When, in 1996, Neil Gaiman laid his acclaimed Sandman series to rest after seven extraordinarily successful years, the fans lamented. And with good reason: its influence on the comic book industry was immeasurable; the harbinger of a renewed literary acceptance for the medium. Gaiman had expertly fashioned a vivid Gothic fantasy world that mixed the majesty of folklore with the horrors of modern life. The rich tapestry of stories that unfolded focused on a lonely Byronic figure called Morpheus, ruler of the amorphous world of our dreams. With The Dream Hunters, fans can rejoice as Gaiman returns to his signature work with a haunting fable of love, devotion and betrayal set in Ancient Japan. A lone monk spends his days tending to his temple garden, when he meets a Fox, a beautiful woman in human form, who becomes trapped within the monk's dreams. To save her, the monk must travel to the Realm of the Sandman and face a terrible choice between love and death. Meanwhile, a sinister magician makes nefarious plans against the pair to achieve his heart's desire. On this occasion, Gaiman's evocative prose is paired with the ethereally beautiful paintings of Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano. And what a pairing it is; this is a prime example of creative symbiosis if ever there was one. True, the story is slight, but Gaiman weaves his own magic of letting simplicity harbour a wondrous complexity that lurks in the background, wonderfully rendered by Amano. Fans will be delighted by this comeback, while others can be captivated by Gaiman's assurance that popular culture cannot displace old-fashioned tales of magic and wonder. —Danny Graydon

"Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer of his." So begins Italo Calvino's compilation of fragmentary urban images. As Marco tells the khan about Armilla, which "has nothing that makes it seem a city, except the water pipes that rise vertically where the houses should be and spread out horizontally where the floors should be," the spider-web city of Octavia, and other marvelous burgs, it may be that he is creating them all out of his imagination, or perhaps he is recreating details of his native Venice over and over again, or perhaps he is simply recounting some of the myriad possible forms a city might take.

The third book of the Sandman collection is a series of four short comic book stories. What's remarkable here (considering the publisher and the time that this was originally published) is that the main character of the book—the Sandman, King of Dreams—serves only as a minor character in each of these otherwise unrelated stories. (Actually, he's not even in the last story.) This signaled a couple of important things in the development of what is considered one of the great comics of the second half of the century. First, it marked a distinct move away from the horror genre and into a more fantasy-rich, classical mythology-laden environment. And secondly, it solidly cemented Neil Gaiman as a storyteller. One of the stories here, "A Midsummer Night's Dream," took home the World Fantasy Award for best short story—the first time a comic was given that honor. But for my money, another story in Dream Country has it beat hands down. "A Dream of a Thousand Cats" has such hope, beauty, and good old-fashioned chills that rereading it becomes a welcome pleasure. —Jim Pascoe

For almost seven-and-a-half centuries, a piece of cloth was venerated because it bore the image of the crucified Christ. However, results of carbon dating have shown that the fabric could not have predated 1260. Now new evidence conclusively proves that it is not a face.. .yet neither is it the image of Jesus.

 In the follow-up to their groundbreaking first book, The Hiram Key, Knight and Lomas continue their research into the mysteries of Freemasonry and the true historical Jesus. In the course of those explorations, they uncover the precise time and place of the Shroud's creation. The answer to the great mystery will surprise and astound as the authors unlock the secrets of abandoned Freemason rituals and the man who would be called the Second Messiah.

This enormous volume is the first comprehensive encyclopedia of fantastic literature of the nineteenth century. From detective fiction to historical novels, from well-known authors like Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to Russian newspaper serials and Chinese martial arts novels, THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FANTASTIC VICTORIANA is a truly exhaustive look at every aspect of fantastic literature in the days of Queen Victoria. Readers of science fiction and fantasy will be surprised to find here the roots of genres thought to be strictly contemporary, and students of literature will be amazed at the breadth and scope of writings produced in the Victoriana era. This is an invaluable reference, and truly one-of-a-kind.

Here are clear reproductions of over 1200 anatomical drawings by one of humanity’s greatest geniuses—still considered, nearly five centuries later, the finest ever rendered. Admired by artists and scientists alike. 215 plates.

An Excerpt from Bill Watterson's Introduction:

 

"I’ve loved comic strips as long as I can remember. As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as I don’t even like riding in elevators. I kept my options open until seventh grade, but when I stopped understanding math and science, my choice was made. There is great personal satisfaction in attending to detail and quality, and I remain very proud of the standards the strip met day after day. I also liked the responsibility of knowing that, succeed or fail, it was all my own doing. This approach kept the strip very honest and personal—verything having to do with Calvin and Hobbes expressed my own ideas, my own values, my own way. I wrote every word, drew every line, and painted every color. It’s a rare gift to find such fulfilling work and I tried to show my appreciation by giving the strip everything I had to offer."

 Exclusive Images from the New Collection

 

 

 

 More Calvin and Hobbes Books

 

 The Calvin and Hobbes Tenth Anniversary Book

 

 Weirdos from Another Planet!

 

 Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons

There's no Zeus with his thunderbolt or Thor with his hammer; but in Har old Scheub's Dictionary of African Mythology, there is Kibuka, who shoots arrows from clouds, and Tanit, mother of the universe, with her spear. From over 10 years of living in Africa, Harold Scheub has combed oral and recorded traditions and delivers a treasury of African mythology. Scheub focuses on the art of the storyteller, presenting stories that animate the people who tell them. You'll find the full range of archetypal figures here and see how mythic scenarios can vary from region to region. There are the rain-stones from God, the crocodile women and Wuni, the god who destined men to always have to chase women. Scheub ties the stories together by locating common themes and provides an immense bibliography, along with cross-referencing by culture and country. Africa is not often on Europeans' mythology radar but Scheub demonstrates that the continent's traditions are every bit as colourful as the myths of other world cultures. —Brian Bruya

Now a major motion picture from Lion's Gate Films starring Christian Bale (Metroland), Chloe Sevigny (The Last Days of Disco), Jared Leto (My So Called Life), and Reese Witherspoon (Cruel Intentions), and directed by Mary Harron (I Shot Andy Warhol).

 

 In American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis imaginatively explores the incomprehensible depths of madness and captures the insanity of violence in our time or any other. Patrick Bateman moves among the young and trendy in 1980s Manhattan. Young, handsome, and well educated, bateman earns his fortune on Wall Street by day while spending his nights in ways we cannot begin to fathom. Expressing his true self through torture and murder, Bateman prefigures an apocalyptic horror that no society could bear to confront.