Marvel has announced that Roger Langridge’s Muppets comics are to be released in omnibus format.

The Muppets Show

The book is expected to hit shelves sometime in 2014, likely around March, when the second Muppets movie, Muppets Most Wanted – which stars Loki actor, Tom Hiddleston, and comedian, Ricky Gervais – is released; however, no release date has been confirmed.

Printing privileges – originally published by BOOM! – reverted to Marvel after the publisher’s parent company, Disney, acquired the rights to the Jim Henson characters. Langridge’s four-issue Muppets tale, The Four Seasons, was ‘in limbo’ after the acquisition but was recently released by Marvel. This omnibus is set to reprint The Muppet Show, The Muppet Show Comic Book: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson, The Muppet Show Comic Book and The Muppets titles, according to Digital Spy.

Langridge's Doctor Who

I really like New Zealand-born Langridge, who I’ve met a few times at comic conventions and is always very giving with his time. He’s worked on Doctor Who Magazine and Inside Soap, as well as writing (and sometimes illustrating) a Popeye comic for IDW. Originally a miniseries, after the success of the first two issues, it was announced that Popeye would become an ongoing title and has inspired reprints of the original comic strips. He’s perhaps most famous for creating the Buster Keaton-inspired Fred the Clown and Snarked!

He’s also on the immensely well-received Thor: The Mighty Avenger and on the character, Fin Fang Foom, with writer Scott Gray.

Hearing the news of this upcoming omnibus, Roger said:

“I’m extremely proud of the work I did on the Muppet Show comic books and thrilled to hear that they’ll be available soon in this long-lasting format. This is one of those rare cases where corporate imperatives neatly intersected with a cartoonist’s own interests and passions, and I’m pleasantly surprised to hear that Marvel thought my efforts were worth commemorating with such a prestigious edition.”

This is a lovely, fun detour from the usual serious nature of omnibuses, one which I hope will be expanded upon in the future. Roger’s work (both his art and his writing) really is a joy to behold, so head over to his website now!