G.I. Joe (Skybound Entertainment)

G.I. Joe is an ongoing line of American comic books published by Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment based on the toy line of the same name by Donald Levine and Hasbro.

It is a successor of IDW Publishing's previous relaunch of G.I. Joe comics.

Publication history
After IDW Publishing lost the licenses to produce Transformers and G.I. Joe comics by the end of 2022, Hasbro announced in June 2023 that Skybound Entertainment, an imprint of Image Comics, would acquire those licenses.

Since November 2023, Skybound began publishing four limited series of the Energon Universe franchise, as well as continuing IDW's A Real American Hero series, which originated from Marvel Comics.

During San Diego Comic-Con 2023, it was revealed that Skybound has plans to reprint both the Marvel and IDW comics based on G.I. Joe, with more info set to release later.

Premise
In response to the arrival of Cybertronians on Earth, G.I. Joe wants to investigate their origins while Cobra wants to harness the power of Energon.

First series
Starting in December 2023, Skybound began publishing four limited series set in the Energon Universe, starting with Duke and Cobra Commander, being written by Joshua Williamsonn, with art and colors by Tom Reilly, Andrea Milana, Jordie Bellaire and Annalisa Leoni respectively.

Williamson said, “Childhood dreams come true! Get hyped! Tom and I are bringing you a new take on Duke and the formation of G.I. Joe that honors all that we love about the characters but takes it into a new and exciting direction. It’s been awesome working with Skybound and Hasbro to bring this new take on the G.I. Joe franchise. For the last few years, I’ve been picking up all of the new G.I. Classified figures, so I am pumped to contribute to this new world of G.I. Joe and Transformers!”

In October 2023, Skybound announced that the main roster of G.I. Joe features Duke, Hawk, Stalker and Baroness, while the main roster of Cobra features Cobra Commander, Destro, Zarana and Mercer.

In March 2024, Skybound announced the last two of the four initial limited series: Scarlett, written by Kelly Thompson, drawn by Marco Ferrari and colored by Lee Loughridge; and Destro, written by Dan Watters, drawn by Andrei Bressan and colored by Adriano Lucas.

Thompson said, “I’m fortunate that, thanks to my job, I often get to dig into characters and worlds that I’ve loved for a long time, but G.I. Joe’s Scarlett is truly one of my first geek loves as a kid, and I am absolutely thrilled to have a hand in building her for this new, incredibly cool and rich universe at Skybound.”

Watters added, “I’m incredibly excited to bring Destro to life with Andrei. This is going to be a visceral, explosive thriller in which he [Destro] isn’t very nice to anyone at all — everything you’d want from your favorite amoral arms trafficker.”

As announced in the Energon Universe 2024 Special, a new ongoing G.I. Joe series in being planned for development, being a direct continuation of the Duke, Cobra Commander, Scarlett and Destro limited series. The series will feature the Duke creative team, with Williamson returning as writer, Reilly as illustrator, and Bellaire as colorist. The first issue is set to debut November 13, 2024.

To promote the debut issue, Skybound announced a fan initiative titled "Choose Your Side", in which readers submit photos and publicly declare their loyalty to either the G.I. Joe or Cobra factions.

A Real American Hero series
An ongoing series written by Larry Hama, drawn by Chris Mooneyham and colored by Francesco Segala, which continues the run left in the Marvel and IDW series, starting with issue #301.