Most Popular Books by Jean-Marc Lofficier

In the 1850s, when Paul Féval wrote The Vampire Countess, no one in France knew for sure how tolerant the reading public might be of fictions which brought vampirism into the real world. All the French literary works in which vampires had previously been featured had been calculatedly fanciful romances drawn from foreign sources and set in faraway places. A tale of Paris in the final days of the Consulate, which pretended to be true to the facts of history and employed a cast mingling real and fictitious individuals, must have seemed a different matter. There were good reasons to doubt the propriety of placing a "real" vampire in such a setting. The victory of science over superstition, if not yet entirely secure, seemed inevitable. French readers had thrilled to the dark delights of German and English Gothic novels, but French novelists had not been nearly so willing to dabble in such absurdities. The Vampire Countess, was probably the sixth full-length vampire novel to be published, and the first time the word vampire appeared as a feminine rather than a masculine noun. It would be a long time before any other writer contrived a vampire as perversely charismatic as The Vampire Countess or any of the characters featured in this anthology.

The term "cataclysm" is defined as a large-scale, violent event in the natural world, or a sudden and equally violent political or social upheaval. Such concepts run throughout the history of the French roman scientifique-a genre that some might call proto-sf-from the 18th century to today. In this thematic collection we have gathered ten remarkable short stories by J.-H. Rosny Aîné, Camille Debans, René Pujol, Pierre Véron, Alfred Franklin, etc., published between 1802 and 1928, plus two full-length novel by Maurice Leblanc-the father of Arsène Lupin-and Colonel Royet, published respectively in 1920 and 1928. These stories are highly original, each presenting a cataclysm more bizarre and complex than the next, each highlighting the creativity with which humanity fights for survival when faced with terrifying upheaval. Earthquakes, floods, extradimensional incursions, cosmic perils, bursts of gamma rays, the disappearance of vital metals, all are unique, albeit within the framework provided by the rich tradition of roman scientifique, and provide a striking illustration of the imaginative scope of French fantasy literature.

On Christmas' Eve, during a particularly cold, wind-swept night, Parisians rush through the streets, eager to arrive home... Suddenly, an unexpected threat appears: NUMBER-ONE, a sentient robot created by the mad scientist ASTAROTH, has returned to wreak havoc on the French capital! Only the GUARDIAN OF THE REPUBLIC, his sidekick MARIANNE, and the powerful NIGHT PRINCE can stop the mechanical killer. But behind Number-One looms the sinister shadow of its creator, long thought to be dead, who plots to use the robot to further a new, mysterious plan... The GUARDIAN and MARIANNE, now assisted by KIT KAPPA and AGENT BOURASK of C.L.A.S.H., must uncover ASTAROTH's real goal, and defeat him before he can inflict more destruction on the City of Lights... This Santa-mental super-saga full of guest-stars and candy canes, is brilliantly orchestrated by Roberto Castro and Eduardo Garcia.

ROBONOCCHIO is the classic Collodi tale recast in modern terms: a robot boy, built for an amusement park owned by the evil conglomerate AMALGAMATED BEHEMOTH, is brought to life by a whimsical blue alien. He and his designer must escape from the villains' evil clutches. J.-M. & Randy Lofficier are the award-winning writers of numerous comic books including Superman and Doctor Strange. They co-authored the children's novelization of The Great Mouse Detective and penned episodes of Duck Tales and Real Ghostbusters. Stephan Martiniere is the award-winning director of the Madeline animated series and the artist behind the Where's Waldo strip. Babel Library books feature the same text at the same place in two lan-guages on facing pages. The reader can read the lan-guage he is trying to learn, but when he loses his place, he can look to the exact same spot on the opposite page written in his native tongue. Without resorting to a dictionary, the needed word or phrase is there and he can speedily move on. It's simple, it's efficient, it's entertaining.

JUNE 1944. The day before the Allied landing. A group of super-powered Nazis threatens the success of Operation Overlord: Stahlmann, Vampyr, Scarlet Lips and other, even more terrifying creatures can stop the progress of the Allied troops on the beaches of Normandy... But Churchill and De Gaulle have anticipated the danger! They dispatch a team of fearless heroes led by Captain Rick Ross, a.k.a. Baroud, the Archer Princess Sadko, the French Guardian of the Republic and Marianne, the famous Black Lys, the legendary Metal Man and the young American Ricky Rox... The fate of Europe is now in the hands of THE PARTISANS! A prodigious saga of the last days of World War II published in France to commemorate the 70th anniversary of D-Day and brilliantly staged by Roy Thomas (All-Star Squadron, Invaders), R.J.M. Lofficier (Dr. Strange) and Mario Guevara (Solomon Kane).

The box office smash Back to the Future was almost a bomb, saved only by the talents of Michael J. Fox, who was brought in to star six weeks after production had started. Ivan Reitman wasn't really interested in directing Ghostbusters. Producer Gloria Katz described Howard the Duck as "a comedy about a person with certain particular characteristics," foremost of which was that he was a duck.These insights and many more are revealed in these interviews with some of the leading creative talents in Hollywood fantasy films during the 1980s. Fox, Reitman, Katz, Joe Dante, Robert Zemeckis, Richard Donner, Jamie Gertz, Ray Bradbury, Michael Ritchie, Timothy Dalton and others discuss Big Trouble in Little China, James Bond, Conan, Dead Zone, Gremlins, Ladyhawke, Lost Boys, and other fantasy films of the decade. Each of the interviews (previously published in a different form in Starlog) is preceded by a brief introduction setting it in context."All the interviews are informative" Classic Images"Gives a variety of perspectives...enjoyable and informative" Library Journal

Aliens, Bladerunner, Dune, Mad Max, Return of the Jedi, the Star Trek series, Blue Thunder, Cocoon, Enemy Mine, Robocop, 2010, War Games... these are all movies that defined science fiction films in the 1980s. But what was it like making these movies? This collection of in-depth interviews with the actors, writers, producers and directors takes you behind the scenes with the people who made these movies happen, including David Lynch, Kyle MacLachlin, Raffaella De Laurentiis, Mel Gibson, Harve Bennett, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Roy Scheider, Keir Dullea, Richard Marquand, John Badham, Ridley Scott, and Gale Ann Hurd. The interviews, many of which were originally published in Starlog Magazine, were conducted by Lee Goldberg, Randy Lofficier, Jean-Marc Lofficier, and William Rabkin, all of whom went on to great acclaim in various corners of the entertainment industry, including publishing, screenwriting and TV production.

Arsène Lupin the Gentleman Burglar and Fantômas the Lord of Evil. Captain Nemo and Robur the Conqueror, the science pirates. Alexandre Dumas Count of Monte-Cristo and Joseph Balsamo. The Phantom of the Opera and Belphegor, the Ghost of the Louvre. The amazing Monsieur Lecoq and Rouletabille the detectives. The gangs of the Black Coats and the Vampires. Rocambole, Judex, and the Nyctalope, the first super-heroes. Harry Dickson, the American Sherlock Holmes. The mysterious Doctor Cornelius and Doctor Omega. Fascinax and the Sâr Dubnotal, investigators of the occult. Antinea, Queen of Atlantis and Eugene Sue's Mysteries of Paris! Over 400 pages including:- biographies of the authors and review of their major works;- fictional biographies of the characters, timelines and concordances;- exhaustive bibliographies and filmographies, including television, radio and comics;

Young Morgane Gorlyer works for a prestigious French fashion magazine, but she is also the descendant of the original, much maligned, Morgan Le Fey, an enchantress who was King Arthur's sister and heir to the secrets of Vivien, the Lady of the Lake, Queen of Avalon. With her boyfriend, Faust (the son of Goethe's character), who was cursed to spend his life as a black cat until Morgane freed him. she is forced to thwart the evil schemes of her jealous childhood friend Alecto and her deadly companion, Lord Raven, and face the awesome might of the dark god Shivar himself... This 44-page occult saga, which transports us from the dark woods of ancient Brittany to the swanky haunts of London's high society, is brilliantly illustrated by renowned Argentinean artist Mauro Lirussi.

Collects Marvel Spotlight (1971) #3-4; Werewolf By Night (1972) #1, #3 And #15; Tomb Of Dracula (1972) #18-19; Marvel Chillers #1-2; Avengers (1963) #185-187; Doctor Strange (1974) #59-62, #67 and Q Thor (1966) #332-333 and material From Dracula Lives #6; Amazing Spider-Man Annual #22; X-Men Annual (1970) #12 and Doctor Strange, Sorcerer Supreme #9-13 and #15. Learn the hidden history of Marvel's most terrifying tome! Penned by the elder god Chthon and containing the blackest of magic, could the Darkhold be responsible for the Werewolf by Night's curse? Jack Russell's quest for the truth leads him into conflict with...Dracula! Modred the Mystic dared to learn the Darkhold's secrets, but he spells trouble for the Avengers when Chthon chooses Scarlet Witch as the vessel for his rebirth! And Doctor Strange attempts to use the Darkhold to destroy all vampires - as Thor battles Dracula!