The IDW Panel at San Diego Comiccon is going on right now, but Phil from JoeReloaded.com has all of the scoops.   Some exciting information about future plans for the title, new additions to the writing staff, and G.I. Joe: COBRA II!

Press releases and other information can be found by clicking the “read the rest of the story” link below.  A HUGE thanks to Phil from JoeReloaded for jumping on this so early.

IDW TO OFFER NEW G.I. JOE SERIES
New stories, new creators, more action

San Diego, CA (July 24, 2009) – The year of G.I. JOE continues with new G.I. JOE action from IDW. Under license from Hasbro, IDW is proud to announce more great G.I. JOE comics and new creators! Beginning this October, G.I. JOE: Origins gets an infusion of new creators, kicked off by the return of Larry Hama with issue #8. Starting in early 2010, IDW will offer Series II of its fan-favorite G.I. JOE: COBRA story line. Also in 2010, Robert Atkins returns to the G.I. JOE universe with a five-issue G.I. JOE arc.

“We’ve essentially loaded the bases this last year with our G.I. JOE books and our creators are ready to swing away with year two! We’ve learned a lot about what makes G.I. JOE tick and the stories are only getting better,” said IDW’s G.I. JOE editor, Andy Schmidt. “The fan response to all the books has been tremendous, but we’re bringing it to a whole new level this year.”

Starting with issue #8, IDW is shaking up G.I. JOE: Origins, when Larry Hama returns to write a three-issue story arc with art by Andrea Mutti. Next up, Marc Audreyko and Ben Templesmith chronicle the BARONESS’s origin in issue #11. In issue #12, Klaus Scherwinski beautifully illustrates J.T. Krul’s origin story ofBEACHHEAD, including an explanation of the character’s amnesia. RIPCORD is introduced into the comics universe in a two-part arc with issues #13 and 14, scripted by Scott Beatty with art by S L Gallant. And Merrill Hagan makes his G.I. JOE debut with Scherwinski returning on art in issue #15, featuring the first appearance of fan-favorite character SNOW JOB, as he adventures across South America . . . on skis.

Next year promises to be another great one for G.I. JOE, starting off with COBRA II, which picks up from the end of the first, much-acclaimed series. Written by Mike Costa and Chris Gage, with art and covers by Antonio Fuso and Howard Chaykin, COBRA II delves even deeper into the COBRA organization and continues to follow Chuckles on his own personal mission. No G.I. JOE fan dare miss it!

G.I. JOE the ongoing series surges with renowned artist Robert Atkins, who launched the series for IDW and will return for five issues, beginning with #13. Written by fan-favorite and G.I. Joe-meister Chuck Dixon, these issues not only pick up the pace for the series, but will also see the demise of a well-known G.I. JOE.

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MAX BROOKS JOINS IDW FOR G.I. JOE SERIES
New York Times Best Selling author to write miniseries

San Diego, CA (July 24, 2009) – Another great boon in an already banner year for G.I. JOE, IDW is delighted to announce that New York Times best selling author of World War Z and Zombie Survival Guide Max Brooks will be writing a G.I. JOE miniseries in 2010.

An Emmy-winning writer, Brooks has brought his own unique style to both TV and print. Brooks was part of the writing team for “Saturday Night Live” for forty episodes from 2001 to 2003 and began acting in the 1980s. Brooks’s The Zombie Survival Guide was released in 2003 and immediately became a fan-favorite. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War followed in 2006 to both critical- and fan- acclaim, including four weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.

“Both Chris Ryall (IDW Editor-in-chief) and I read World War Z and we knew we had to try to get Max to write something for us. What we didn’t know is that Max is a huge G.I. JOE fan and had expressed interest in writhing G.I. JOE to (COBRA writer) Christos Gage,” said Andy Schmidt, IDW’s G.I. JOE editor. “Synchronicity ensued and G.I. JOE has never looked or read so well! We’re very pleased to add Max’s vision to the G.I. JOE canon.”

The five-issue miniseries will be the first G.I. JOE comic for Brooks, and his first partnership with IDW.

“I’m thrilled to be working on an icon of my youth, and after this, my next project will be Different Stokes 2.5,” said Brooks.

• Click here to check out an interview on IGN about the new title.  One character mentioned in the interview is COBRA saboteur, Firefly.