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This December, Sitterson continues his mission with artist Nelson Daniel in a new series titled Scarlett’s Strike Force. Announced at Hasbro’s industry event Hascon today, Scarlett’s Strike Force will pit the titular character and her crew against the newly reemerged threat of Cobra Commander. Paste chatted briefly with Sitterson about the decision to relaunch G.I. Joe under a new title, Daniel’s contribution to the franchise and how the duo plan to produce “The Best Action Comic Ever.” We’ve also got an exclusive first look at interior art from this fall’s First Strike tie-in issues of G.I. Joe and M.A.S.K., both written by Sitterson and drawn by Ilias Kyriazis, as well as concept art for Scarlett’s Strike Force from Nelson Daniel.

Paste: What prompted the name change? Is there a shift in tone or mission statement with this new iteration?

Aubrey Sitterson: In the previous Joe series—by me, Giannis Milonogiannis and Lovern Kindzierski—Scarlett was the leader of a team that included not only Joes, but the Decepticon Skywarp, and in the new series, they’ll be joined by Matt Trakker of M.A.S.K. as well as another face that might be familiar to long-time fans.

So, coming out of the First Strike event, we thought it made sense for the name of the book to speak to the nature of the team. Don’t worry though—the reception to our unique take on G.I. Joe has been amazing, so there are no plans to stop giving you the bombastic, sci-fi-action-packed character drama that you deserve!

Paste: Should we expect a team shakeup or any new faces?

Sitterson: While the focus of the book will remain on the characters you know and love—including Scarlett, Roadblock, Salvo, Quick Kick and Skywarp—one of the G.I. Joe concept’s greatest strengths is its deep roster. We’ll be pulling from it, and even introducing the classic Action Man character, The Intruder, into the Hasbro Universe. Plus, our brand-new Cobra Commander has assembled an organization including Destro, Storm Shadow, Cesspool, Croc Master, Raptor and an army of new, serpentine Vipers.

G.I. JOE #9
Aubrey Sitterson (w) • Giannis Milonogiannis (a) • Aaron Conley (c)
It all comes to a head for G.I. Joe! Can Roadblock and his team escape the underground in time? And is Scarlett prepared for all hell to break loose?
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Don’t miss the cover by Ominous Press creator, Bart Sears, part of our Bart Sears cover month!
The pulse-pounding final issue before this month’s First Strike crossover!
Variant cover by Dylan Burnett!

M.A.S.K.: Mobile Armored Strike Kommand #10
Brandon Easton (w) • Drew Moss (a) • Abel Ciccero (c)
In the final issue of M.A.S.K., Matt Trakker loses the trust of his friends and teammates, causing the group to disband. With mounting threats on the horizon, Mobile Armored Strike Kommand is no longer on the front lines, plunging them all into an uncertain future.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
Don’t miss the cover by Ominous Press creator, Bart Sears, part of our Bart Sears cover month!
The jaw-dropping finale before the epic crossover First Strike!
Variant cover by Santipérez!

Rom #14
Chris Ryall & Christos Gage (w) • David Messina, Guy Dorian & Sal Buscema (a) • Nathan Greno (c)
“Long Roads to Ruin” finale! Is this the last issue of Rom? Yes… and no! First Strike is upon us and out of that momentous event, a new Rom will arise! But before that, the fate of the Knights of the Solstar Order!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99

Bullet points:
On the road to First Strike!
Final issue. Wait… what?! The portentous answers lay within!
Variant cover by Ray Dillon!

Daniel Adkins wrote:Kind of surprised no one reported this already. Scarlett's Strike Force is canceled with issue #3. https://www.bleedingcool.com/2017/11/23 ... cancelled/

ScottyP wrote:What it looks like: IDW capitulated to an angry mob.

Realist side that I can't shut up inside my head: I'd guess with the personnel shakeups, someone looked at the financials and walked back a previous decision. Heck, it felt to me like SSF was getting more promo than Rom/Micronauts and only a smidge less than TF vs Visionaries, but I don't really want to look. I'd bet the sales of Joe vol. 5's run coupled with 1) poor early indicators of SSF orders and 2) the apparent status of SSF as an ongoing (as opposed to the other 5 issue minis about to launch), one of the folks in a new position made the call to cut losses. The timing and optics of it are especially poor, but I have a hard time ever getting too black/white on this kinda stuff.

Not saying anyone is without fault: Sitterson sent a poorly worded tweet, IDW axed an entire project and its creative team weirdly early with odd but possibly explainable timing, and no one wins.

Hasbro Heroes Sourcebook
John Barber, Cullen Bunn, Sina Grace, & Various (w) • Robert Atkins, Guido Guidi, Paolo Villanelli & Various (a) • Marcelo Borstelmann (c)
From the pages of Transformers, G.I. Joe, Rom, M.A.S.K., Micronauts, Action Man, and Revolutionaries comes the ultimate guide to the heroic and villainous champions of Hasbro! The new post-Revolution universe's biggest movers and shakers from Acroyear to Zarana are all here with detailed bios and astonishing art by today's top talent! Plus, three back-up stories that expand upon the new lore of the shared universe; fantastic spreads of the bases of G.I. Joe, Optimus Prime, and the Micronauts; and if you look closely, hints of things to come!
TPB • FC • $17.99 • 144 pages • ISBN: 978-1-68405-099-4

Bullet points:
From today’s top creative talent!
Advance solicited for December release!

They’ve fought back invasions from home and afar—now, they’re back on Earth, and ready to take on the wildest, weirdest threats out there! It’s Scarlett’s G.I. Joe team, the Strike Force, against a brand-new Cobra Commander, a revitalized Cobra, and everyone else trying to conquer Earth… or destroy it! Aubrey Sitterson (G.I. Joe, Street Fighter x G.I. Joe) is joined by superstar artist Nelson Daniel (Clue, Dungeons & Dragons) in The Best Action Comic Ever!

Michael Alex Kawa wrote:I just read the whole controversy about writer Aubrey Sitterson, and why fans "Hate" him and all.
And all I can say is this, a lot of comic book writers are self-indulged morons, trust me I know, Larry Hama is one that comes to mind, he has been rude to his fans (me included), treating them like nothing more than "moronic fan boys", that should just shut up and kiss the ground that he walks on, yet no one questions him.....well I did and I got my a** served to me by Mr. Hama himself. Anyways my point is this is a stupid reason to cancel a series, but I expect nothing less from IDW since this is not the first time they made a stupid decision.