A: There are no plans at this time.
Is there a plan to release some or all of the comic series on DVD or CD-ROM?
A: There are no plans at this time.
Are there GI Joe/Cobra characters you consider untouchable for a possible comic book death?
A: Definitely not. The 25th celebrates the past 25 years. It is not meant to be a snap shot at this point in time. Nothing in the history of RAH is off limits.
Will we ever see some other comic created characters such as Candy Appel, Hard Master, Soft Master, Blind Masters, Shooter or Wraith made into figures?
A: It's possible. The initial goal is to capture existing
collectors as well as latent fans who haven't been involved with the
brand for 25 years. Once we have captured everyone's attention, we have
the ability to drive deeper into the fantasy.
Will future comic packs focus more on the Marvel Comics (please!), the DD comics or a bit of both?
A: As we have said nothing is off limits from the past 25 years. However just as our product has celebrated the "golden age" of RAH, any comic re-issues would need to begin there as well.
The next group of questions will be in August. I will start a thread around that time to ask for 5 new questions.
Thanks for all those who suggested questions.
EDIT - ROUND 2 (For us anyway)
1.) To what extent will the G.I. Joe live action movie be based upon the comic continuity?
It is too early to say anything about the movie.
2.) Will more Cobra Troop builder sub-divisions be coming up soon?(Siegies, Snow Serpents, Eels, etc.)
We hear you and are working on it.
3.) With the new 25th Anniversary figures starting to come out, will you ever make (or should I say remake) the vehicles/bases for them?
These are all options the team is currently considering as we expand the 25th anniversary. It is too early to reveal our plans for 2008.
4.) Why can DDP not put the title "World War III" on the cover of their books?
Our plan for G.I. Joe is to focus on the Joe vs Cobra fantasy.
5.) I am assuming, that like Transformers, there will be a comic series to go along with the movie. Since the movie is slated to come out in 2009 and the current comic license is up in 2008 will the license be extended so that DDP can publish those books like IDW?
It is too early to discuss this one. Sorry.
ROUND 3
1.) Will Hasbro produce the DDP-created Phoenix Guard, either as a set or as a series of comic packs?
There is currently no plan for this in 2008.
2.) Recently at the Joe Con it was announced that the comic book license, once the license ends with DDP, it is still up in the air. Is Devils Due one of the publishers being considered?
We hope to have an announcent regarding the comic book later this year.
3.) If DDP loses the license, would Hasbro be interested in purchasing the
rights to their G.I. Joe comics, like you did with Marvel?
We won't speculate about this.
4.) Why was the decision made to cancel the Storm Shadow comic series?
We can't go into the specifics of the decision that was made.
5.) If the comic book moves to another company what are the chances of continuing with the current Marvel/DDP continuity?
Again, we are too early in the process to discuss the future of the comic series.
There ya go.
1.) What company will be getting the Comic License in 2008?
We hope to have an annoucement on this early in the new year.
2.) Can we hope to be able to buy the comic pack issues without the figures, either as regular comics or as a collected Trade paperback, along with previously issued Hasbro comics and mini-comics?
We are currently reviewing all possibilties for GI joe publishing as we gear up for the movie
3.) Can you add more wallpapers to the GIJoe.com site?
Yes, we plan to release new versions every couple months
4.) How long will the 25th anniversary run of toys last?
The toys are planned to continue to the movie launch, but the 25th logo will come off in summer 2008.
5) Can you reveal which new comics written by Larry Hama will be produced for the comic packs? (We are aware of 10.5 and 21.5 so far) We just annouced the first 3 on gijoe.com!
1) Will all the newly created comic 2-packs by Hama fit into the old continuity, or are some of them stand-alones (à la Ninja battles or Valor vs Venom)?
The comics will all fit into the marvel continuity.
2) Who will have the rights to reprint DDP Joe comics, Hasbro or Devil's Due themselves (or nobody)?
Hasbro has the rights to the comics.
3) When will the new Joe comic be out?
Sorry, we are not ready to reveal plans for the comic book just yet.
4) What kind of reboot (if any) can we expect in the new comic?
Sorry, we are not ready to reveal plans for the comic book just yet.
5.) What is the process for deciding what characters are chosen for the comic packs? Do the figures come first, or the comic?
For the marvel packs the comic comes first and we look for great stories and covers. For the new comics we suggest some figures to Larry Hama and work with him to construct a story.
1. In the comic, Wraith's suit was said to be created by the Red Shadows. Will the file card reflect what was revealed in the comics, that his suit was created by the Red Shadows?
We just finished the file card and the focus was more on the role that Wraith has played in the GI Joe universe rather than the history of his gear.
2. When will it be officially announced that IDW Publishing has the GI Joe comic license?
Its official and we could not be more excited!
3. Will the future GI Joe comic license holder acquire the rights to re-print the original Marvel run or the new Hama comic packs comics?
Those rights are held by Hasbro and future releases are being considered. As interest in the brand heats up during the movie, everything is being considered.
4. Will the future GI Joe comic license holder be producing books following one continuity or will they be following multiple continuities simultaneously?
Great question that we are still a few months away from being able to answer.
5. Will the future GI Joe comic license holder bring any of the previous GI Joe writers (Hama, Jerwa, Casey, Powers) on board to write the new GI Joe series?
This is really a decision that has to be made by IDW. We don’t have any information on this yet.
1.) Will the movie, cartoon and comic be grounded in real time, referring to real events (for example, the Marvel comic referred to the Vietnam War, to JFK), or will they will they be "timeless", like Devil's Due did towards the end of their run?
GI Joe is a timeless story and we will explore the past, present, and
future of GI Joe.
2.) When can we hope to see the first GIJoe movie trailer?
Paramount is working on their media roll-out for all of their movies
and we don’t have specific dates yet.
3.) Why does Hasbro want IDW to use the name Heavy-Duty instead of Roadblock in the new comic, even if the character will basically be Roadblock both in looks and personality?
In the new movie, the writers made the decision to move forward with
Heavy Duty rather than Roadblock as the team heavy gunner. The writers
felt a strong connection to the name and look of Heavy Duty and felt that
they found the perfect actor to play him.
4.) My question is on the Ninja ku card you had the words Ninja-ku and you made the character almost a perfect update of the original figure, but then you stopped short of calling him Ninja-ku and named him Storm Shadow instead. You even copied the original art, but then you also made him Caucasian and not a darker skin tone like the original. Then with the upcoming Glenda you have the International logo again on it but gave her Red hair when the original had blonde. Could you shed some light on this? Why were these decisions/ thought process behind it, made when you went so far in doing it ? Again I just want to say thank you for these and hope to see more but more accurate depictions
Our goal is to make the brand welcoming to fans who have not been
involved since the 80's which is how we approached the Storm Shadow you reference. For the hardcore fans in the know, we are going deeper into the brand experience with things like Ninja-Ku.
5.) Will there be a GI Joe : Resolute based comic book?
Yes, more details to follow from IDW.
First, a message from HASBRO:
A note from the Hasbro G.I. Joe Team: Thank you for your incredible support over the past year. What started as just a handful of figures in 2007 now includes a full line of figures, vehicles, comic packs, DVD packs, Mighty Muggs, and Combat Heroes. Yo Joe!
We would like to take this opportunity to answer one of the most common questions about the classic 3 3/4"" figures we have heard from the fans:
Will there be any more classic 1980's 3 3/4"" figures after fall 2008?
The Hasbro G.I. Joe Team's response: In late 2008 you will see a bonus wave of single figures and classic comic packs that are redecos of figures from the 25th Anniversary collection. Due to the huge success of the G.I. Joe line, we were able to squeeze in a number additional figures into the end of this year. But this does not mean the end of classic figures or new tooling! As we head into 2009 prior to the August 2009 live-action movie G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, you will see newly tooled classic vehicles, newly tooled versions of your favorite characters from G.I. Joe Resolute, and a number of favorites you have been waiting for:
Dr. Mindbender, Alpine, Tunnel Rat, Alley Viper, Recondo, Outback, Night Creeper, Zap, Shockwave, and even more!
With the release of the 2009 movie you will see many of your favorite 1980's characters in movie styling,
but that does not mean the end of the classic style. The Hasbro G.I. Joe Team recognizes that there are plenty of additional classic 1980's figures and vehicles to release in the future after the movie and in the years to come.
Now for our questions:
1.) How will future comics included in comic packs fit with the known Joe universes? Will they fit with the old Hama-at-Marvel universe? Stand alone issues that could fit anywhere? Explicitly part of the new universe at IDW? Movie comics? A little bit of everything?
In spring 2009 the in-pack comics will take place in the G.I. Joe Resolute universe and will be written by Larry Hama.
2.) Are there any plans to resume putting original comics in the comic packs? Who will write the comics?
Yes, starting in 2009 we will have brand new comics written by Larry Hama and produced by our partners at IDW.
3.) Are there any plans on releasing the comics from the comic packs as a series of trade paperbacks?
There are no plans for this right now, but it is possible down the line.
4.) Any plans for a possible Adventure Team Comic anywhere down the line?
No plans for this at this time.
5.) How do you plan to introduce new characters, to the comics, tied in with the merchandise? Should we expect to see two or three separate lines of toys based on all mediums? During the marvel run it seemed like the toys pushed the comics, but now with the Movie / Cartoon/ 3 comic adventures / and the 25th line how do you plan on proceeding?
You will see a single toy line next year once we get to the movie. From a comic perspective you will see a number of IDW comics.
1. With the inclusion of M.A.S.K. into the toyline, are there any plans to bring elements of M.A.S.K. into the comic universe?
Matt Trakker was planned as a one time tribute figure.
2. Will there be movie comic packs?
We are still working on the movie plans and do not have an answer for this yet.
3. How many new comic packs can we expect in 2009?
We are still finalizing the plans on how many new comic packs will come out before the movie.
4. What has the GI Joe brand team thought of the reaction to IDW's GI Joe #0?
The reaction the GI Joe team has seen to IDW has been very positive.
5. Is there any update on getting the GI Joe comics published to this point onto a DVD-ROM/CD-ROM?
There is no update on this, it is still on our list of long term projects.
1.) Why was IDW allowed to use the Adam Hughes Baroness cover, but DDP was not?
The Adam Hughes cover was originally presented at a time when Hasbro had a
very high sensitivity level and decided not to use the cover. A couple
years later, Hasbro and IDW are more willing to push the envelope when it
comes to our comic book franchise.
2.) How much influence do you have over Paramount regarding the film and its promotion?
We have a great partnership with Paramount and have worked hand in hand
with them on creation of the film. With regards to the promotion,
Paramount takes the lead as they are the experts in marketing movies.
3.) With all the publicity surrounding the G.I. Joe Movie, New Comic, the cartoon figures, etc., are there any plans to release a complete series of the G.I. Joe cartoon during this year?
This is something that we are looking at and hope to have updates in the
near future!
1.) Will there be any intentional cross promotion going between the new line of action figures and the comics? (ie. characters in the comics showing up looking like their action figure, or inserts in the actions figures saying "follow the ongoing adventures of GI Joe in IDW comics")
1) This is something we are exploring.
2.) Now that the Marvel GI Joe story is being added onto again, will Hasbro pursue putting the original Marvel issues on a CD/DVD for release in the near future?
2) Great question and we're really looking forward to the IDW series, but we have no plans for this right now.
And why didn't they smack DDP upside the head and tell them the zombie SE story was stupid and just keep him dead. Hasbro could have said "Hey, we can just put somebody elase in the costume and create a new mystery character. No need to loose the trademark and we can keep putting out toys of our most popular seller so no problem." 
I don't buy the "anyone" can go line.
