Blood for the Baron is a superb not-for-profit website run by Jim Marshall that’s been flying the flag for Action Force, both the original British UK toys and comics, for 22 years. They recently launched a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for a collection of their high quality fan-created fiction, seeking support for Palitoy’s Action Force Redux – Trade Paperback 01 on Kickstarter.
downthetubes caught up with Jim to find out more…
Born in Birmingham in 1974, Jim Marshall is the owner, creator and administrator behind the Action Force fansites BloodForTheBaron.com and ActionForceRedux.com. He moderated the BFTB.UK forum from 2003 to 2013. The archivist and graphic designer behind the Action Force Palitoy Collectors’ Guide and Action Force Palitoy Declassified books, as well as the Action Force Palitoy Photobook and Action Force Complete Works ten-volume set, he’s also the writer and editor for Palitoy’s Action Force Redux comic.
Whisked away from Birmingham to Somerset before he developed an accent, Jim didn’t have the easiest of childhoods, but his little world of toys and comics got him through a lot of it. Raised on Battle Action Force and 2000AD, these days his comic collection numbers in the tens of thousands. He left home aged 19 to hit the road as lead singer with the hard rock bands Switchblade and SkinTrade, touring extensively across the UK. After the inevitable explosion in 1995, he moved to Nottingham to seek his fame and fortune. “I haven’t found it quite yet,” he tells us. “It’s always the last place you look.
Jim launched his first Action Force website, BloodForTheBaron.com, on February 24th 2003, which has gone from strength to strength. Since then, he’s worked diligently for 22 years to establish the Action Force connection to the G.I. Joe fandom, confident that there’s a huge market for new Action Force and Red Shadows comics.
“My enthusiasm and support of British comics has never wavered,” he says. “I have thoroughly enjoyed working on Palitoy’s Action Force Redux as both writer and editor, I truly think I have found my niche… although I would love nothing more than to write for 2000AD. (Jim even has a Dredd story in mind, titled “Judge Dredd: Dredd End“, an alt-worlds finale to the iconic 2000AD masterpiece, told in twelve Dreddful parts. Spoiler alert: Lifelong Judge Dredd fan Jim Marshall kills his icon).
Aside from his Action Force-related projects, Jim has a wide range of other comic, cartoon, book and music projects in development. He pitches Forever Endeavour, for example, as “The rock opera of the galaxy, the misadventures of an intergalactic rock band, on a mission to save reality.
“It’s a multimedia extravaganza incorporating 100 comics, 100 cartoons, ten concept albums and ten graphic novels,” he reveals. Quite the undertaking…
Then there’s Mirrorrim, a dark, sci-fi fantasy comic, where a realm of directly opposing characters and ideologies intersects with our own. “My goal with this project is to leave behind a blueprint for humankind to reach the stars, encouraging diversity and co-operation over destruction and disaster.
Plus, let’s not omit The Wolfblood Prophecies, the comic-book adaptation of a series of novels by Jim’s mother, Avril Silk, the story of a young girl with mind-bending powers trapped in a colourful dystopian nightmare, that would run to 100 fully-plotted issues; The Buffy Tarot, a six-part comic in collaboration with his mother, Avril Silk. A gallery of the tarot pack, depicting full-page Buffyverse character cards alongside their individual biographies and inverted meanings.
But first, there’s this massive Action Force Redux project, so massive I wondered if it was even possible to distil it down to an “elevator pitch”? (In case you’re unfamiliar, an elevator pitch is one line, imagining a writer is trying to sell a story in a lift to a film or tv executive and has just minutes to do it).
“I’ll try!” Jim muses. “Action Force Redux is an all-new weekly web-comic and printed monthly comic, fully plotted for 100 issues, written to weave into – and beyond – the original Battle Action Force comic continuity!”
What inspired his interest in creating new Action Force stories?
“When I started working on my Palitoy Collectors’ Guide book, I was approached by the original Palitoy chief designer, Bob Brechin, as well Rising Sun Comics CEO Hawk Sanders. Hawk simply asked me ‘If you could write an Action Force comic, what would you write?’
“My mind started spinning immediately. I knew I wanted to flesh-out the fall of the Red Shadows and the Cobra Conversion, with a series of Prologues, Interludes and Epilogues, to dovetail into the classic Battle Action Force 1985 strip, “World Enemy Number One“, where Baron Ironblood betrayed the Red Shadows and reinvented himself as Cobra Commander.
“I also explored the unanswered questions for all of the original characters who were suddenly conscripted into the new Action Force and Cobra teams; Red Wolf, Dolphin, Moondancer and Steeler.
“Action Force Redux was only supposed to be 12 issues, but then I thought up a ‘London in Peril’ tie-in, as well as a really cool epilogue to the final Battle Action Force story, ‘Operation Deep Cover: Battleground’ in 1986.
“So that took me up to issue 20. I knew US publishers preferred 12-issue arcs, so I added a four-parter set in the year 2011, based on the German variant Action Force range. It works neatly as a future-flash and as a bonus finale.
“But then Bob Brechin literally turned up with armfuls of unused Action Force prototypes and designs! Stuff he was working on prior to being made redundant by Palitoy and their switch to the GI Joe toy range! This inspired me greatly, so I penned a further five-year story arc, incorporating all of these lost toys as ‘the-next-generation-that-would-have-been,’ picking up directly after the original continuity ended.
“All of the lost Action Force designs can be seen in my Palitoy Declassified book.
“So that took me up to issue 84, which was a seven-year run and I was happy to end it there. But my muse wasn’t done with me, so I ended up penning a further 12-issue ‘Origins’ arc, bringing the story full circle with issue 96. At which point everyone told me I had to go for the 100!
The final story arc is another four-parter, called ‘What if Baron Ironblood didn’t become Cobra Commander?’ So as it turns out,’ he laughs, “the storyline has six separate endings!
“By sheer fluke Palitoy released exactly 100 Action Force figures, which in turn led to the idea of adding a monthly poster and Datafile for each character, which in turn led to the idea of a free trading card with each issue! And then, having done all of that, my deal with Rising Sun Comics fell through!
Was Jim surprised by the reaction to the stories he has published on Blood for the Baron, and have they helped identify the most popular characters in the range?
“I’ve had tremendous support from the online Action Force and GI Joe communities over the years, on all of my artistic projects and creative endeavours,” he says. “I still can’t believe the site has become so massive: we had over 3,000,000 hits in February! The kindness and generosity of strangers has truly humbled me time and again.
“The most popular Action Force figures among GI Joe collectors have to be the variant jointed figures, made using the original GI Joe moulds. Characters like Red Laser, Red Jackal, Quarrel, Steeler, Blades, Dolphin and Moondacer, so I’ve made sure to feature them prominently. As a child my Quarrel and Steeler figures were a couple, so I’ve incorporated their love story into the comic as well!
“The biggest surprise for me has to be working with the incredible artists. My Action Force Redux page layouts are beyond rudimentary, mostly stick figures and big pointy arrows! To see my ideas transformed into breath-taking artwork is impossible to describe. The whole team has blown me away time and time again. It’s just an honour.
“There is such a weight of talent involved in the title, we have Patrick Goddard (2000AD, Judge Dredd, Sniper Elite), Robert Atkins (GI Joe, Transformers, Spider-Man, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Brian Atkins (Final Street, Family Graves), Geoff Senior (Action Force, Transformers, Zoids, Death’s Head, Dragon’s Claws, Judge Dredd, To The Death), Kev Hopgood (Action Force, Iron Man, Warhammer, Zoids), Alejandro Cabral (GI Joe, Action Force: Millerverse, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Real Ghostbusters, Tales from the Crypt, Eternal Descent), Mariano A’Q (Masters of the Universe), Wack! (MASK ’85, MASK ’86), Rodolfo Valenzuela (Loaiza Fortun, Aztec), colourists Simon Gough (GI Joe, Transformers, Deathstroke, Savior) and Michael Collins Otu, columnist Ian Wheeler (Doctor Who, Crikey), cartoonist Alan Schell (Action Force: MIllerverse)… and me!
“We also had the phenomenal Ralph Niese signed on,” Jim reveals, “but, tragically, he died soon after. I was kindly given permission from his family to release the three memorial prints of his, to be given away free with Action Force Redux issue 001.
Jim’s astonishing Action Force project details so much about the property, so, picking up on his early love of the toys, I asked him if he recalled what first inspired his interest…
“Thank you! It had to be incredible TV advert that aired in 1984. The first time I saw the Z Force Command Centre, Armoured Troop Carrier and the Enemy Roboskull, my jaw hit the floor. I was ten years old, I don’t think I’ve ever got past it!
“I think all the boys in my class were into Action Force,” he continues. “We used to bring them in to school and have giant battles in the playground! The big chunky rubber wheels on the vehicles were brilliant for that – and the rubbery figures were indestructible.
“Then of course I got into Battle Action Force comic, which in turn led to 2000AD and Marvel UK’s Action Force, which led me to Transformers after the brilliant ‘Ancient Relics’ crossover comic. It’s been downhill ever since.
Does he remember the first Action Force toy he owned?
“Vividly! I remember seeing the entire Action Force range in a toy shop and umming and ahhing for ages as I could only get one figure! In the end, I settled for the SAS Paratrooper. Of course the SAS were huge news at the time, following the Iranian Embassy siege, so that probably influenced me, but the Red Shadow toys soon became my favourites. I’ve included the siege in the Action Force Redux ‘Origins’ arc!
And – does he still have it?
“Unfortunately, I sold my toy collection in 2010, which I regret. At one point, I had over 100 Red Shadows! But I still have all of my comics, though. My collection has taken over two rooms now and shows no sign of slowing down!
“I do still have the 2010 Joecon ‘Vacation in the Shadows’ boxset, though. That was a wonderful surprise gift; a group of BFTB.UK forum members clubbed together to buy it for me, so I’ll never part with it!
Jim’s not-for-profit books on offer are huge compendiums of amazing fact and fiction celebrating the British toys and comics, which were bolstered with recoloured GI Joe and Cobra toys back in the 1980s. Sample strip material featured on the crowdfunding page should be evidence enough of this, but if you need to see more, head over to the Blood For The Baron.
Back the The Palitoy’s Action Force Redux Trade Paperback 01 here on Kickstarter
Beyond the latest Palitoy’s Action Force Redux Kickstarter, Jim tells us he has other toy related projects in mind for the future. These include the Action Force: Hasbro U.K. Collectors’ Guide, a follow-up 300-page guidebook, planned in conjunction with Action-Force.dk, covering the Action Force toys from 1987-1990. Then there’s the G.I. Joe: Hasbro U.K. Collectors’ Guide, a follow-up 300-page guidebook, also planned in conjunction with www.Action-Force.dk, covering the G.I. Joe UK toys from 1991-1994.
Action Force: The Norse is another potential 300-page book, covering all of the variant Action Force Nordic releases from 1987-1992. “That’s very much still a work-in-progress,” Jim emphasises.
For fans of Marvel UK’s take on Action Force, he’s also hoping to produce Action Force: The Complete Works, a follow-up project to the first Action Force Complete Works set, presenting the complete Marvel UK comic collection as a set of four 250-page books, which have never before reprinted.
Beyond Action Force, he has worked up a proposal for M.A.S.K.: The Complete Works, a set of collected editions. “After Battle Action Force came the M.A.S.K. promotional comics by Egmont-Fleetway,” Jim explains.
And then there’s Zoids, a near mythical licensed strip published by Marvel UK, written by Grant Morrison and others, which more than one publisher has tried to release as a collection, the IP ownership of the toys proving a stumbling block.
“I am currently in talks with [SHIFT publisher] Adrian Clarke about releasing Zoids: The Complete Works, a collection of two 250-page books, he teases, “as well as finishing the recently-discovered pages from the scrapped Zoids Monthly.”
Finally, Jim reveals he is in talks with the original Storm Force creators, James Tomlinson and Barrie Tomlinson, as well as the Dan Dare Corporation, who own rights to many strips featured in both the original Eagle comic and its 1980s successor to publish Storm Force: The Complete Works – and bring back these beloved characters for an all-new, twelve-issue, grand finale maxi-series as a printed set of four 250-page books. Quite an undertaking!
We wish Jim every success in his many endeavours, and for his time talking to us – but especially with his current Kickstarter! Do check it out…
• Back the The Palitoy’s Action Force Redux Trade Paperback 01 here on Kickstarter
Action Force and all related properties are copyright Hasbro, Inc. These are fan-based comics. After production costs, all profits are donated to the National Health Service and the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental
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John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.
He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.
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