The Eisner Award Committee announced today that 20th Anniversary Edition of Sam & Max Surfin' the Highway has been recognized as a nominee in the Best Graphic Album—Reprint category. First published in 1995, Surfin' the Highway is the complete collection of Steve Purcell's Sam & Max comics, starring a sarcastic and sharp-witted crime-fighting team known as the Freelance Police. After nearly a decade out of print, Purcell and Telltale, the developer and publisher of the acclaimed Sam & Max game series, reissued the highly sought-after compilation in 2008.
The Eisner-nominated Surfin' the Highway is available from Telltale's website (http://www.telltalegames.com) in trade paperback and limited edition hardcover versions. The 20th Anniversary Edition reprint includes all of the content from the original collection plus 25 new pages of rare and previously unpublished Sam & Max artwork, for a total of 197 pages.
"Working on this new edition of Surfin' the Highway with Telltale was one of those great projects where everyone wanted the same thing, the best version of the book we could make," says Sam & Max creator Steve Purcell. "Telltale put tons of care into every aspect of this project—a book made for the original fans, as well as the unwitting new recruits."
Telltale is celebrating the Eisner nomination with three specially-priced Surfin' the Highway bundles:
• Surfin' the Highway Paperback Special: For $29.95, get the Surfin' the Highway trade paperback plus a Collector's DVD containing the most recent 5-episode "season" of Sam & Max games for PC (a $25 savings)
• Surfin' the Highway Hardcover Special: For $59.95, get the limited-edition hardcover plus the Collectors' DVD versions of both Sam & Max game seasons (a $55 savings)
• Surfin' the Highway Celebration Special: For $99.95, get the Surfin' the Highway limited-edition hardcover plus the Collector's DVD and soundtrack CDs for both game seasons, the Sam & Max Freelance Police Animated Series 3-DVD set, and a Sam & Max t-shirt and hat (a $110 savings)
Sam and Max, Purcell's dog and rabbity-thing detectives, got their start in comics in 1987. They have appeared in several formats over the years, including a graphic adventure game, Sam & Max Hit the Road, in 1993; an award-winning animated series in 1998; and an online web comic in 2006, for which Purcell was awarded an Eisner Award for Best Digital Comic. Eleven episodes have been released so far in Telltale's Sam & Max game series, which has won numerous awards and has sold over 500,000 episodes to date. Telltale's Sam & Max games are available now on PC and Nintendo Wii, and are coming soon to Xbox LIVE Arcade.