UPDATE: This Bill Hicks Exclusive Ryko Box Set comes out TODAY. Buy it for $35 here.

There are few dead comics that stand on the pantheon of Great American Comedians, and the class is rare. George Carlin, John Belushi, Mitch Hedburg, etc (I’m sure I’m missing some, feel free to let me know). And on that vaunted Mount Rushmore of painfully piercing insight is Bill Hicks. Sure sometimes he repeated material, but as any fan will testify he re-used his material to hone his craft to a razor sharp edge of satire, a biting vorpal blade of social criticism that left very few heads unsevered. When Hicks was on point he was simply an unstoppable force of comedy. And finally there seems to be something in the air, a rising resonance to give Hicks his well paid dues. First there was the Bill Hicks Story documentery we discussed last March, and now Ryko is releasing an exclusive box set of all his material. The 2 CD, 2 DVD Box Set contains some of his most respected stand-up —over five hours of DVD footage from Bill Hicks’ personal archives including rare, never-before-seen performances from the early 80‘s, the cult short film Ninja Bachelor Party (starring Bill Hicks, Kevin Booth and David Johndrow), in-depth interviews with Hicks and a photo gallery from his family’s keepsakes. Plus liner notes by heads like Henry Rollins, Eric Bogosian, UK author Paul Outhwaite and UK journalist/TV personality Clive Anderson. Oh, and a download card containing original song recordings by Hicks mastered at Abbey Road Studios in London, entitled Lo-Fi Troubadour. Sure Hicks may have called himself “Chomsky with dick jokes”, and that’s not far from the truth, but there’s a reason why he was so thoroughly embraced in the UK that he’s currently listed as the 4th Greatest Comedian in their 2010 poll. Yes, he’s that funny. Peep the video below, and if you need more proof do yourself a favor and pick up the box set, which is due to hit shelves on September 14^th.. (Either that, or YouTube him and make the call yourself).