If you’ve wandered into a gaming store or a comic book shop that carries games, chances are high that you’ve spotted Munchkin. The card game from Steve Jackson Games takes over at least one shelf and most of a spinner rack at my local comics retailer. The popular game, written by Steve Jackson and illustrated by John Kovalic, debuted in 2001 and has more spinoffs and expansion packs than I have the energy count, and as I witnessed last weekend at Origins Game Fair, people are enthusiastic about the series. Munchkin fans will be able to enjoy the game in another medium this fall because Boom! Studios is adapting it into an ongoing comic series.

Bringing Munchkin to the pages of comics seems like a natural choice, and though it definitely will appeal to those who’ve played the game, I think it will go the other way as well with comics readers trying out issue #1 and then seeking out the source material. While details about the story haven’t been revealed, we will see arcs based around characters from the game.

Philip Reed, Chief Operating Officer of Steve Jackson Games, explains in a press release, “The best part of the comic books—besides seeing what sort of wacky stories the creative teams craft around Spyke, Flower, and all of the Munchkin characters—is that Munchkin fans will get to watch as the world of the game expands well outside of its gameland incarnation.”

No word yet on who will be part of the Munchkin comic’s creative team, but I hope Kovalic is brought in as artist. It would be interesting to see the characters in different styles on the covers, but when it comes to interior pages, I’d like to see the art I know and adore from the cards.

Are you looking forward to seeing Munchkin characters in comics? Let us know in the comments.

HT: The Mary Sue, image via Dad’s Gaming Addiction