Skybound has announced G.I Joe: A Real American Hero/Tomb Raider, a five-issue series teaming up Hasbro’s heroes with video game legend Lara Croft this fall. Written by Kyle Higgins (Radiant Black), with art by Elena Casagrande (Black Widow), colors by Alex Guimarães (Invaders), and lettering by Pat Brosseau (the main ARAH series), the comic picks up from Lara’s surprise appearance in this week’s A Real American Hero #330, where she infiltrated Castle Destro in search of her next prize.
The press release explains, “Lara Croft has explored some of the most dangerous locations on Earth, but nothing quite like Cobra Island. For this adventure, she’ll need the help of her old acquaintance, Shipwreck, and several squads of Joes to mount a dangerous expedition into the heart of the island to recover a treasure that’s been hidden there for decades. One that Destro and Baroness will do anything to get their hands on first…”
Higgins comments, “Tomb Raider meets G.I. Joe. Lost artifact, a Destro plot, and a joint infiltration mission to Cobra Island — the appeal of a story like this should be obvious. Having never had the opportunity to work with either, I was quite excited when [Skybound’s editorial director] Alex Antone called to ask me if I’d like to build an adventure for both. We’re taking some really fun swings with both brands — and there are definitely some deep cuts for G.I. Joe fans!”
Casagrande adds, “I’m extremely happy to have the chance to draw one of the top myths in my life: Lara Croft! It will be epic to see her in this adventure with the G.I. Joe team, fighting to solve one of her iconic mysteries on Cobra Island! I’m looking forward to showing you more pages!”
The book’s announcement comes shortly after Hasbro revealed a figure of Lara for the G.I. Joe Classified toy line, which will go up for pre-order on Thursday, July 23. Lara and the Tomb Raider franchise as a whole are celebrating their 30th anniversary this year, and the book marks something of a homecoming, as the first Tomb Raider comics were published by Skybound’s fellow Image imprint Top Cow from 1999 to 2005. This will mark the first comics crossover for Lara since that era, when she teamed up with characters from Top Cow titles like Fathom, The Darkness, Magdalena, and Witchblade.
Issue #1 will be released on October 7, with a host of covers (including a blank sketch variant cover G) you can peruse below, along with a four-page preview. In the meantime, the trade paperback of Dark Horse’s latest Tomb Raider comic, Sacred Artifacts, will be released on August 25, and Skybound’s G.I. Joe titles (both the original ARAH series and Energon Universe reboot) continue to go strong, with issue #24 of the latter set to drop on July 15. And for the record, Legacy of Atlantis, the controversial next game in the Tomb Raider series, will be released on February 12, 2027.
