But a stranger is coming, one who will destroy both peace and balance, and open the galaxy to exploration and conquest. This is where it all begins!

    

    Martin was born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: "The Hero," sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed. Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93. Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West. Volume 1 of "George R. R. Martin: Short Stories" contains the Hugo, Locus Poll and Nebula Award? Winning "Sandkings," and more excellent short science fiction and fantasy.

    In the wake of the Phoenix, the world has changed and is torn on exactly what Cyclops and his team of X-Men are ? visionary revolutionaries or dangerous terrorists? Whatever the truth, Cyclops, Emma Frost, Magneto, and Magik are out in the world gathering up new mutants and redefining the name UNCANNY X-MEN.

    Untreated, they fester and grow into the diseases of fear, uncertainty and hopelessness. Unaided, the law is blinded by bureaucracy and bound to a justice bent toward the protection even of the criminal. The face of a kinder and gentler nation is destroyed, carved into a harlequin's mask; a grim skull. And the wielders of the scythe laugh, secure in the knowledge that their crimes will go without punishment.They are wrong. In the urban jungle, there is one who stands alone and apart; one who lives not for the law, but only to see justice done. The Punisher reaps a different harvest.Once, he was Frank Castle, loving husband and father. A tour in Vietnam had shown him what war was. Part of him died there, but a precious part stayed alive, determined to return to the family he loved, and the peace and freedom that was his America. Part of him held on to live, until his family died in a hail of mob gunfire, victims of the wrong place and wrong time.Daily, criminals greedily cut their portions from the souls of the weak and weary, the foolish and the frightened. One man senses how the guilty feed like parasites on the heart of the American Dream. One man hears when evil laughs at the law. One man sees clearly that the most powerful criminals have placed themselves above the law. One man has become their judge, their jury.One man has become their Punisher.

    Its editor, Vin Sullivan, also drew the debut issue's cover. It features the character "Fui Onyui" who served as the "yellow peril" villain (battled by Slam Bradley and his humourous sidekick Shorty Morgan).No Batman until issue #27.

    MARTINRead the first seven chapters of Joe Abercrombie’s fantastic new book!Prince Yarvi has vowed to regain a throne he never wanted. But first he must survive cruelty, chains and the bitter waters of the Shattered Sea itself. And he must do it all with only one good hand.Born a weakling in the eyes of his father, Yarvi is alone in a world where a strong arm and a cold heart rule. He cannot grip a shield or swing an axe, so he must sharpen his mind to a deadly edge.Gathering a strange fellowship of the outcast and the lost, he finds they can do more to help him become the man he needs to be than any court of nobles could.But even with loyal friends at his side, Yarvi’s path may end as it began – in twists, and traps and tragedy…

    18 Days is the story of three generations of super-warriors, meeting for the final battle of their age, a climactic war that concludes the age of the gods and begins the age of man. Collecting the first story arc from the series. "This is not a Lord of the Rings or a Star Wars where the good guys win because they are right. The good guys in 18 Days are forced to cheat and lie and break rules to win. Although it has fantastic, mythic trappings, this is a very modern story of realpolitik and the failure of ideals in the face of harsh truth." – Grant Morrison

    Once he was Captain America's partner Bucky, a proud member of the Invaders, a founder of the original Young Allies. Now he is Captain America, the Sentinel of Liberty, and when an old enemy suddenly reappears, Jim must re-open the last, unsolved case of the Young Allies--to stop a menace that threatens the world! Roger Stern travels from World War II with Nick Dragotta to the modern age with Marco Santucci to tell a time-tossed epic tale of high adventue!

    Not ready for the power struggles and politics, Kaspar is soon using his battlefield experience to cajole, influence, and get his way. But when a member of Tsarina's family is murdered in Kaspar's homeland, relationships become strained to the point of war.

    Leaving behind a dead-end life, I thought settling in with the Le Roux family was what I was meant to do. But meeting Victor changed everything, and now I can’t imagine surviving without him. I, Sierra Steele never expected sexual pleasure to become my nightmare. My body is reveling in my new predicament, while my mind is screaming at the invasion. But protecting Carly is my purpose, and I’ll do what’s necessary. As long as I stay sane…

    In the process, she learns something new about how to fight the alien invaders, but she must also remember that revenge is not the way of the Jedi - even which it seems the only way to fight the enemy.

    

    Now he's got 50 years of hard time to look forward to. But Something powerful has been growing within Ethan, and on the day of his sentencing, it escapes at last. It will change a life that has already been completely changed. It will follow him into the savage setting of a maximum-security prison, where each day is a struggle for survival. Will it be a source of massive power, a chance for redemption, or the cruelest of curses?

    Instead, the government gives Gothamites 24 hours to get out, after which it will blow up the bridges and tunnels, isolating Gotham from the world. Batman: No Man's Land presents this cut-off Gotham City, a place with no ground rules, where Batman and Commissioner Gordon must try to forge order out of chaos.