Posted in: Comics, Image, Walking Dead | Tagged: Energon Universe, gi joe, image comics, robert kirkman, skybound, transformers, Void rivals

The Energon Universe: GI Joe Comics From Image Comics In December

Image Comics is publishing the Transformers/GI Joe Energon Universe comics, Duke #1 in December and Cobra Commander #1 in January.

Bleeding Cool scooped the news on Friday that Image Comics and Skybound Entertainment had the Transformers and GI Joe licenses from Hasbro. We have now confirmed that  Transformers #1 would be out in October, to be part of what Image Comics, Skybund and Robert Kirkman are calling The Energon Universe that will include GI Joe in months to come. And that means for GI Joe fans, we have Duke #1 in December and Cobra Commander #1 in January.

Duke is the G.I. Joe Team's First Sergeant, created by Larry Hama and debuting in 1983. one of the first mail-away figures for the G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero 3 3/4" action figure line. Channing Tatum played Duke in the live-action movies. In the Marvel Comics series, he first appeared in G.I. Joe #22.  Cobra Commander is the main villain of GI Joe, created by Archie Goodwin and was first released as a mail-in figure in 1982. He was portrayed by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Luke Bracey and Robert Baker in the live-action movies. n the Marvel Comics series, he first appeared in G.I. Joe #1.

The Energon Universe shared storytelling universe will make its first appearance in Void Rivals #1, out next week from Image by Robert Kirkman, Matheus Lopes and Lorenzo De Felici. This comes just as the new film Transformers: Rise of the Beasts' ending implies "there is more to come in the form of worldbuilding". And that this shared universe will contain Transformers and GI Joe. We are to expect a big display at the upcoming San Diego Comic-Con.

Bleeding Cool broke the news that IDW Publishing was to lose the Transformers and then the GI Joe comic book rights back in November 2021, and we soon learned that Robert Kirkman's publisher Skybound would acquire the rights, though it was never confirmed. Until now. Void Rivals #1 doesn't reveal the true nature of the comic until the last ten pages, but the 1:100 variant cover of Void Rivals #1 features both Transformers and GI Joe. And from here on, everything about the series will change.

Skybound is the company owned by Robert Kirkman, partner at Image Comics and best known as the co-creator of The Walking Dead. He hasn't published many licensed titles, preferring creator-owned or reactor-participant new properties. Transformers is a big new thing for him.

VOID RIVALS #1 CVR A DE FELICI
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(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Matheus Lopes (A/CA) Lorenzo De Felici
SERIES PREMIERE The blockbuster OBLIVION SONG team of ROBERT KIRKMAN & LORENZO DE FELICI debut the biggest new comic book series of 2023 with the launch of AN ALL-NEW SHARED UNIVERSE and a SURPRISE you won't see coming! War rages around the Sacred Ring, where the last remnants of two worlds have collapsed around a black hole in a never-ending war. However, when pilot Darak and his rival Solila both crash on a desolate planet, these two enemies must find a way to escape together. But are they alone on this strange planet? And what dark forces await that threaten the entire universe?  In Shops: Jun 14, 2023 SRP: $3.99

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(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Matheus Lopes (A/CA) Lorenzo De Felici
ROBERT KIRKMAN & LORENZO DE FELICI's new shared universe continues here! After the jaw-dropping reveal in the debut issue, everything Darak and Solila thought they knew about the Sacred Ring's never-ending war has changed. To deliver the truth back home, they must first get off this deadly planet-by any means necessary.In Shops: Jul 19, 2023 SRP: $3.99

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(W) Robert Kirkman (A) Matheus Lopes (A/CA) Lorenzo De Felici
ROBERT KIRKMAN & LORENZO DE FELICI's new shared universe debuts a monstrous new villain! Fighting for their lives to return to the Sacred Ring, Darak and Solila face a new threat-capture! And they're not the only prisoners on this ship…In Shops: Aug 16, 2023 SRP: $3.99

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