G.I. Joe

About G.I. Joe

Hasbro shipped the first G.I. Joe in 1964 at 12 inches, coined the phrase "action figure" to sell it, and then relaunched the whole thing in 1982 at 3¾ inches as A Real American Hero — a smaller scale, a cartoon, a comic and a file card on the back of every card.

It is the eighties relaunch that collectors chase. Complete figures with their original accessories are the hard part; the accessories were tiny and nobody kept them.