Celebrating America: R. Carson Mataxis’ new book, The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover

R. Carson Mataxis, Emmy-Winning videographer and animator, celebrates an unforgettable era of pop culture in his new book The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero. This omnibus hardcover includes decades of artistic flair and business strategy in a captivating book. The Art of G.I.JOE was created, designed, and produced by Carson with the help of former Hasbro executives and G.I.JOE designers, illustrators, and sculptors. The book can be purchased on 3DJoes, where Carson and company catalog the brand’s action figures, vehicles, playsets, print content, peripheral products, and more. 

G.I.JOE was created in 1964 to entertain children with heroic stories of military heroes who espoused American values. With G.I.JOE, Hasbro created the ‘world’s first action figure’ with incredibly detailed and interactive designs. As the brand evolved into G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero in 1982, it became known for its action-packed comic books, high-quality cartoons, and valuable action figures. Eventually, several live-action movies were also released honoring the American spirit of G.I.JOE’s storylines.  

Fans who love the brand often collect these products, but it can be difficult and expensive to build a comprehensive packaged collection to appreciate the line. Carson, a lifelong fan of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero, had spent decades collecting, and has now spent over a decade documenting, restoring, and uploading extensive content on his 3DJoes archive showcasing G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero products. 

Before creating his most recent book, The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover, Carson had spent the last decade photographing and scanning every piece of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero art. He started with 1982-1994 carded figures and then moved into the 1982-1994 vehicles, playsets, catalogs and offers, books, newsletters, puzzles, posters, and more. Carson digitally restored this content and released it as six Collecting the Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero softcover volumes. 

The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover differs from this previous content because it’s officially licensed by Hasbro, significantly larger, and even more comprehensive – featuring hundreds of images of unadorned artwork scanned from paintings and high-resolution transparencies.  

The omnibus features over 700 pages of eye-catching art, insider information, and even unreleased paintings. The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Digipack includes four discs filled with Carson’s candid interviews with the brand’s former vice president, figure and vehicle designers, packaging painters, and other professionals who were integral to the creation of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero. Excerpts from some of these interviews were woven into the omnibus, but the Digipack offers a much more comprehensive look at how the talent rallied together to create G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero. 

Just like all of Carson’s G.I.JOE work, the Omnibus Hardcover was financed by community crowdfunding and his own investment. For The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover, backers helped Carson and his team raise almost $400,000 to produce the book. He continued taking pre-orders through 3DJoes, and ultimately raised and spent over $500,000 on the production of this unparalleled omnibus. These contributions were mission-affirming for Carson and for the creators who were highlighted and celebrated.  

Since Carson’s mission with 3DJoes has always been to celebrate G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero’s creators and to preserve their legacy, he plans to keep recording interviews and archiving content for decades to come. 

“The Art of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero Omnibus Hardcover has been an amazing project that has uplifted the brand,” says Carson. “The omnibus showcases the history of G.I.JOE: A Real American Hero while also honoring the creators. It’s been incredibly fulfilling to create this behemoth of a tome, and I am excited to continue making it accessible to fans globally.”