A new hardcover edition of The Escapists will feature an introduction by Michael Chabon that will introduce real-life writer Brian K. Vaughan to Sam Clay, according to the comic’s writer and artist.

The hardcover, set to hit stores Dec. 12, collects the six-part series about Maxwell Roth and Case Weaver, two Cleveland comic fanatics who try to revive the dormant Escapist line of comics. In his e-mail newsletter Wednesday, Steve Rolston, who drew the “reality” sequences in the series, says an intro Chabon wrote for the collection is “almost like an epilogue to Chabon’s novel, as the fictional Sam Clay meets a young boy at a comic convention.”

Vaughan, who wrote the series, talked about the introduction with Los Angeles CityBeat in September. It features “a character from Kavalier & Clay, who’s at a convention for old-timer comics creators in the 1980s, and inspires a young Brian Vaughan to become a comic book writer.”

“It’s the most surreal experience to read my favorite novelist writing me into the canon of his world,” Vaughan said. “It’s awesome.”

The collection also features a cover by Alex Ross. It’s priced at $19.95.