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IDW Publishing is losing the rights to Hasbro’s famous toys-turned-comic stars G.I. Joe and Transformers at the end of 2022.
It’s the end of an era for G.I. Joe and Transformers at IDW Publishing.
IDW is losing the rights to two of Hasbro’s premier properties at the end of 2022. “We’re exceedingly proud of our stewardship of these titles — 17 years with the Robots in Disguise and 14 years with A Real American Hero — and thank the legion of fans for their unwavering support, month in and month out,” the publisher said in a statement to THR. “We’re also eternally grateful to every one of the talented creators who helped bring these characters to four-color life through our comics.” IDW will continue to publish new comics based on the Hasbro-owned My Little Pony and Dungeons & Dragons properties.
IDW began publishing Transformers comics in 2005, after the closure of Dreamwave Productions. Between 2005 and 2018, IDW published over 400 comics as part of one overarching Transformers continuity, the largest and longest-running in the property’s history. At present, the company continues to release regular installments in both the rebooted Transformers series, which began in 2019, and Transformers: Beast Wars, which launched in 2021. IDW will wrap both series by summer 2022, giving way to two separate Transformers-centric miniseries events.
On the G.I. Joe front, IDW picked up the license in 2008 after the end of the property’s Devil’s Due series. At first, the company created a rebooted continuity that encompassed multiple titles, updating the characters while bringing back iconic G.I. Joe writer Larry Hama. Then, in 2010, IDW brought back G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero, which continued the numbering and continuity of Marvel’s original series. Now on issue #288, the title will end with its celebratory 300th comic later this year.
Though IDW is losing the publishing rights for G.I. Joe and Transformers, it’s unlikely that fans will lack new content for too long. The Walking Dead co-creator Robert Kirkman is reportedly interested in obtaining the rights to both properties and bringing their stories to Skybound Entertainment, an imprint of Image Comics. Previously, Image Comics collaborated with Devil’s Due to distribute its G.I. Joe and Transformers comics in the early 2000s.
In October, then-interim CEO Rich Stoddart doubled down on Hasbro’s ever-expanding pop culture presence, explaining that the “Brand’s Blueprint” involves creating more crossover media productions moving forward. Shortly after this declaration, Hasbro announced it had recruited renowned actor LeVar Burton as the host for a Trivial Pursuit program based on the board game of the same name. In total, Hasbro currently claims to have 30 different brands in various stages of development for projects in film, television and video games.
Source: THR
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