Cryptozoic is entering the on-going comic field with a bang thanks to the aid of fan favorite webcomic, Penny Arcade. Penny Arcade creators Jerry ‘Tycho’ Holkins and Mike ‘Gabe’ Krahulik created The Lookouts originally as part of their Penny Arcade webcomic with this funny one-shot back in June 2009. Now The Lookouts is set to be an on-going comic book series written by Ben McCool (Choker). While the story of The Lookouts was developed by Penny Arcade’s Jerry Holkins and Cryptozoic’s President & CCO Cory Jones, Jerry will not be scripting the actual comic. The art end has a similar story, with Krahulik providing the occasional cover, but not doing the interiors. That job goes to Robb Mommaerts (PopGun), who is a rather magnificent artist.

This ongoing series tells the story of a group of young boys who join the Lookouts, where they must learn the secrets of the magical Eyrewood Forest. Badges are earned by the Lookouts as they learn to survive and master their perilous environment. Each six-issue arc will focus on a new badge and an exciting journey for the young trainees, starting with the “Riddle” badge in the first arc. Additionally, each issue will contain a two-page spread from The Lookout’s Handbook, featuring an inside peek at this mysteries of Eyrewood Forest and information on additional badges.

The Lookouts #1 hits stores on August 29th, but you can preview the first issue July 11th–15th at San Diego’s Comic-Con International. If you like the book there are even two exclusive variant covers, one by creator, Mike Krahulik, and another by Doug TenNapel. To get ahold of these, swing by the Cryptozoic Comc-Con Store at 411 Market Street in San Diego during the convention. Of course, if you really can’t wait for this new Penny Arcade goodness, you can get the comic digitally starting next week. That’s right, the comic will also be available digitally starting July 6th, a whole 2-months early, on comiXology mobile apps for Apple iOS, Android, and more.