G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (Devil's Due)

G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero (also known as G.I. Joe vol. 2 or G.I. Joe: Reinstated) is a comic book that was published by Image Comics from 2001 to 2005. Based on Hasbro, Inc.'s G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero line of military-themed toys, the series picks up seven years after the end of the Marvel Comics series, and has been credited for bringing back attention to other 1980s properties such as Transformers, Masters of the Universe and Voltron.

Publication history
In July 2001, Devil's Due acquired the rights to G.I. Joe, and released a four-issue limited series through Image Comics, written by Josh Blaylock with John Larter and Steve Kurth as the artists. The title quickly became known to the fans as A Real American Hero vol. 2 (following from Marvel's original series), or G.I. Joe Reinstated (the title of the first four-issue arc). Strong sales on the limited series led to it being upgraded to an ongoing series, with the publication of a fifth issue and a monthly schedule.

The new series picked up seven years after the end of the Marvel Comics series, and also used elements from the animated TV series. Several older characters were featured in the title alongside several new recruits. While primarily continuing the stories from the Marvel Comics series, the success of the G.I. Joe comic allowed Devil's Due to branch out with more properties, and experiment with creating their own continuities. Devil's Due eventually broke off from Image to become their own company, and took over the publishing of the book. The series ended with issue #43, and the introduction of a new enemy, the Red Shadows.

The series was relaunched as a new series G.I. Joe: America's Elite, which lasted for 36 issues, and was cancelled when Devil's Due's license with Hasbro expired in 2008 and was not renewed.

A comics convention special was released before the first issue. Most G.I. Joe titles published by Devil's Due Publishing are available in both comic and trade paperback formats.

Plot synopsis
While performing surveillance around the Dreadnok headquarters in the Florida Everglades, Kamakura finds evidence that Cobra Commander has returned to the United States. Snake Eyes forwards this information to Duke, who uses it to have the G.I. Joe Team reinstated. Signing on as commanders, are Flint, Scarlett, Roadblock, Shipwreck and Snake Eyes, while several other Joes are brought back as instructors. Meanwhile, Cobra Commander calls together the members of his organization, to let them know about his plan to take over the United States with nano-mites. Destro is the last to arrive, but after hearing the Commander's plan, he turns the tables on Cobra Commander, and takes control of Cobra.

Battle Files
G.I. Joe: Battle Files gave profiles of the G.I. Joe and Cobra teams, as well as information on their vehicles. Published in 2002, issue #1 featured the Joes, while issue #2 featured Cobra and issue #3 featured weapons and tech. A Sourcebook trade paperback was published in February 2003, which collected issues one through three, with additional profiles added.

Frontline
G.I. Joe: Frontline lasted eighteen issues, and featured a rotating creative team for every story. The stories explored what happened to G.I. Joe and Cobra concurrently with the main title's continuity, with the exception of the first arc. Larry Hama wrote Frontline's initial offering, "The Mission That Never Was," a four-part series set one month after the events of the Marvel series' issue #155.

Master & Apprentice
G.I. Joe: Master & Apprentice, was a four-issue limited series written by Brandon Jerwa, with artwork by Stefano Caselli and Sunder Raj. It told the story about how Snake Eyes met and trained his apprentice Kamakura. A second series, also written by Brandon Jerwa with artwork by Chris Stevens and Eric Vedder, focused on Storm Shadow and his apprentice/lover Junko Akita.