IDW Publishing’s latest “Artist’s Edition” stars the barbarian, “Groo The Wanderer,” by Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier.

The oversized, high-quality edition is shot from the original art.

The book will collect the four-part storyline “The Wager of the Gods,” which originally appeared in “Groo the Wanderer” #96-99.

Besides being in every single issue of Mad Magazine for the past 50 years, Sergio Aragones is also the creator of Groo the Wanderer, the hilarious character that is a good natured and extremely honest barbarian, but one who consistently finds himself in the middle of all sorts of misadventures because of his unparalleled stupidity and penchant for misunderstanding.

In 1982 Sergio, with his frequent collaborator Mark Evanier, launched Groo the Wanderer. Groo has since become one of the most memorable and loveable characters of the last 30 years. This Artist’s Edition measures 12 x 17 inches and features four oversized issues, including extras. Added bonus: the very first Groo story by Sergio (in redrawn form) will also be in this book.

Brought to you by the same team responsible for the Eisner Award-winning Dave Stevens’ The Rocketeer: The Artist’s Edition, as well as Wally Wood’s EC Stories: Artist’s Edition.

While each “Artist’s Edition” appears to be in black and white, each page was scanned in color to mimic as closely as possible the experience of viewing the actual original art-for instance, corrections, blue pencils, paste-overs, all the little nuances that make original art unique. Each page is printed the same size as drawn, and the paper selected is as close as possible to the original art board.

Help Speeding Bullet celebrate “The Dark Knight Rises Day” this Thursday, July 19.

DC Comics and comic book retailers (including yours truly) are teaming up to celebrate the release of the final Batman film in director Christopher Nolan’s Bat-trilogy.

And we’re celebrating with a free, special edition Batman comic book!

It’s only available Thursday, and it’s on a first-come, first-served basis. So, make sure you show up early!

The free book features the first chapter of Batman: Earth One by Geoff Johns & Gary Frank, as well as a preview of the New 52’s Batman Vol. 1: The Court of Owls by Scott Snyder & Greg Capullo.

“The arrival of The Dark Knight Rises in theaters is a seminal moment for comic book readers and moviegoers; what better way to mark the occasion than with a free Batman comic book that rewards a broad range of fans and taps into the unprecedented excitement surrounding this film,” stated DC Entertainment Vice President of Marketing, John Cunningham.

Here’s a fair warning. Prepare yourselves for the undead thrill-ride that is… REVIVAL #1!

For one day in rural central Wisconsin, the dead came back to life. Now it’s up to Officer Dana Cypress to deal with the media scrutiny, religious zealots, and government quarantine that has come with them.

In a town where the living have to learn to deal with those who are supposed to be dead, Officer Cypress must solve a brutal murder, and everyone, alive or undead, is a suspect.

A beautiful “farm noir” that puts a new twist on the zombie genre, created by New York Times Bestselling author and an acclaimed artist. Written by Tim Seeley. Art by Mike Norton. Preview it!

Geoff Johns and Gary Frank create a brand-new Batman origin tale with Batman: Earth One.

The original graphic novel will retell the Batman legend in a contemporary setting where the flawed hero at the heart of the story isn’t yet the master of Gotham City’s shadows.

The book is the first original graphic novel created by Geoff Johns.

“Gary and I are tackling BATMAN from the beginning, before he knows what he’s doing and with a very different ultimate goal in mind,” said Johns at DCComics.com. “He’s never left Gotham. And our Gotham and the people in it are very gray. Our heroes unlikely. Our villains hidden. Our story is only beginning with volume one.”