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The 1996 GI Joe Collectors Convention
October 3-6, 1996, Florida's Space Coast
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One of the most satisfying aspects of the GI Joe Masterpiece Edition and GI Joe coffee table book projects was the sight of behind-the-scenes creative people finally getting much-deserved recognition for their contributions to an American icon.
For the 1996 GI Joe Collectors' Convention, all of the people that I spoke to while researching the GI Joe book were invited to Florida's Space Coast as honored guests. Many of these people hadn't seen one another for decades, and it was my first face-to-face meeting with the persons I'd interviewed.
Above, A group shot taken the day before the convention kicked off. L to R, top row: Jerry Einhorn, Stan Weston, Janet Downing-Taylor, Sam Speers, Don Levine. Bottom row: Kirk Bozigian, John Michlig.
Above, GI Joe artist Sam Petrucci (left) and GI Joe creator Sam Speers (right) sign copies of the Masterpiece Edition book. Below, former Hasbro exec Kirk Bozigian (instrumental in the relaunch of GI Joe in the 80s) and I.
 RIGHT: Stan Weston and I discuss "revisionist history."
While Mr. Weston is not the sort to loudly claim paternity, it was indeed he who conceived and presented the action figure concept to Hasbro via Don Levine. Specific details of his contributions are laid out in my follow-up coffee table book, GI Joe: The Complete Story of America's Favorite Man of Action, as well as the deeply-researched history of Hasbro, Toy Wars: The Epic Struggle Between GI Joe, Barbie, and the Companies That Make Them by G. Wayne Miller.
© 2008 John Michlig
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