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m Yo,Joe! After 25 years of fighting evil, military icons remain a touchstone for kids of all ages. BY BRIAN TRUITT jj& EVEN THOUGH G.I. JOE action ures have been around since ’6os, it wasn’t until 1982 that really took off. That's the year toy giant Hasbro relaunched the prod uct line with smaller, 3X-inch toys and a comic book series. Then a cartoon series the next year proved to be a smash hit with kids. The franchise introduced colorful characters such A as team leader Duke and the nipja-like commando <B Snake Eyes, who were flung into battle against Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization. Today, there are A modem comics, cartoons and new 25th-anniversary /dH figures in stores. A live-action movie is slated to iflj start filming in February, directed by Stephen fJH Sommers ( The Mummy) and produced by Lorenzo 111 di Bonaventura (Transformers). The release is il set for summer 2009. “Joe has an abundance of riches as an intellec- jm j tual property, both in characters good and bad,” ML i /"\tl B 12 USA WEEKEND • Sept. 21-23,2007 Culture di Bonaventura says. l For some celebrities we spoke with recently B the “Real American B Hero” remains close \ B to their hearts: | CM PUNK 1 JL Phil Brooks, aka CM Punk of Extreme Championship Wres- B ■k tling, still has all of his old G.I. Joe toys, watches the cartoons B«ii|i Ip and reads the comics, but call the pro wrestler a geek at B your own periL He says his long-standing love for all things \ , G.I. Joe reflects his individuality inside and outside the ring. jVCy Brooks, 28, grew up in Chicago, a huge fan of the fran chise, and two of his many tattoos reflect that adoration: an Arashikage ninja clan symbol on his right forearm and the very noticeable Cobra logo on his upper right arm. “I guess I gravitate more toward the evil side,” the ECW grappler says. “I’m not the all-American, Captain America type.” ' : f The 2007 G.I. Joe Collector's Convention, celebrating the modem toy's 25th anniversary, will take place Sept 27-30 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Atlanta. Joe Con will feature dealers, panels, a fan film festival, exclusive action figures and guests such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. For more details, visit mastercollector.com. SETH GREEN Ml The actor. 33, continues to play with his G.I. Joes — j , If albeit as co-creator of the popular stop-motion ani- jfflEgMfjp|§ mation show Robot Chicken , which apjrears on the Cartoon Network. The first G.I. Joe figure that Green V acquired was Snake Eyes, and that set off a collec- tion frenzy. ***'• IT “I carried them all in a huge Ziploc bag in Mk tmms my backpack when I went to school,” says ~ Jfl Green, who currently is filming Old Dogs ■ 1 with John Travolta and Robin Williams. JB “And at one point, somebody stole my J B backpack. I was devastated. But some- ■ j body saw who had taken it We had a y B confi-ontation in the principal’s office, and I got my toys back. told me I shouldn’t » *■" ” i be so stupid to bring all [of them] vjKSF BRAD PAISLEY Some parents don’t let their kids play with toy guns. Brad Paisley didn’t have that problem, and he turned out OK. “I haven’t shot anybody in real life,” jokes the country music star, who attributes his attraction to G.I. Joe partly to his father’s Army background. Paisley and his childhood friends built forts and played with the action figures in Glen Dale, WVa. The 34-year-old can’t remember Bk which ones he had, but he couldn’t pass up buying a designer I Bk bW G.I. Joe T-shirt recently at Saks Fifth Avenue. He has worn Ik it on stage several times during his current tour. “It’s amazing the way that you bond with kids over toys, and B that’s why I think the T-shirt elicits such a response,” B Paisley says. “I wear T-shirts all the time that say other things, but they don’t get the reaction that a simple G.I. Joe one does.” a BROOKS: 2007 WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT. INC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. PAISLEY: DOUG CLARK