New Releases by J. Michael Straczynski

Captain Kirk has finally escaped the attentions of the Klingons and the Nasgul, but when he discovers a long-thought-dead team of explorers, his problems are only just beginning! Can Kirk and the crew persuade the Worthy to be heroes again? Also in this collection are Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski’s classic, haunting tale Worldsinger, and Howard Weinstein (Star Trek: The Animated Series) presents an explosive team-up with an unexpected alien race — the Klingon Empire! Written by Peter David (Fallen Angel) and Lost In Space’s Bill Mumy, with artists Gordon Purcell and Ken Hooper, this collection also features ultra-rare interviews with George Takei (Mr Sulu) and William Shatner (Captain Kirk)!

The entire status-quo-shattering BACK IN BLACK saga, collected in one mammoth oversized hardcover! reeling in the aftermath of CIVIL WAR, Peter Parker has plenty of reasons to consider a change of wardrobe: Black is his state of mind. But the worst is yet to come for Spider-Man! In AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, events are set in motion that will forever change life of your favorite web-slinger. There IS no going back! In FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, the secrets of the alternate Uncle Ben are revealed, but not before the Sandman attacks! And in SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN, younger, less-experienced versions of our web-spinning hero begin appearing all over the city, causing havoc wherever they go. Can Peter stop them, and whoever''s behind them, before more lives are lost? Collecting Amazing Spider-Man #539-543, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #17-23 and Annual #1, Sensational Spider-Man #35-40 and Annual #1.

A compilation of comics in which Spider-Man battles Tracer, receives self-defense lessons from Captain America, and learns disturbing news about his health.

Charlie Weiderman, the only kid in high school geekier than Peter Parker, has returned to town asking for Peter''s help, but Spider-Man may have to stop him from harming himself and his former classmates.

Two new characters emerge to stalk Peter Parker and threaten to destroy everything he holds dear.

He raised the bar for epic science-fiction storytelling on television with his syndicated series Babylon 5, then followed it by elevating the way in which superhero tales are told with his critically acclaimed scripts for Marvel''s The Amazing Spider-Man. Now, award-winning writer and producer J. Michael Straczynski presents a special collection of his own short fiction-some of which is previously unpublished and exclusive to this volume!

Spider-Man and his superhero friends spend his birthday doing battle with a collection of transdimensional creatures--a battle that culminates in a trip through time.

Peter tries to find out more about the origins of his powers when his mentor, Ezekiel, returns.

A young man awakes from a recurring nightmare to find that, once again, his apartment has been destroyed: the TV is on fire, the mirrors shattered, the aquarium exploded with such force that shards of glass are embedded in the opposite wall; and once again a voice is saying, "Come home..." And so he does. Home is the small Maine town where his parents were both killed in a grotesque car wreck years before. The kind of town Stephen King has described as ''mostly indifference spiced with an occasional vapid evil-or worse, a conscious one.'' A small town caught in a centuries-old war between supernatural forces. This is a genuinely frightening tale of death and demons, love and possession.

When a comet strikes the Earth just outside of Pederson, Illinois, 113 babies who were in their mother''s womb when the flash hit are born with extraordinary super-powers that develop as they grow older. Now, 20 years later, the people of the world who worried what the children might become now fear what these adults will do with the powers they have. Illustrations. (May)

Based on Stracynski''s comic book series. Ten years have passed since the Specials had their standoff against the government. Now they are forced to come together once more when the Special known as Critical Maas takes the city of Chicago hostage. A small group of her former friends decide to take it back in exchange for a pardon from the government. But their actions will not come without a heavy price to pay. Original.

Graphic novel.

TOP COW is proud to bring you issues 1-8 of the critically acclaimed series RISING STARS. This is the first story arc written by J. Michael Straczynski and tells the tale of the beginnings of the Specials. With new cover by MIDNIGHT NATION artist Gary Frank. This collection is the perfect way to revisit the earlier issues of RISING STARS in one sitting or to discover fro the first time the mose realistic superhero epic since Alan Moore''s Watchmen.

A vicious killer stalks the streets of Los Angeles, and crime reporter Susan Randall is hot on his trail. When she meets Raymond Weil, she thinks she''s found an ally-except his knowledge of the killer seems too complete.

A novelization of the second full-length Babylon 5 television film, this story explores the depths of cyberspace, where a squad of Starfuries makes a discovery that could affect the destiny of the civilized universe. Have they found the threshold to a new age - or a gateway to hell?

To Dream in the City of Sorrows is the ninth book in this successful series of original science fiction novels based on the Emmy Award-winning Channel Four series Babylon 5. Ambassador to the alien world of Minbar, former Babylon 5 Commander, Jeffrey Sinclair, is one of the first to learn the truth about the Shadows, the ancient race pursuing the destruction of the galaxy. Sinclair also discovers a startling secret: he is the linchpin in the plan to stop them. Now, Sinclair is asked to revive the legendary Minbar warrior group, the Rangers. But the price may be his chance to love...and his life. Catherine Sakai, commercial pilot and planetary surveryor, has lost her heart to Jeffrey Sinclair. Not even an attack by the Shadows can stop her from getting to Minbar to join him...and the Rangers. As she trains with other pilots such as the mysterious Marcus Cole, the time is coming when their skills will be tested on their first mission. Led by Sinclair, they will venture into deepest space, into a battle of stealth and might, and towards a fate none but the bravest can face...and none but the luckiest will survive...

A novel based on the television science-fiction series, Babylon 5, set aboard a massive space station in the year 2257. Positioned in a key sector of the galaxy and under the jurisdiction of the Earth Alliance, Babylon 5 serves as a space-borne port of call, open to travellers from anywhere.

DC Comics proudly presents the 700th issue of SUPERMAN, a 56-page extravaganza, full of tales celebrating the Man of Steel''s past, present and future! First up is a story by the man who actually killed Superman, Dan Jurgens! Then James Robinson brings his epic run on the title to a close with a touching story that brings Superman back to Earth after his time on New Krypton. Finally, we preview the new creative team on SUPERMAN as J. Michael Straczynski & Eddy Barrows provide a story that sets the stage for an exciting and all-new direction for the Man of Steel! (Seriously! Wait till you read it!)

Collects The Twelve #1-6. Yesterday''s Men of Tomorrow - today! Laying dormant for sixty years, they awaken in a tormented world that needs them more than ever. But has the world grown beyond their brand of old-fashioned heroism?