Ron Rudat
Sr. Product Designer, '71-'99
Alex Russo was a Staff Writer for Hasbro from 1986-1991, and again from 1999-2001. During his early tenure, Alex was employed in the Editorial Services Department and wrote packaging and trade copy for a number of lines. Alex's writing can be found on G.I. Joe, Transformers, Visionaries, C.O.P.S., Flying Fighters, and Bucky O'Hare among others. In the summer of 1987, Alex was made the principal writer for G.I. Joe and eventually became the lead writer for most of the Boys Toys lines.
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Alex loved being able to create storylines for Joe and Cobra figures and vehicles and for new sublines, such as Tiger Force and Battle Force 2000. His time at Hasbro was one of the most enjoyable periods of his life and Alex is grateful that Hasbro allowed him to be part of the Hasbro family and the G.I. Joe team.
Q&A with Alex:
What were some of your favorite moments working on G.I. Joe?
“Going to the Line Reviews in the ‘Terror Dome’ in R&D to preview the upcoming line proposals with really cool features. It made me excited about what I was going to write for them.”
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“When returned to the company in 1999, I was able to use my history educator’s knowledge to write historical pieces for the then GI Joe line of toys and figures.”
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“Crafting storylines about the vehicles and figures. Being able to work with a great team of professionals from the Art Dept. to Marketing, to Engineering to R&D and watching the whole process come together to produce great toys.”
What is your greatest accomplishment with the G.I. Joe line?
“Pulling together with the other writers in my department to produce a GI Joe Handbook within a day. That was pretty cool to write an entire handbook in a day, and we did it.”
Who is your favorite figure? Why?
“I have two: Hawk because he reminds me of my GI Joe 11-3/4” figure I had when I was a kid in the early to mid-1970s, and Snake Eyes because he was just too cool and so covert in what he does.”
What is your greatest accomplishment with the G.I. Joe line?
“ The classic scenario of good v. evil with many very appealing ‘good’ characters and diabolically ‘evil’ characters, the ‘advanced’ weaponry that the elite Joe team had and how they combated Cobra’s version of that kind of weaponry, and the action-packed, adventure aspect that line presented and it also helped that during the 1980s, Ronald Reagan was president. With that, a more un-politically correct, conservative, pro-military atmosphere existed, which helped sales.”
Who is your favorite vehicle/playset? Why?
“Rolling Thunder. The vehicle did so much and it was fun to write about it.”
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