So I’m surfing through the postings online about the San Diego con as I’m packing to get ready and I discover some great news courtesy of Heidi at Comics Beat.

Creator/writer/artist Randy Reynaldo is releasing the first full color Rob Hanes comic called Rob Hanes Adventures Special Edition #1 in time for purchase at the con. While he’s there, he’ll also be promoting the upcoming September collection, “The first volume of a projected series of trade paperbacks collecting the entire Rob Hanes Adventures series,” according to his press release.

This is great news for fans of the strip (one of them is me, in case you haven’t guessed) – and if you can’t make it to the con to pick up the color special, you can order it from Randy’s website, along with a ton of other cool stuff. If you’ve never seen a Rob Hanes adventure, you’re in for a treat. Randy is an adventure cartoonist in the very best sense, working in a style that recalls Terry And The Pirates and, especially, Roy Crane’s work on Captain Easy (plus a nod or three to Jonny Quest).

But it’s no retro-fest – the globe-trotting stories feel modern and each issue is a cause for celebration. I can’t wait to get my own copy. And yeah, FTC, I’ll be paying for it.

You can see a gallery of interior b&w pages here.

In the spirit of the digital revolution, Randy’s also put online some of the earlier Rob Hanes strips for free reading.

[Artwork: Cover to Rob Hanes Adventures Special Edition #1, © Randy Reynaldo]