COLLECTING THE ART OF G.I. JOE [Toy News]: Back The Omnibus Hardcover Now!

The following press release courtesy of 3DJoes.com

The “Collecting the Art of G.I.Joe” Omnibus Hardcover is a massive 480+ page 12.5″x13″ celebration of the art of A Real American Hero! It will include every carded figure, vehicle, playset, poster and peripheral product featuring painted art released from 1982-1994, plus an unprecedented look at some unreleased paintings that never made it through to production.This Omnibus Hardcover will feature offset lithograph printing throughout with 80# interior pages and a beautiful 95# cover wrapped on a 120pt. board with gloss lamination. A translation for those not familiar with printing technology and materials: this will be a professional grade book!The Omnibus Hardcover edition is bigger and better than the previous softcovers in every way. Here’s how:First, bigger! The original softcover books are 8×11” tall, and the slipcase is 8.5×11.5” tall. The new Omnibus Hardcover will be 12.5” x 13”.
The new Omnibus Hardcover will be 12.5” x 13” while the original slipcase was 8.5″ x 11.5” tall.
Next, better! This hardcover won’t just be taller and wider, it will be packed with new and remastered content!
1982-1986 have been completely remastered! Here we see the original restored 1982 Zap MOC photo and the all new restored 1982 Zap MOC photo.
The original set was 460 pages. The new omnibus hardcover will start at 480 pages, and we are going to stretch for 80 additional double gatefold spreads, bringing the total page count up to a mammoth 640 pages.
The Omnibus Hardcover will feature an unprecedented look at some unreleased paintings that never made it through to production.
So how do we plan to fill these new pages?Over the last several years we’ve been on a mission to document the stories of the folks that created this timeless artwork. We’ve traveled to Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Queens, Manhattan, Connecticut, South Carolina, and more to interview folks like Kirk Bozigian (former G.I.Joe Brand Manager and Vice President of Boys Toys), Ron Rudat (former Hasbro designer and creator of the first six years of G.I.Joe figures), Mark Pennington (former Hasbro designer and creator of the next three years of G.I.Joe figures), Ed Morrill (former Partner of CLS&M, the packaging firm that created the packaging for G.I.Joe from 1969-1989), Doug Hart (former Hasbro artist responsible for the lions share of late 80s and early 90s G.I.Joe paintings!), and Bill Merklein (contract sculptor that crafted over 70 G.I.Joe figures from 1983-1989). We conducted comprehensive interviews and solved some of the unsolved packaging mysteries that have puzzled collectors for decades. Not only will these creators’ stories fill the pages of the new Omnibus Hardcover, you’ll be able to watch them on the included Blu-ray disk! We filmed these interviews and plan to stretch to include them on a free Blu-ray disk inserted inside the back cover of the Collecting the Art of G.I.Joe Omnibus Hardcover.
The Omnibus Hardcover will feature interviews with Kirk Bozigian, Ron Rudat, Mark Pennington, Ed Morrill, Doug Hart and Bill Merklein.
Please, back this Kickstarter today and help preserve their work and their stories, for all of the world to see and appreciate.The first goal of $35,000 will fund printing of a 480 page 12.5″ x 13″ hardcover book.The first stretch goal of $37,000 (total pledged) will fund four color endsheets featuring a collage of us kids enjoying our G.I.Joes.The second stretch goal of $42,000 (total pledged) will fund editing, BluRay authoring, manufacturing, and insertion of a Blu-Ray disc featuring interviews with the creators onto back inside of the hardcover.The third stretch goal of $52,000 (total pledged) will fund 10 eight page double gatefold inserts. These will be bound between the full signatures and will bring our initial 480 pages up 160 pages for a whopping 640 pages total!The fourth and final stretch goal of $57,000 (total pledged) will fund a slipcases with a beautiful 95 # cover wrapped on an 80pt. board with a scuff resistant nylon lamination. This price includes inserting one book into each slipcase and shrink wrapping these slipcases individually.

Click here to back it before it’s too late!