DAN DARE, PILOT OF THE FUTURE: ROGUE PLANET. It's chocks away once again as Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future, returns! First published in classic British comic Eagle, this is perhaps the most seminal adventure of one of Britain's best-loved characters, presented in a gorgeous library edition. Dan, Lex and Digby - with their alien guide Lero - finally make planetfall on Cryptos, but Flamer is missing. Unfortunately, there's no time to search for him, as the Phant invasion has begun! With a new friend - the alien creature Stripey - in tow, our heroes begin a dangerous quest to stop the Phants... a quest which will take them to the Phant homeworld, and a showdown with their leader, Orak! Can Dan and his crew fight a desperate battle to save two worlds? See my editorial for more about Dan Dare - this is one of the best publishing ventures this century, but unless you're looking for it, you'll be hard-pressed to find it in a hight street bookshop. This shouldn't be a collector's item, but should be readily available to pick up and browse in all the major booksellers.

COMMANDOS: ANZACS AT WAR ~ No collection of Commando war stories, the very best in action and adventure, although born and bred in Britain, would be complete without plenty of issues resounding to phrases like 'cobber', 'drongo' or 'pom'. Yes, the Aussies and Kiwis are here, and they're about to put in a two-fisted, explosive performance. You'd expect no less from these larger-than-life characters that are guaranteed to bring out the best in any action-packed Commando yarn. For everyone whose comic-book battle lust has ever been stirred by Nazi cries of 'Auslander schweinhund!' or Japanese shrieks of 'Banzai!' Anzacs at War will transport them right back into fictional combat situations they'd forgotten were so entertaining, and a whole new generation can discover how Commando turns ordinary men into heroes. I am simply amazed by the quality of the illustrations in this and the volume below. Page after page of perfect pictures to accompany some simply great stories about Aussies and New Zealanders, not just during WWII but going back into history before that. First class entertainment, absolutely terrific.

WAR PICTURE LIBRARY: UNLEASH HELL! ~ In all its grim glory, the Second World War is brought to life in 12 of the grittiest war dramas ever committed to paper. War Picture Library was the daddy of them all - the first pocket library and for many fans, the best. The conflict that engulfed Europe forced ordinary men to give up their safe, happy lives and fight for freedom against an enemy who had been preparing for war for years. Debuting in 1958, War Picture Library celebrated the heroic actions of the Allies as they fought back on land, at sea and in the air. No theatre of conflict was ignored. Written by authors who had themselves seen combat, from the baking deserts of Africa to the steaming jungles of the Far East, these complete stories gave youngsters growing up in the years after the war an answer to the question, What did you do in the war, daddy? Gathered here is some of the most striking war art ever produced, reproduced 25 per cent bigger than the originals so you can feel every bullet hit, every crashing wave and every nerve shattering explosion. This is military history as you've never read it before.

SUPERMAN CHRONICLES VOLUME 3 (DC COMICS Softback) Written by Jerry Siegel; Art by Joe Shuster and others; Cover by Shuster. The third volume collecting the adventures of Superman in chronological order! In this volume, collecting ACTION COMICS #21-25, SUPERMAN #4-5 and NEW YORK WORLD'S FAIR 1940, the Man of Steel has early encounters with Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, and more!  Superman  |  192pg.  |  Color  |  Softcover  |  $14.99 US  |  ISBN 140121374X It's just pure joy to re-read these classic Superman adventures - I sometimes wonder if the new generation of comics has lost its way - the writing and the drawing in this volume are simply superb.

ALAN MOORE: THE COMPLETE WILDC.A.T.S. (Wildstorm Comics Softback) Written by Alan Moore; Art by Travis Charest, Mat Broome, Ryan Benjamin and others; Cover by Charest. Alan Moore is considered by many to be the finest comics writer of the last quarter century. His standout achievements in the medium include WATCHMEN, V FOR VENDETTA, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN, and From Hell. Now Moore's defining run on WildC.A.T.s is collected into a single volume, collecting WILDC.A.T.S. #21-34, plus a story from issue #50, featuring the impressive art of Travis Charest and other fine artists who provide breathtaking visuals. Alan Moore took the WILDC.A.T.S back to their roots and stirred up the WildStorm Universe considerably, creating a perfect starting point for catching up the flagship WildStorm superhero team. It's a tale filled with unsettling revelations and gripping drama — and the introduction of one of WildStorm's great villains: Tao! Moore's characters and plots are terrific - the illustration is superb and the stories all great

CATWOMAN: IT'S ONLY A MOVIE (DC Comics Softback) Written by Will Pfeifer; Art by David Lopez and Alvaro Lopez Cover by Adam Hughes. The father of Catwoman's baby is revealed in this explosive collection featuring CATWOMAN #59-65! See the fallout from Catwoman's murder of Black Mask, including the horrible price she paid for vengeance and why she chose to bring a baby into the world. Plus, Selina pays a visit to Superman's hometown, Metropolis! For once, a Catwoman volume I can really enjoy because of the high quality of the illustration! Excellent

The Angelus Descends Upon Pilot Season! The Force of Light Rises From First Born & Flies Into Pilot Season! Top Cow Productions announced today the upcoming release of The Angelus Pilot Season #1, which is the fifth release in the Pilot Season promotion. Pilot Season takes six established characters and puts them each in a self-contained “pilot issue” by different all star creative teams. Once all six issues have been released, fans will be able to vote through MySpace to determine which two characters will star in their own series in 2008! More than any of the other Pilot Season issues, The Angelus Pilot Season #1 will be impacted by the events of Top Cow’s summer event First Born. It’s fitting that the art chores will be handled by the painter who redefined The Angelus in First Born, Stjepan Sejic (Witchblade). Joining Sejic will be writer Ian Edgington (2000 AD, Warhammer: 40,000) who plans to delve right into the new relationship between The Angelus, the primal force of Light in the Top Cow Universe, and Celestine, the bi-polar adversary from Witchblade. Together the two characters are more than just the sum of their parts, but even as Celestine is gaining a long sought after sense of peace and The Angelus begins to question if she is more than simply a weapon of righteous wrath, they are confronted by Celestine’s dark past. Celestine is going to find out that you never turn your back on The Family!“It's been a pleasure and privilege to be invited to take part in Top Cow's Pilot Season. To expand on the characters of The Angelus and Celestine, to contribute to the Top Cow canon and top it off by being team-up with the peerless Stjepan Sejic. It really doesn't get any better than this!” stated writer Edgington. “I’m relatively new to the business and I’ve only worked with a handful of writers,” added painter Sejic, “But Ian’s writing is incredibly fluid and his story intriguing. He’s really adding fuel for me to do my thing and the final product should be have a distinctive mood to it.”

During their panel today at the Baltimore Comicon, Top Cow Productions announced that their latest artistic find Michael Broussard has signed a three year exclusive contract with the publisher. Broussard began his career in 2006 as one of the hopefuls selected during Top Cow’s Talent Search and studied under Top Cow founder Marc Silvestri in the Top Cow Studio. His first published work appeared in Civil War: The Initiative where he assisted Silvestri and was quickly followed by his first solo professional work in Unholy Union, an over-sized crossover between Top Cow and Marvel characters written by Ron Marz (First Born, Witchblade). Broussard so impressed Top Cow Vice President of Editorial Rob Levin that he was given his biggest assignment to date and one of the crown jewels of Top Cow’s publishing line, the new The Darkness ongoing written by Phil Hester (Green Arrow, Deep Sleeper). Broussard has signed an exclusive contract with Top Cow Productions for the next three years as part of Top Cow’s commitment to nurture and develop new talent and provide its fans with consistent creative teams on their two flagship titles, Witchblade and The Darkness. “Michael is one of those rare talents that is almost ready to go out of the box,” commented Levin, “We’re incredibly thrilled to have secured him for our fans on The Darkness for years to come. Fans are going to be blown away by what he and Phil Hester do on this title.”“For me committing to Top Cow for the next three years is like setting up that move to check mate the king in chess. Because I'm here to kick ass,” added Broussard.

Top Cow Productions is pleased to announce the fourth release in their Fall promotion, Pilot Season – The Necromancer Pilot Season #1. Pilot Season takes six established characters and puts them each in a self-contained “pilot issue” by different all star creative teams. Once all six issues have been released, fans will be able to vote online to determine which two characters will star in their own series in 2008! In The Necromancer Pilot Season #1 original series writer, Joshua Ortega (Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer, Star Trek: The Manga) returns to the character he helped create. Original series artist Francis Manapul (Iron & The Maiden, Legion of Super-heroes) graces the cover art and selected the new interior artist to continue his vision, Jonboy Meyers (Ninja Scroll). The Harvey nominated property picks up after the events in issue #6 of the original series, with Abby van Alstine investigating the events that brought her to this point. When she encounters a new monstrous evil that threatens to consume her, the story takes a turn towards a surprise ending that no one will see coming! “It's great to be back on The Necromancer and to get a chance to chronicle more of Abby's journey into the secret world of magic,” stated writer Ortega, “Necromancer is easily one of my favorite projects that I've ever worked on, and as I've said before, I've got about 50 issues planned for Abby and The Necromancer cast. So if we get a great response from the fans during Pilot Season, that'll bring us that much closer to seeing her story through!" “The Necromancer is definitely a serious contender in Pilot Season,” added Filip Sablik, Vice President of Marketing & Sales for Top Cow, “Joshua and Francis did a fantastic job building up a hard core fan following with the original series and I have no doubt those fans will get out there and campaign their hearts out for Necromancer to be one of the winners in Pilot Season.”

Witchblade #113 (W) Marz  (P) Sami Basri          (Cov)Mike Choi, Sami Basri. A new chapter in the Witchblade saga begins now! After the stunning events of FIRST BORN, who will be the bearer of the Witchblade? Will Sara Pezzini take up the ancient, powerful artifact again, or will Dani Baptiste retain it? The pieces for the most surprising year of Witchblade ever begin to come together here as both Sara and Dani head in new directions. FIRST BORN architect Ron Marz (ION, SAMURAI: HEAVEN AND EARTH) reunites with artist Sami Basri (JLA CLASSIFIED) for this new chapter in the Witchblade legacy.