G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero is easily one of the longest-running licensed comics in history, spanning 300 issues and assorted spinoffs at Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. But with IDW losing the rights to G.I. Joe at the end of 2022, the fate of A Real American Hero has been uncertain. Fortunately, IGN can now confirm that the series will continue right where it left off at its new home, Skybound Entertainment.
The move comes as Skybound spearheads a larger G.I. Joe/Transformers shared universe spinning out of the pages of Void Rivals #1. In addition to new limited series like Duke and Cobra Commander, Skybound will revive A Real American Hero as an ongoing, monthly series. Though it should be noted the series will continue in its own, self-contained continuity rather than tying into the Energon Universe.
Naturally, original writer Larry Hama will return to pick up where he left off with G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #300. Joining Hama will be series artist Chris Mooneyham (Nightwing) and cover artist Andy Kubert (Batman). Skybound teases that upcoming issues will feature the return of the original Snake-Eyes, who was killed off in 2015's G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero #213.
When IGN spoke to Kirkman about Void Rivals and the Energon Universe, the writer and Skybound co-founder made it clear that continuing A Real American Hero with Hama at the helm was a major priority. After all, Hama has been penning the series since its original debut in 1982.
"It was something that was really important to us," Kirkman told IGN. "I think that Larry's G.I. Joe series, it was so many people's first comic. It was one of the first comics I ever got. It really led to a lot of people's love of comics. And it was something that we were very interested in doing. Before we could even bring it up in our initial meetings with Hasbro, Hasbro said, 'Okay, and we want to continue Larry's GI Joe series.' So, it was amazing for us to hear from Hasbro just how important Larry Hama's GI Joe series was to them, and it already was to us. And so to be able to continue this tradition is an honor and a great opportunity for Skybound. We're very excited to be giving Larry like amazing resources and Chris Mooneyham and Andy Kubert on covers, and we're really excited about what we're going to be able to do with him."
Void Rivals #1 Preview Gallery
Kirkman also hinted that the continuation of A Real American Hero is a sign that not all of Skybound's Transformers and G.I. Joe projects will be tied to the Energon Universe. There may be a full-blown multiverse at play.
"It's also hopefully a signal to the fans that the Energon Universe is something that we're very excited about and we're building kind of a grounds-up origin journey of both Transformers and G.I. Joe alongside Void Rivals, but that's not the sum total of what Skybound is going to be doing with these characters," Kirkman said. "There's going to be more projects like Real American Hero that we'll be announcing as the years progress that exist outside of the Energon Universe. We've got a lot of plans for these characters, because the great thing about G.I. Joe and Transformers is that you can tell all kinds of different stories within these universes and have different universes alongside other universes. So, there's a lot of room to do a lot of cool stuff."
The Energon Universe reveal comes just days after Transformers: Rise of the Beasts hit theaters and revealed that the Transformers and G.I. Joe franchsies are also crossing over in live-action. Learn more in our full breakdown of Rise of the Beasts' ending. You can also find out how to stream every Transformers movie online.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.