Duke #1
☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join freeDuke #1 marks the first dedicated G.I. Joe entry into Skybound's Energon Universe — the shared comics line that brought the Hasbro licenses to Image Comics after IDW Publishing's run ended in 2022. It establishes the in-continuity origin of both G.I. Joe and Cobra as direct consequences of the Transformers' arrival on Earth, threading the two beloved Hasbro franchises together at a foundational level for the first time in this new canon. The issue functions as a paranoid spy thriller built around Conrad 'Duke' Hauser's first-contact trauma — a deliberate tonal departure from earlier G.I. Joe comics — and its success triggered at least three printings before the five-issue run concluded, feeding directly into the ongoing G.I. Joe series launched in late 2024. Together with the subsequent Duke, Cobra Commander, Scarlett, and Destro miniseries, this issue is the narrative keystone of what critics called the biggest comics story of 2023.
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We Buy Collections ▸History
After IDW Publishing lost its Hasbro licenses at the end of 2022, Skybound Entertainment — the Image Comics imprint overseen by Robert Kirkman — officially announced in June 2023 that it had acquired the Transformers and G.I. Joe publishing rights. Kirkman acted as showrunner for the broader Energon Universe line, while writer Joshua Williamson (known for his long Flash run at DC and creator-owned work like Nailbiter and Birthright) was tapped to script the G.I. Joe corner, with artist Tom Reilly — a Rhode Island School of Design graduate with prior Marvel credits on The Thing and Ant-Man — handling line art, and celebrated colorist Jordie Bellaire completing the team. The title shipped December 27, 2023, and was planned from the outset as the first of four G.I. Joe miniseries designed to feed into a full ongoing series, part of a deliberate 'phase' strategy Kirkman described as keeping the line manageable and easy to follow.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published December 27, 2023 by Skybound/Image Comics (cover-dated 2024); written by Joshua Williamson, drawn by Tom Reilly, colored by Jordie Bellaire, lettered by Rus Wooton.
- First G.I. Joe comic published within the Energon Universe — the shared Hasbro/Skybound line that also includes Transformers and Void Rivals.
- Establishes the Energon Universe origin of both G.I. Joe and Cobra: in this continuity, both organizations are formed as a direct reaction to the arrival of the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth.
- Conrad 'Duke' Hauser's story picks up from a cameo in Transformers (Energon Universe) #2, where he witnesses the Decepticon Starscream kill his co-pilot 'Frosting' — making that Transformers issue the character's first Energon Universe appearance, with Duke #1 being his first solo starring issue in this continuity.
- Issue #1 introduces (in Energon Universe context) Destro and his arms company M.A.R.S., Dr. Adele Burkhart (a callback character from the original Marvel/Larry Hama G.I. Joe run), and the ex-Cobra operative Mercer.
- Went to at least a third printing by March 27, 2024, reflecting strong retailer and reader demand; the collected trade paperback Duke Vol. 1: Knowing is Half the Battle (ISBN 978-1534398160) shipped June 5, 2024, with a direct-market-exclusive cover variant.
- A deluxe hardcover edition — Codename: G.I. Joe Deluxe Edition, Book One — collects the full Duke #1–5 run alongside the five-issue Cobra Commander miniseries and the G.I. Joe story from the Energon Universe 2024 Special.
- Launch cover A was by Tom Reilly; notable variant covers on the first issue included work by David Aja (Cover B), Steve Epting (1:25 incentive), Andrea Sorrentino (1:50 incentive), and a 1:250 connecting variant by David Mack, reflecting the deep variant program Skybound employed across the Energon Universe line.
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