IDW announced its plans for the G.I. Joe and Transformers franchises at San Diego Comic-Con.  In addition to its plans for a miniseries by bestselling author Max Brooks (see “Max Brooks to Write G.I. Joe”), IDW plans a second Cobra series and new creative teams on its ongoing series. 

 

IDW will launch Cobra II, which picks up from the end of the first series, early next year.  It will be written by Mike Costa and Chris Gage, with art and covers by Antonio Fuso and Howard Chaykin. 

 

Larry Hama returns to G.I. Joe: Origins with #8 for a three-issue arc with art by Andrea Mutti.  Marc Audreyko and Ben Templesmith will tell the story of Baroness’s origin in #11, and J.T. Krul and Klaus Scherwinski chronicle the origin of Beachhead in #12.  Ripcord is introduced into the comics in issues #13 and #14, by Scott Beatty and S.L. Gallant.  Issue #15 introduces Snow Job in a story by Merrill Hagan with art by Scherwinski. 

 

G.I. Joe #13-#17 will feature art by Robert Atkins on Chuck Dixon stories.

 

On the Transformers front, IDW plans a new ongoing series with two four-issue miniseries spinning out of it shortly after launch.  The Transformers, the ongoing series, launches in November, written by Mike Costa with art and covers by Don Figueroa.  In December, the four-shot Transformers: Bumblebee kicks off, written by Zander Cannon with art by Chee.  In January Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers, by Nick Roche, will launch. 

 

And IDW will launch Transformers: Nefarious, a new six-issue miniseries written by Simon Furman with art by Carlos Magno (plus variant covers by Brian Rood), early next year.