If you're a steady fan of Mega Man, you might just know about this.

Going back to the Game Boy Advance, there was a four-game series of Mega Man titles known as Mega Man Zero. This series, a far-flung continuation of the events which occurred in the Mega Man X series and which lead to those happening in the ZX series, was notorious for its merciless difficulty; "Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden in 2D Mega Man form," some have called it.

The series also brought with it a new style of art and design which some might say betrayed its ball-busting difficulty, though upon closer inspection, it did well to reflect this darker visage of the world of Mega Man in a post-apocalyptic time when 75 percent of the world's population had been decimated. Since then, the style has been carried over to the more recent Mega Man ZX series.

Unlike America, however, Japan has always had a ton of supplementary material for Mega Man, or rather, Rockman games. Soundtracks with additional story that fills in gaps, guidebooks that do the same, and artbooks. And that last one is what the Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works falls under, as upon the completion of the series, the Rockman version was released in Japan. And after a year and a half in the making, America is about to get a taste as well.

UDON, the guys who have worked on many a project related to and for Capcom, including the art for the upcoming Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, are releasing an English version of the same book in America, which will be available in stores on May 28th. Capcom has begun taking orders for it, as well as Amazon, and you may be able to order it through outlets such as Barnes & Noble, Waldenbooks, or even your local comic book store (be sure to check first, just to be sure).

To whet your appetite for the book and to thank the fans for their patience on this one, UDON has released four preview pages, plus the cover (seen above), which will arrive with a special foil treatment, which has been described as looking "awesome."

Now, check out the previews:

Zero

Craft

Bosses of Neo Arcadia, from Mega Man Zero 2

Concept box and splash art for Mega Man Zero 3

With any luck, this book will do well enough that UDON will see fit to bring over more Capcom-related artbooks and other fun stuff.