This will be the perfect, easy-to-use replacement for the bulkier compendiums of the past. Illustrations, some in color.

    With Batman crippled by his fiercest foe, a new hero tries to fill his shoes in protecting Gotham City. But his methods are brutal and dangerous, and the future of Gotham City is uncertain. In June 2005, Batman Begins will be released in movie theatres, starring Christian Bale and featuring Michael Caine, Katie Holmes, and Liam Neeson. Interest in the Batman franchise will surge, with a huge marketing campaign and the star power casting.

    All Witch World knows that the hunted, hated beasts serve Evil--all except one young woman. Fleeing her home after her beloved grandfather dies, the orphaned Navajo-Comanche girl Eleeri follows an ancient and magical trail to Witch World. When she discovers the Kepliana mare Tharna and her newborn colt in the hands of men eager to destroy them, Eleeri fights for their freedom. Running for their lives, psychic Eleeri and telepathic Tharna bond. And in a hidden canyon, they discover the awesome truth: The Keplians were created to serve Light, and to ride with humans. THE MAGESTONE They are two strangers whose people have been at war for a millennium. Mereth, a Dales trader, crosses the sea to Estcarp and the archival citadel at Lormt, seeking clues to the fate of a missing heirloom, an ancient jewel of Power. At the same time, an Alizonder hound lord, Kasarian, finds that an ancestor's key opens a magic gate to distant Lormt. Alizonders are wolfish tyrants who fight with sadistic poisons

    It was the Professor's Wife, always a perceptive hostess, came to her husband's rescue by saying, "Top of the stairs, end of the hall, last door."Oddly enough, it was the start of a puzzling and all but unspeakable misadventure. As it were.

    Each of these vintage tales was penned when he was a journeyman author, earning his living creating Western action for pulp magazines. The selection in this anthology was personally made by the editorial board of Buckskin Classics, who feel the individual stories are all emblematic of L'Amour's early short fiction at its best. "Ride, You Tonto Raiders!" is a rare magazine-length novel, worth the price of admission alone to L'Amour aficionados. The title story and "Riding for the Brand" are two long and meaty novelettes. "Trap of Gold," which pack's more suspense than any big budget movie, is off trail for L'Amour but authentically Western. "Mistakes Can Kill You" passes on a hard-earned lesson from the author's youth. And, "Trail to PieTown" showcases the master's knack for telling the whole story of the West in a few brief pages. [Cover design: J. L. "Frankie" Hill]

    -- Ties in with current Hollywood hits...aliens and conspiracy -- Illustrated by award-winning cartoonist and satirist Alexis Gilliland.