Noted GI Joe collector and author Mark Bellomo is working with IDW to collect and correct (missing panels, colors etc) the entire run of GI Joe in story time chronological order (including Battle of Order and Special Missions). This set is currently up for pre-order on Amazon. If anyone can pull it all together, it is Mark.

http://www.amazon.com/G-I-JOE-Complete- ... ce=message

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Oooooh!

Damn, wish they'd announced this a while back before I started purchasing all of the separate trades. That's a delightfully handy way to collect the complete series.

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Screw that. I'm sorry but I just spent the last few years patiently waiting as they collected and published the volumes of ARAH, Special Missions and the recent Yearbook collection. I get that they have to make money but this just chaps my ass. Why not do this to begin with and if it takes off and sells then continue and if not do the straight trade collections?

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Probably because it is a pretty big undertaking and commitment of time and money. It is far easier to release straight reprint trades. If those sell, then you know you have a audience for something like this and it will sell. Or maybe it just took Mark actually pitching the idea for IDw to think it might work. I'm not sure who approached who first. I'm just guessing that maybe it was a matter of right person at the right time.

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I personally like this, since I haven't gotten any of the trades yet aside from Special Missions vol. 2 that I got from Borders when my local store closed. However, I completely understand the frustration of people that have already been collecting the trades, and I'd probably be frustrated too if I had been collecting the trades already.