I guess I was originally drawn to the line by the classic good vs evil aspect, with a varied cast of intriguing characters. What hooked me was probably the articulation and level of detail given to the figures.

My first Joe figure was Zartan v1, so I got a figure that was not only super-articulated but also had a colour-change feature, a pretty unusual vehicle and other accessories (a Jesus mask that could be stored in a backpack!) and box art, not to mention the filecard, giving a lot of depth to the character while maintaining an air of mystery... Of course I then needed some good guys for him to fight (or trick with his disguise...) and learning more about them to decide which ones to get just pulled me in even more!

The unique, specialised accessories each figure had added to the character of each of them, and the intricate vehicles added another level of play value. There just seemed to be an incredible level of thought and attention to detail which had gone into this toy line and even as a child I appreciated that. The variety within the line also helped, I think, in that they were able to incorporate aspects of all sorts of popular concepts - ninja, robots, mad scientists, clones...

And by the time Larry Hama's comics made their way into my hands I was well and truly engulfed in the GI Joe universe!

For me it's less a nostalgic thing since I never really stopped liking GI Joe; my approach has changed, sure -- I miss my childhood imagination and ability to play SO much -- but the franchise is something that has been important to me for the majority of my life and has enough depth that there's still plenty to keep my interest however I may grow and change.