It won’t be long before the literary masterpiece that is American Gods finally makes it onto our TV screens as a Starz series, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that the wait has been excruciating. But in the meantime, there are other ways to lose yourself in Neil Gaiman‘s mysterious world of long-hidden immigrant deities — like with comics books, for example.

The premiere issue of American Gods: Shadows, a new comic adaptation by Dark Horse, has been on the shelves for a couple of weeks already since its release in March. But today the publisher has brought us a special treat: a special variant edition of that first chapter with a C2E2 exclusive-cover by Scott Hampton, who also works on the interior art. Check it out for yourself, and try not to drool on your keyboard too much.

Diehard Neil Gaiman fans, I hope you caught the lovely Sandman reference in this art. Or perhaps it’s a reference to Gaiman himself? Let’s face it, the two have very similar hair shapes.

“It’s wonderful to receive such a beautiful painting for a cover,” Dark Horse editor Dan Chabon said in a statement. “These days a good amount of the art I receive tends to be digital, but once in a while it’s nice to see something a bit more traditional. Even the interior lettering in the comic is hand-lettered so we’re playing it all a bit more old school.”

Speaking of old school, you won’t find this gorgeously painted cover at your local comic book store any time soon: it will be only be sold at C2E2, and there are only a limited number available. Once they’re gone, they’re gone, like the forgotten Gods of old. It’s more poetic that way, isn’t it?

Are you heading to C2E2? Thank you’ll try to snag yourself one of these? Tell us all about it in the comments!

Image: Dark Horse