. . a . . . a bat!”—Bruce WayneIt began with those words fifty years ago, a crusade that would grow into a legend. Orphaned as a child, his parents murdered before his eyes, millionaire Bruce Wayne dedicated his life to avenging their deaths, becoming in the dark of night the costume-garbed protector of Gotham City, BATMAN.To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his creation, fifteen of today’s greatest writers of fantastic fiction have joined together to take you inside his world of shadows and fear in all-new tales of mystery, humor, horror, and the supernatural. These are your guides through The Further Adventures Of Batman.

    This brilliant new collection features original stories and novellas from some of today’s most exciting voices in comics, science fiction, and fantasy. Each marvelously inventive tale shows us just how far our classic crusaders have evolved—and how the greatest of heroes are, much like ourselves, all too human. In “Call Her Savage,” MARJORIE M. LIU enters the dark heart of a fierce mythic heroine who is forced, by war, to live up to her own terrible legend. In “A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too),” BILL WILLINGHAM presents a fully-realized vision of a universe where epic feats and tragic flaws have transformed the human race. In “Vacuum Lad,” STEPHEN BAXTER unveils the secret origins of the first true child of the space age—and disproves the theory that “nothing exists in a vacuum.” In “Head Cases,” PETER DAVID and KATHLEEN DAVID blast through the blogosphere to expose the secret longings of a Lonely Superhero Wife. In “The Non-Event,” MIKE CAREY removes the gag order on a super-thief named Lockjaw . . . and pries out a confession of life-altering events. Also includes stories by Mike Baron • Mark Chadbourn • Paul Cornell • Daryl Gregory • Joseph Mallozzi • James Maxey • Ian McDonald • Chris Roberson • Gail Simone • Matthew Sturges . . . and an introduction by Lou Anders, “one of the brightest and best of the new generation of science fiction editors” (Jonathan Strahan, The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year).

    Spiderman: Marvel's most popular hero X-Men: Marvel's most popular super-team

    Virtually every founding member of the (yet-to-debut) original JSA lineup minus Superman and Batman was represented in these individual adventures, and most of the stories are written and drawn by their original creators. ALL STAR ARCHIVES Vol. 0 is the perfect preface to the 11-volume complete reprinting of every JSA adventure from the Golden Age.Now the entire body of these "All Star" exploits is in print and available to all those who were there when they were published the first time around or wish they had been!

    When he digs deeper he discovers that he was held as a prisoner of war at a concentration camp, and experimented on by a ruthless Nazi scientist determined to unlock the secrets of Logan's mutant healing properties. What Logan doesn't know is that the scientist is still at large, his thirst for immortality unquenched by time. Now that he knows Logan is alive, he'll stop at nothing to finish what he started sixty years earlier...

    About to graduate high school, he has all of life to look forward to with college, parties, and girls.But a giant asteroid changes all that when it threatens to destroy all life on Earth. In only days, Vaughn, his family, and his friends are forced to confront the fact that everything ends. And nothing human can change it.Until the Avatar rises.For humanity, the world is saved when a young hero, Alex Shaw, literally flies into space, to smash the asteroid, Yama, apart. He is given the name, Avatar.But for Vaughn, it is the start of a completely new age. For Alex did not just stop an asteroid. In some strange way, humanity changes, and some, including Vaughn are empowered.Vaughn is soon caught up in the legacy that Alex leaves behind; a legacy that will lead Vaughn Hagen to become either a hero, or a victim to villainous dreams of power. Power that threatens to corrupt even his oldest friends.And ultimately, Vaughn must choose between home and friends in the new Age of Power.

    His gamble succeeded. Now his blood is a living serum that can save countless lives. Unfortunately, the Beast is also a prisoner of Selene, the dread Black Queen of the New York branch of the Hellfire Club and she is literally bleeding him dry in order to further her own mad quest for power and wealth. The X-Men, and their uneasy ally, Sebastian Shaw, the mutant Black King of the Hong Kong branch of the Hellfire Club, are locked in a race against time to defeat Selene and free the Beast. But to their shock, they have discovered that Selene has found a way to turn time itself into a weapon against them. Meanwhile, Sebastian Shaw and the mysterious menace known as Mutant X, pursue a different agenda -- one that if it succeeds, will place the Legacy Virus serum in the hands of the most dangerous mutant in the world!

    A unique combination of comic-book illustration and prose, this super-hero biography follows the Flash from his humble childhood to his noble death, detailing his transformation from medical police scientist to one of the DC Universe's most dynamic heroes.

    A dangerous terrorist has ingested a new techno-organic virus, transforming him into a superhuman killing machine. Now immensely powerful, but driven mad by the virus' effects, the terrorist is seemingly unstoppable. To halt this madman's psychotic rampage, Iron Man must face this dangerous new virus head-on...in a life-or-death battle that will forever alter Stark's calculated balance between man and machine. Experience Warren Ellis and Adi Granov's blockbuster re-imagining of the armored Avenger like never before in this new adaptation!

    Yet, for all the pain and suffering Batman’s nemesis has brought the world over the last five decades, virtually nothing has been learned about him. Until now.In The Further Adventures of The Joker you’re invited to accompany some of today’s most gifted writers on a descent into madness, a journey in search of The Joker’s greatest hopes, dreams . . . and fears. In these stories of crime, mayhem, horror, and twisted humor, you will discover tales you won’t soon forget, tales which will chill your soul and tickle your funny bone.

    Fascinating and often bizarre true stories behind more than 130 urban legends about comic book culture.Was Superman a Spy? demystifies all of the interesting stories, unbelievable anecdotes, wacky rumors, and persistent myths that have piled up like priceless back issues in the seventy-plus years of the comic book industry, including:- Elvis Presley's trademark hairstyle was based on a comic book character (True)- Stan Lee featured a gay character in one of Marvel's 1960s war comics (False)- Wolverine of the X-Men was originally meant to be an actual wolverine! (True)- What would have been DC's first black superhero was changed at the last moment to a white hero (True)- A Dutch inventor was blocked from getting a patent on a process because it had been used previously in a Donald Duck comic book (True)With many more legends resolved, Was Superman a Spy? is a must-have for the legions of comic book fans and all seekers of "truth, justice, and the American way."

    He is a boy who yearns to be loved and yearns to be Super in an everyday world so filled with unfairness that he must create his own reality - until the book's shattering conclusion makes Jerry realize who Superman really is.

    No evildoers have tried to flatten him in weeks, his marriage to Mary Jane is stronger than ever, and he's enjoying his job as a high school science teacher. Life is good. Naturally, that doesn't last. When Peter learns that his old enemy the Rhino is on a rampage in Times Square, he suits up as Spider-Man to stop the destructive villain in his tracks. But he's unexpectedly foiled in his attempts by the Black Cat, a former ally and old flame. The Cat informs Peter that the Rhino is just a distraction -- the real threat comes from a group of Ancients, members of the same race as the being called Morlun, who Spidey defeated in battle years earlier. The Ancients are now looking to exact revenge -- and hope to steal Spider-Man's life force in the process. To defeat such powerful beings, Spider-Man is going to need all the help he can get, especially from the Black Cat. But what will Mary Jane Parker have to say about that? Peter isn't sure which is worse -- the Ancients trying to drain his life force, or the wrath of a jealous wife....

    When a hulking monster emerges from an underground resting place and begins a mindless rampage, the Justice League is quickly called in to stop the colossal force of nature. But it soon becomes apparent that only Superman can stand against the monstrosity that has been nicknamed Doomsday. Battling their way throughout America, the two fight to a standstill as they reach the heart of Metropolis. Going punch for punch, Superman finally ends the threat of Doomsday as he throws one last punch and collapses forever.

    The digest box set features the art of Taeeun Yoo.A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most significant novels of our time. This fabulous, ground-breaking science-fiction and fantasy story is the first of five in the Time Quintet series about the Murry family.A Wind in the Door—When Charles Wallace falls ill, Meg, Calvin, and their teacher, Mr. Jenkins, must travel inside C.W. to make him well, and save the universe from the evil Echthros.A Swiftly Tilting Planet—The Murry and O'Keefe families enlist the help of the unicorn, Gaudior, to save the world from imminent nuclear war.Many Waters—Meg Murry, now in college, time travels with her twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys, to a desert oasis that is embroiled in war.An Acceptable Time—While spending time with her grandparents, Alex and Kate Murry, Polly O'Keefe wanders into a time 3,000 years before her own.