In case you had forgotten, we are just 5 days away from Roll Out Roll Call 2012 (the third installment of the GI-Joe / Transformers Convention, and Simon Furman has updated his blog regarding the event.

Barely have I gathered my thoughts and gear after London Super Comic Con than I’m off again. A week from now I’ll be heading to Southampton for Roll Out, Roll Call 3, the all-singing, all-dancing Transformers/G.I. Joe/Action Force event, which runs across the weekend of 10th & 11th March.

I’ll be there along with the likes of fellow Regeneration One creatives Andrew Wildman and Jean-Paul Bove, the god of G.I. Joe Larry Hama, Jim Sorenson & Bill Foster (the Allspark Almanac gurus) and many more. It promises to be a simply amazing weekend.

As well as signing/selling original scripts (largely unpublished), comics and more, all weekend, I’ll be taking part in a dedicated Q&A session (where more dirt on Regeneration One is bound to get dished) and presenting a special Transformers script-to-page presentation, featuring the art of fan favourite Nick Roche. The presentation is capped by a special gallery section featuring rare (again, often unpublished) art from the likes of EJ Su, Don Figueroa, Alex Milne and more. And in addition, there’ll be a permanent display of Transformers (and Action Force) original art from my own personal collection to enjoy.

If you can, get yourself along. It’s sure to be blast. For more details and how to order tickets, check out the All the Cool Stuff website here.

Jim Sorenson has updated his blog, Diciples of Boltax, with the news that he will be working on a new GI Joe Animation model book along with Bill Forster.  Transformers fans will know that Jim and Bill released two Transformers Ark books covering the animation art from the original Transformers series and Japanese Transformers series.

Jim has posted the following.

Yo Joe!  The time has come for much rejoicing and cavorting.  I can now officially announce what many of you have guessed... my next book is going to be an Ark-style book of G.I. Joe animation models, out this summer.

(Nice Snake Eyes model courtesy of a frequent contributor to the model book, Tim Finn of A Real American Book.)

It's going to be pretty spectacular.  For some reason I've been able to find WAY more material than I have for Transformers.  As the illustration to the right jokingly illustrates, I'm going to be taking a few thousand model sheets and condensing the very best and most interesting of them down into one volume of a few hundred pages. I'm really stoked at my first work in this new and glorious arena.  I've come across some amazingly cool rare stuff, plus most of what you'd expect for a book about the Sunbow animation models. I'm still looking for more material, too, so if you're a collector of such things drop me a line.  I'm especially interested in material from the movie and the commercials beyond, as well as incidental characters.

So you see, my Roll Out Roll Call appearance is doubly fortuitous!  I can show off some early sneak-peaks of the book there.  Definitely swing by if you're in the UK.

Now you know the significance of Jim and Bill's appearance at Roll Out Roll Call 2012, and as we all know Knowing is Half the Battle

USA Today have shown of pictures of some of the GI Joe Retaliation toys.  These toys will not be out in the UK, so GI Joe fans will need to import them or purchase them from places like All The Cool Stuff and Kapow Toys

Directed by Jon M. Chu and due out in theaters June 29, G.I. Joe: Retaliation is the follow-up to the 1980s military-tinged franchise's first cinematic affair three years ago, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which was the highest pop-culture point to date of three decades of comic books, cartoons and toys.

And with a new movie come new action figures of returning actors Channing Tatum as team leader Duke and Ray Park as the ninja Snake Eyes, franchise newbie Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as heavy machine gunner Roadblock, and many more. (For those who've been waiting for a toy to complement their John McClane action figure, Bruce Willis is in the flick, too, as "original Joe," Joe Colton.) ....

The article shows off toys including Roadblock (Dwayne Johnson), Duke, Cobra Commander, Cobra Trooper, Joe Trooper, Snake-Eyes, Stormshadow, Red Ninja and Zartan.

Click the news story to see the images

Roll Out Roll Call 2012 update: author of the Rahc Guide, James Kavanaugh Jr, will be attending for his first ever show in the UK. The R.A.H.C Guide is the best reference book covering all GI-Joe releases from 1997-2007. Signed copies are available for reservation though All The Cool Stuff which is strongly urged as a limited number may only be available over the weekend: http://www.allthecoolstuff.co.uk/ROLL-OUT-ROLL-CALL-Transformers--GI-Joe-2012-UK-Convention/Special-Guests__c-p-0-0-182-183.aspx

BotCon has annouced it's fourth guest as Morgan Loftin, better known to many of as as The Baroness from the original GI Joe / Action Force cartoon series.

She voiced Firestar and Moonracer, two of the female Autobots in the G1 episode "The Search for Alpha Trion".

Though a bit of an off Transformers guest, having the voice of the original Baroness set to voice Drag Strip at the BotCon script reading will be interesting.

The Associated Press have released the following article covering the sucess of the Transformers Movie and it's effect on Hasbro's profit and loss figures.

Like one of its Transformers, Hasbro Inc. has spent the last few years trying to change from a toy company to a business that creates the ideas behind movies, shows and games.

Investors hope to see a payoff from that strategy.

Last month, investors got an early taste of success when the company reported a 62 percent increase in net income. Analysts say those results bode well for the holiday shopping season, which accounted for nearly half of Hasbro's profits in 2006.

Part of what's driving expectations is the two-decade-old Transformers toy line. "Transformers" the movie was released in the United States on July 3, just after the quarter began, and has helped make Transformers products among the most sought-after toys for the coming holiday season.

The movie was the first step in what Hasbro hopes to be a long and fruitful relationship with Hollywood: Hasbro supplies the characters and story lines from its toys - household names such as G.I. Joe and Monopoly. Hollywood turns the ideas into big-budget movies or successful TV shows. Then Hasbro reaps the benefits. A Transformers animated TV show is coming in the spring, and Hasbro is also planning a "Transformers" sequel, a G.I. Joe movie and at least one TV game show.

Hasbro, the world's second-largest toy maker behind Mattel Inc., has made movie-related toys for years, but it did not own some of the most popular brands, such as Spider-Man, and had to pay royalties. A few years ago it struggled with an overreliance on fads, including Furby, and movie-related toys and was forced to cut hundreds of jobs as it lost $144 million.

These days, the company's strategy is to look at the time-tested brands it already owns - Trivial Pursuit, Battleship, Littlest Pet Shop and Mr. Potato Head, for example - and turn those into new products such as movies, TV shows, games or online experiences, said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's chief operating officer.

"Our goal is to create that immersive experience that allows consumers to enjoy our brand anywhere - in any format they want - when they want," Goldner said.

Hasbro has had several good quarters, and investors responded by driving Hasbro's share price up 56 percent in the last two years. Still, in a note to investors last month, Gerrick L. Johnson of BMO Capital Markets Corp. cautioned that the entire toy industry could see fallout from a slowing economy and concerns about toy safety. Although Hasbro has not been involved in the most high-profile toy recalls this year for lead paint, Johnson wrote that sluggish sales could cause retailers to put off buying any more toys in the quarter.

In a separate note, he said he expected Transformers sales could drop off next year because of the lack of a new movie in 2008.

The "Transformers" movie has made about $700 million worldwide since it was released in summer and about $316 million domestically. Hasbro does not share significantly in the box office - something Goldner said it agreed to forgo because it did not invest in the movie's production cost. But it shares in the success in other ways.

It made money by licensing about 230 Transformers products, including cell phone games, video games, even a jacket that transforms to a backpack and a pillow and sells for about $500.

Goldner would not comment specifically on sales of Transformers toys ahead of the earnings report. Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of the trade magazine Toy Wishes, said retailers tell him Transformers sell out as soon as they're put on the shelf.

"These toys, the way they transform and the things that they do, they're really fun," Silver said. "It's the hottest thing in the boys' category."

A new Transformers animated series is scheduled for TV this spring, the movie DVD hit stores last month, and Hasbro is again working with DreamWorks-Paramount on a sequel, tentatively scheduled to be released in June 2009, Goldner said.

Also in development for a tentative 2009 release is a G.I. Joe movie, based on the 1980s comic books and animated series and pitting the G.I. Joe team against the evil forces of Cobra, Goldner said. Stephen Sommers of "The Mummy" movies signed up to direct, along with Stuart Beattie, who wrote the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" movie.

As with the "Transformers" movies, Hasbro would not share significantly in the box office, Goldner said. The company said it would make new toys based on the G.I. Joe movie, but it would not give details.

Silver said he was excited to see how Hasbro updates the toy line.

"I'm sure G.I. Joe's going to have a lot of cool accessories," he said.

Hasbro Inc have released the following press release through the Associated Press.

Hasbro transforms to attract movie money: G.I. Joe film, 'Transformers' TV show, sequel coming

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - Like one of its own Transformer robots, Hasbro Inc. has spent the last few years trying to change itself from simply a toy company to a business that creates the ideas behind movies, TV shows and electronic games.

When the Pawtucket, R.I.-based company reports its third quarter earnings Monday, investors hope to see the early payoff from the strategy. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expect net income to rise nearly 18 percent from this time last year, to $117.5 million, and earnings of 71 cents per share.

Part of what's driving those expectations is the two-decade old Transformers toy line. 'Transformers' the movie was released in the United States on July 3, just after the quarter began, and has helped make Transformers products among the most sought-after toys for the upcoming holiday season.

The movie was the first step in what Hasbro hopes to be a long and fruitful relationship with Hollywood: Hasbro supplies the characters and story lines from its toys - household names such as G.I. Joe and Monopoly. Hollywood turns the ideas into big-budget movies or successful TV shows. Then Hasbro reaps the benefits. A Transformers animated TV show is coming in the spring and Hasbro is also planning a Transformers sequel, a G.I. Joe movie and at least one TV game show.

Hasbro, the world's second largest toy maker behind Mattel Inc., has made movie-related toys for years, but it didn't own some of the most popular brands, such as Spider-Man, and had to pay royalties. A few years ago, it struggled with an overreliance on fads, including Furby, and movie-related toys and was forced to cut hundreds of jobs as it lost $144 million.

These days, the company's strategy is to look at the time-tested brands it already owns - Trivial Pursuit, Battleship, Littlest Pet Shop and Mr. Potato Head, for example - and turn those into new products like movies, TV shows, games or online experiences, said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's chief operating officer.

''Our goal is to create that immersive experience that allows consumers to enjoy our brand anywhere - in any format they want - when they want,'' Goldner said.

Hasbro has had several good quarters and investors responded by driving Hasbro's share price up 56 percent in the last two years, from about $19 per share in mid-October 2005, to a close of $29.25 Thursday.

Still, in a note to investors earlier this month, Gerrick L. Johnson of BMO Capital Markets Corp., cautioned that the entire toy industry could see fallout from a slowing economy and concerns about toy safety. While Hasbro hasn't been involved in the most high-profile toy recalls this year for lead paint, Johnson wrote that sluggish sales could cause retailers to put off buying any more toys in the quarter.

In a separate note, he said he expects Transformers sales could drop off next year due to the lack of a new movie in 2008.

The Transformers movie has made about $700 million worldwide since it was released this summer and about $316 million domestically. Hasbro does not share significantly in the box office - something Goldner says it agreed to forego because it didn't invest in the movie's production cost. But it shares in the success in other ways.

It made money by licensing about 230 Transformers products, including cell phone games, video games, even a jacket that transforms to a backpack and a pillow and sells for about $500.

Goldner wouldn't comment specifically on sales of Transformers toys ahead of the earnings report. But Jim Silver, editor-in-chief of the trade magazine Toy Wishes, said retailers tell him Transformers sell out as soon as they're put on the shelf.

''These toys, the way they transform and the things that they do, they're really fun,'' Silver said. ''It's the hottest thing in the boys' category.''

A new Transformers animated series is scheduled for TV this spring, the Transformers movie DVD hit stores this week, and Hasbro is again working with DreamWorks-Paramount on a sequel, tentatively scheduled to be released in June 2009, Goldner said.

Also in development for a tentative 2009 release is a G.I. Joe movie, based on the 1980s comic books and animation series and pitting the G.I. Joe team against the evil forces of Cobra, Goldner said. Stephen Sommers, of ''The Mummy'' movies, signed up to direct, along with Stuart Beattie, who wrote the first ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' movie.

As with the Transformers movies, Hasbro would not share significantly in the box office, Goldner said. The company said it will make new toys based on the G.I. Joe movie, but would not give details.

Silver said he was excited to see how Hasbro updates the toy line.

''I'm sure G.I. Joe's going to have a lot of cool accessories,'' he said.

Sean McGowan, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities, said Hasbro is right to avoid the risk of a box office bomb but should be sharing more directly in the success of a movie based on its properties. He said Hasbro has the right idea in an agreement reached this year with Electronic Arts Inc.

The Redwood City, Calif.-based video game maker now has the right to make Hasbro games for PCs, video game consoles and cell phones. The licensing deal keeps Hasbro from having to get into the video games business itself, and also allows it to do what it does best - make traditional games and toys based on EA's existing video games.

''I don't want to see them get into the business of producing TV shows,'' McGowan said. ''But if they're able to work with the producers to use the intellectual property they have, they should do that.''