light of day, you realize that we, the RAH collectors, are now the age the 12" collectors were when they started complaining about RAH "destroying their GI Joe." But RAH did not destroy their GI Joe; the cruel, inevitable march of time did. And so it now does the same to RAH. We are getting older. We are getting other interests. We are, tragically, dying. We're now firmly in the middle of that age group where family, responsibilities, and even mortality weigh on us. The toy industry has passed us by, and just as the landscape of the '80's was alien to those who had grown up in the '60's, the landscape now is to us. We are no longer the target, but the outliers; we will never be the target again. Anything given to us via the official channels will be tantamount to giving the old hound table scraps because he's been faithful all these years.

A new club, and a new con, may rise up, endorsed by Hasbro or not, to fill the void, but if it does not, I'm okay with that. The club that existed, and my collection, gave me what I wanted from it - a brief distraction from day to day life, a way to relax for a bit. My collection will still be there with the club gone. I can still enjoy it. I still have message boards, such as this one, to interact with like-minded individuals. As others have said, there are enough non-sanctioned get-togethers that happen that an official one isn't as necessary, if camaraderie is wanted.

All that disjointed mess said, I still am extremely glad I got to take my son to Joecon last year, since it looks like this year's is the last, and there's no way we could've attended it. He'd asked me about this year's Con and I told him we just have too much going on to take time out to go, then he said, "Oh well, maybe next time." I told him about the seeming end of the club and Cons and he said, "Man, I finally get to go to one and get to enjoy the stuff, and they take it away." I responded that, while he may not get to go to another one, nobody can take away the memories he got at that one. And that's how I feel about having been able to take him -- nobody can take away that feeling of being a kid again that I experienced by going with him and enjoying it vicariously.

Well said, MM -

Also, it was nice meeting you and your son last year -

-Jm

_________________

agreed on both counts.

unrelated, but the way you described our age group...well, not JM's per se... but in general, made me chuckle, because I had much the same epiphany while watching an episode of Saturday Night Live yesterday that my college age step daughter had recorded. I used to be a big fan - when I was younger - and this was the first episode I'd watched in a while. My wife and I kept exchanging looks because of how shamelessly not funny it was. And it occurred to me, as you so eloquently described here, that this SNL just isn't meant to be amusing to me. Just like "my" SNL wasn't meant to be amusing to my parents. I think it's for the same reasons you identified.

Well. Half for those reasons anyway. And half that kids today just don't have the same quality sense of humor we had.

Now get off JM's lawn.

_________________

Yes, kids *are* dumb. Everyone agrees about that.

_________________

Thanks guys, and it was nice meeting you, as well. Nothing stings so much as realizing you're not the one the world is focused on anymore.

This might explain why GI Joe aren't in stores anymore.
Hasbro probably doesn't know what to do to create this generation's GI Joe.
They tried adapting "our' characters into movies and building blocks to bring in new fans, but it obviously didn't work.

What will it take is an old debate.
In the 60's GI Joe was a WWII hero, in the 80's, they were heroes from the Vietnam war.
Does GI Joe need to be a hero of a new war to become the hero of a new generation? Does he need to become post 9/11 black ops anti-terrorist agent to become "au goût du jour"?

Super heroes seem to be the hit thing these days, does it mean it's time to bring back Super Joe and his intergalactic team?

_________________

If they're gonna tie Joe into all the other space-based properties, that's what he'll need to become to work.

_________________

Hasbro needs to bring back the "Adventure Team" concept. It will allow for all kinds of characters to be this generation's Joes.

_________________