A wildly inaccurate Sgt. Rock toy bursts onto the 1983 scene!

Sgt. Rock, his war storylines and the hard-edged Joe Kubert imagery giving them life have often struck one as more adult-oriented fare (well, mostly). But back in 1983, just as the G.I. Joe craze was taking hold, kids could have their very own Rock toys from Remco. Apparently they were rather slapdash, and for no good reason advanced Rock’s combat attire from the World War II era to that of the Vietnam conflict — which rendered poor Rock, the iconic foil of so many Nazi plots, a bit of an anachronism. Plus the rest of the line was rather generic, with none of the verve and color of Rock’s usual coterie. So kind of a misfire all around.

Not that all that would make much of a difference to the young kid playing with his new army man under the Christmas tree, but it’s somewhat infuriating for those who like a dash of vérité in their licensed merchandise, not to mention Easy Company devotees. The personalizable dog tags were a nice touch, though.