Hothead Games to publish Ron Gilbert's 'DeathSpank'

Described as -- and you'll want to sit down for this -- "the perfect melding of a Monkey Island style adventure game with the wicked RPG game play of Diablo," Ron Gilbert's latest creation has been revealed to be an episodic title dubbed "DeathSpank: Episode 1: Orphans of Justice." The adventure legend has joined Vancouver-based Hothead Games as Creative Director, noting that he's spent over four years searching for "the right publisher for this strange little game." He went on to quip, "Now that I've done it, you just know that somewhere four horsemen are saddling up."

Followers of Gilbert's grumpy ramblings may remember DeathSpank as a satirical game character mentioned in a series of Flash comics, created with the aid of Clayton Kauzlaric and offered on Gilbert's personal blog. They'll also recall that Gilbert is currently providing his expertise and surly demeanor to Penny Arcade's episodic endeavor, On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness. Expect to hear more on both titles... soonish.