The creator of Sam and Max, Steve Purcell, let it be known this week that a full twenty years after its original publishing date, the comic book adventures of Sam and Max are coming back on the market. Preorders for the bound compilation of Sam and Max: Surfin’ the Highway are currently available at www.telltalegames.com. There will be two versions of Surfin’ the Highway available at the Telltale Games website: a trade paperback version and a signed and numbered limited edition hardcover version.

Surfin’ the Highway originally came on the market in 1995 and circulations of the comic series ceased in 1997. This new anniversary version will feature all the original content from the first release but with 26 brand new pages, which brings the total number of pages to 197, 45 of which will be in full color. The “Fair Wind to Java” story, originally appearing in black and white, has been upgraded for this new release with use of Steve Purcell’s original color guides.

Steve Purcell himself said that that Sam and Max fans should “Thank Telltale for poking and prodding me to finally re-release Surfin’ the Highway.” Mr. Purcell went onto add that “Since the mid-90’s edition has become scarce, I wanted to revisit the design of the book and have fun with the idea of it being some rare ancient volume. It’s great that new fans can now find the book and folks who don’t want their rare vintage edition mangled can stock up and start indoctrinating their friends. Flipping through the bound pages, I couldn’t help but blurt out, ’This makes me want to draw comics again!’ Fortunately, no one was close enough to hear."

Some of the newly included pages will be the original advertisements for the Sam and Max: Freelance Police comic book (dating from 1987), Sam and Max stories that first appeared in the LucasArts Adventurer and Fox Kids magazine back in the late 1990s, and new artwork created to promote the new episodic games by Telltale and the future release of the Freelance Police animated series on DVD by Shout Factory. The last addition to the Surfin’ the Highway anniversary edition are a newly designed cover and an author’s note drafted by Steve Purcell.

The trade paperback version of the Surfin’ the Highway anniversary edition sells for $19.99 and preorders for this edition can be purchased at http://www.telltalegames.com/store/samandmax-highway and will be mailed out on February the 25th. They can also be purchased in all stores that sell comic books. The Limited Edition version, which can be purchased only from the Telltale Games’ website, retails for $49.99 and will bear Steve Purcell’s signature and a number personally affixed by him to each work. Preorders of the Limited Edition version are also being taken and is expected to be sent out starting in spring 2008.

To commemorate this, Telltale Games will be adding a bonus for all those who decide to purchase the Surfin’ the Highway compilation. Orders for the new comic made from the Telltale Games website from now until the 29th of February will automatically be given a downloadable copy of Ice Station Santa, the first episode in the 2nd season of the Sam and Max games, for free. In addition a 25% discount for the entire 2nd season of Sam and Max will be given when the 2nd season is bought along with the Surfin’ the Highway anniversary edition.

For more information or to view other Sam and Max related merchandise, such as t-shirts, hats, and a newly designed “highway surfing” poster, please visit http://www.telltalegames.com/store/samandmax-highway