Through surreal texts and images, Cohn and Peelaert paint an imaginary world where the great gods of mid-century popular music appear in their own settings (the drifters under the boardwalk, Otis Redding on the dock of the bay, the Beach Boys on the beach). Here, rock music is a "secret society, an enclosed teen fantasy" treated with the same kind of passion and obsession famously generated by the most fanatic of lovesick, pimply adolescents. All of the founding heroes of rock, soul, and pop appear in Peellaert and Cohn's colorful hallucinations, including Buddy Holly, Elvis, Ray Charles, Sinatra, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, James Brown, the Rolling Stones, the Beatles, the Who, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and many more. Taschen's revival of this unique book comes at a time when rock is making a strong comeback and young musicians are taking inspiration from the very stars featured in rock dreams.

    Written by Michael Fleischer Art by various Everything you ever wanted to know about DC's Dark Knight - and so much more - can be found in this amazing volume, brought back into print for the first time in 30 years! Originally published in 1976, this extensive volume - the first in a series - includes everything you could want to know about Batman, his allies and enemies, weapons in his war on crime and his adventures from the 1930s to the 1970s! Advance-solicited; on sale May 23 - 416 pg, B&W, $19.99 US

    -- Covers artists' lives and careers, their contributions and style, and their influence on other artists-- Comics entries include information on artists who worked on them, description of plot, theme and character, and their place in the history of comics-- Extensive glossary illuminates the lingo of the industry-- Bibliography, listings of comic book publishers and syndicates, and a 10,000-entry index