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Greetings ToW-Patrol, This week marks the return to print of a scarce gem in the annals of super-heroic reference works: The Encyclopedia Of Comic Book Heroes Volume 1 Featuring Batman! Written by comics historian Michael Fleischer, this 416-page black & white tome contains everything you ever wanted to know about DC's Dark Knight - his allies, enemies, his weapons in his war on crime, and so much more! Originally published in 1976, this extensive volume - the first in a series which will see companion volumes for both Wonder Woman (available for preorder) and Superman (available soon for preorder) - chronicles in painstaking detail the first 26 years of Batman's career, spanning over 1000 separate adventures from 1939-1965. If you're into the comics-history scene (like me), this is a must-have. And if the line is successful, perhaps we'll someday see the originally planned but never-published Captain Marvel/Plastic Man/Spirit, Green Lantern, Flash, and Dr. Fate/Hawkman/Starman/Spectre volumes. There was also a Captain America/Sub-Mariner/Human Torch one in the works, but that's going to be up to Marvel to publish someday, obviously. Ah, a comic-history buff can dream, can't he?

Have fun, Brett Lord, Sales Manager ToW Intergalactic Headquarters - Atlanta, GA email: brett at talesofwonder.com

New Releases 5/23 - Graphic Novels Marvel * Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol 1 HC: $52.49 * Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol 1 HC Var Ed: $74.99 - out of print! * Black Panther Civil War TP: $12.59 * Marvel 1602 Fantastick Four TP: $10.49 * Doctor Strange Oath TP: $9.79 * Hellstorm Son Of Satan Equinox TP (Mature Readers): $12.59 * Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Vol 3 My Secret Life Digest TP: $5.59 * Marvel Spotlight Fantastic Four: $2.99 DC * Action Heroes Archives Vol 2 HC: $52.49 * Encyclopedia Of Comicbook Heroes Vol 1 Batman TP: $13.99 * Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators TP: $9.09 * Other Side TP (Mature Readers): $9.09 Other * Savage Dragon Archives Vol 2 TP: $15.99 * Neal Adams Sketches SC : $15.99 * Legend Of Grimjack Vol 7 TP: $19.99 * Berserk Vol 17 TP (Mature Readers) : $11.19 * Fear Agent Re-Igntion Vol 1 TP : $11.16 * Fell Vol 1 Feral City TP: $11.96 * Arf Forum SC: $15.99 * Csi Case Files Vol 2 TP : $15.99 * Dork Tower Coll Vol 1 Dork Covenant TP New Ptg: $7.99 * Dork Tower Coll Vol 2 Dork Shadows TP New Ptg: $7.99 * Dork Tower Coll Vol 3 Heart Of Dorkness TP New Ptg: $7.99

New Releases 5/23 - Statues

Wonder Woman Linda Carter Statue - $146.29 No one embodies the spirit and beauty of Wonder Woman more than Lynda Carter, the actress who portrayed her on the beloved television series! She will forever be the vision forged in a generation's memory as the quintessential Wonder Woman. For the first time ever, DC Direct has teamed up with Lynda Carter to bring you a must-have piece to every fan's Wonder Woman collection. This limited edition, hand-painted cold-cast porcelain statue is packaged in a four-color box, includes a four-color Certificate of Authenticity and measures approximately 13' high x 7.5' wide x 7.5' deep. Don't miss out on this one-of-a-kind collectible!

Star Wars Zuckuss Mini Bust - $50.00 Zuckuss was one of the deadly trackers that answered Lord Darth Vader’s call to find the Millennium Falcon after the Battle of Hoth. A bounty hunter of few words, Zuckuss is a short, stocky being with a grubby robe, and a number of breather tanks affixed to his head.

Lord of the Rings Gandalf Bust - $37.49 Gandalf is the guide, mentor, and wisend sage to the people of Middle-earth. It was through his insight that the Fellowship of the Ring set out on it's quest to Mordor. The Gandalf mini-bust has a light-up feature, stands 7.5' tall and is made of poly-resin. Comes with a hand-numbered Certificate of Authenticity.

New Releases Full Description - Graphic Novels

Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol 1 HC - $52.49 Written by STAN LEE. Penciled by JOHN BUSCEMA with JACK KIRBY. Cover by JOHN BUSCEMA. Variant Painted Cover by ESAD RIBIC. Born by the hand of the world-devourer, Galactus, Norrin Radd sacrificed himself to save his home planet and his true love, Shalla-Bal, but the price of their lives was servitude to the mighty Galactus - as his herald, the Silver Surfer! Now, exiled upon Earth, he struggles to understand the beauty and humanity of mortal men, and nobly seeks to heal the rifts that separate man from his brothers. Created by the titanic team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR, the Silver Surfer went on to become one of the most-beloved characters in all comicdom. Embodying the mind-blowing concepts of Kirby and Stan's socially conscious writing craft, the Surfer's stories expressed their creative vision in staggering and unique tales. Another talent would touch the character, however, granting him a soul-wrenching humanity that helped define him to this very day: the one and only John Buscema! A master of the craft, Buscema's Silver Surfer is considered by many to be the peak of comic-book art. Now, the original adventures of the Silver Surfer are presented in one complete volume! Containing every story and letters page, restored and recolored to match the original issues, plus behind-the-scenes bonuses and critical essays, this book is the guaranteed way to get in on the character in the upcoming Fantastic Four film! Collecting SILVER SURFER #1-18. 576 PGS.

Silver Surfer Omnibus Vol 1 HC Var Ed - $74.99 Out of print! Written by STAN LEE. Penciled by JOHN BUSCEMA with JACK KIRBY. Cover by JOHN BUSCEMA. Variant Painted Cover by ESAD RIBIC. Born by the hand of the world-devourer, Galactus, Norrin Radd sacrificed himself to save his home planet and his true love, Shalla-Bal, but the price of their lives was servitude to the mighty Galactus - as his herald, the Silver Surfer! Now, exiled upon Earth, he struggles to understand the beauty and humanity of mortal men, and nobly seeks to heal the rifts that separate man from his brothers. Created by the titanic team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the pages of FANTASTIC FOUR, the Silver Surfer went on to become one of the most-beloved characters in all comicdom. Embodying the mind-blowing concepts of Kirby and Stan's socially conscious writing craft, the Surfer's stories expressed their creative vision in staggering and unique tales. Another talent would touch the character, however, granting him a soul-wrenching humanity that helped define him to this very day: the one and only John Buscema! A master of the craft, Buscema's Silver Surfer is considered by many to be the peak of comic-book art. Now, the original adventures of the Silver Surfer are presented in one complete volume! Containing every story and letters page, restored and recolored to match the original issues, plus behind-the-scenes bonuses and critical essays, this book is the guaranteed way to get in on the character in the upcoming Fantastic Four film! Collecting SILVER SURFER #1-18. 576 PGS.

Black Panther Civil War TP - $12.59 Written by REGINALD HUDLIN. Penciled by SCOT EATON, MANUEL GARCIA & KOI TURNBULL. Cover by MICHAEL TURNER. The Royal Couple, King T'Challa and Queen Ororo, embark on a diplomatic tour that will have them spanning the globe - and beyond! Stops include Latveria (Dr. Doom), the Moon (Black Bolt and the Inhumans), Atlantis (Namor the Sub-Mariner) and the CIVIL WAR-ravaged United States, for a meeting with none other than the point man for the U.S. government's implementation of the Super Human Registration Act: Tony Stark, T'Challa's former Avengers teammate. Will the Black Panther and Storm decide to get off the sidelines of the CIVIL WAR and get involved? Collecting BLACK PANTHER #19-25. 168 PGS./Rated T+.

Marvel 1602 Fantastick Four TP - $10.49 Written by PETER DAVID. Penciled by PASCAL ALIXE. Cover by GABRIELE DELL'OTTO. Doom returns! The Four from the Fantastik's greatest enemy has an insidious plan that takes them to the ends of the Earth! Peter David (FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, X-FACTOR) takes the reins with superstar artist-to-be Pascal Alixe (Superman, The Legion) for the eagerly awaited spin-off from Neil Gaiman's 1602. What does Doom want? Why doesn't Invisible Woman want to fight him? And what does Shakespeare have to do with it? Collecting MARVEL 1602: FANTASTICK FOUR #1-5. 120 PGS./Rated T+.

Doctor Strange Oath TP - $9.79 Written by BRIAN K. VAUGHAN. Penciled by MARCOS MARTIN. Cover by MARCOS MARTIN. Doctor Stephen Strange embarks on the most important paranormal investigation of his career, as he sets out to solve an attempted murder - his own! And with his most trusted friend also at death's door, Strange turns to an unexpected corner of the Marvel Universe to recruit a new ally. Eisner Award-winning writer Brian K. Vaughan (RUNAWAYS, Y: The Last Man) and red-hot artist Marcos Martin (CAPTAIN AMERICA, Batgirl: Year One) join forces for an adventure that will take the Sorcerer Supreme from the underworld of New York City to the deadliest dimensions on the outskirts of reality - while firmly establishing him in the current Marvel Universe and setting him up to join a surprising new team! Collecting DOCTOR STRANGE: THE OATH #1-5. 120 PGS./Rated T+.

Hellstorm Son Of Satan Equinox TP (Mature Readers) - $12.59 Written by ALEXANDER IRVINE. Penciled by RUSSELL BRAUN. Cover by ARTHUR SUYDAM. When the Son of Satan is your best option, God help you. New Orleans. The Big Easy. The membrane between our world and the underworld has always been a little thinner here. Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the outpouring of human misery has drawn demons like sharks to a bloodbath. What better time for Daimon Hellstrom - a.k.a. the Son of Satan - to pay a visit? It starts with the doctor who delivers a baby that vanishes into the night. A doctor who is devoured by demons wearing New Orleans P.D. badges. Demons who work for someone - or something - -that's descended on the Big Easy and doesn't give a damn who Hellstorm or his father is. Something that's harvesting body parts in a furious race toward unspeakable purposes. This is the Son of Satan as you've never seen him before, brought to you by acclaimed novelist Alexander Irvine (The Narrows), with searing art by Russell Braun (Animal Man) and Klaus Janson. Collecting HELLSTORM: SON OF SATAN #1-5. 120 PGS.

Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane Vol 3 My Secret Life Digest TP - $5.59 MY SECRET LIFE DIGEST Written by SEAN MCKEEVER. Penciled by TAKESHI MIYAZAWA. Cover by TAKESHI MIYAZAWA. The series SpiderFan.org's Patrick Gadrow calls 'a breath of fresh air' continues! You've watched Mary Jane's life progress through her eyes, now take a look at her through the eyes of her supporting cast. What do they think of her, especially now that she's...changed? And what does this change mean for her relationship with Peter Parker? Plus: Gwen Stacy has a problem with Peter, and MJ has a secret. Collecting SPIDER-MAN LOVES MARY JANE #11-15. 120 PGS.

Marvel Spotlight Fantastic Four - $2.99 Written by JOHN RHETT THOMAS. Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch and The Thing: Marvel's First Family has this month's MARVEL SPOTLIGHT all to themselves, with a comprehensive look at the House of Ideas' flagship comic! It was November 1961 when the first issue of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's innovative new take on super heroes hit the newsstands. Since then, the World's Greatest Comic has gone on strong for more than 540 issues, and dozens of spin-offs and mini-series! Look for interviews with the writers and artists who have worked on the FF, in both the past and the present, along with special features and preview materials. It's 48 pages full of Fantastic Four! 48 PGS.

Action Heroes Archives Vol 2 HC - $52.49 Written by David Kaler, Roger Stern, Michael Uslan and various. Art by Steve Ditko, Alex Toth and various. Cover by Ditko Collecting classic stories by master artist Steve Ditko from the pages of CAPTAIN ATOM #83-89, BLUE BEETLE #1-5, MYSTERIOUS SUSPENSE #1 and CHARLTON BULLSEYE #1, 2 and 5, plus the title story intended for BLUE BEETLE #6 (published in CHARLTON PORTFOLIO #9-10) as well as an 8-page Question story by Alex Toth and a foreword by Charlton's then-editor Dick Giordano. 384 pg, FC.

Encyclopedia Of Comicbook Heroes Vol 1 Batman TP - $13.99 Written by Michael Fleischer. Art by various. Everything you ever wanted to know about DC's Dark Knight - and so much more - can be found in this amazing volume, brought back into print for the first time in 30 years! Originally published in 1976, this extensive volume - the first in a series - includes everything you could want to know about Batman, his allies and enemies, weapons in his war on crime and his adventures from the 1930s to the 1970s! 416 pg, B&W.

Superman Batman Vs Aliens Predators TP - $9.09 Written by Mark Schultz. Art and cover by Ariel Olivetti. DC's greatest icons, Superman and Batman, clash with the stars of the blockbuster Aliens and Predator movies from Twentieth Century Fox in a no-holds-barred slugfest the likes of which the universe has never seen! This volume, co-published with Dark Horse Comics, collects the acclaimed 2-issue miniseries featuring the battle of the century! 112 pg, FC.

Other Side TP (Mature Readers) - $9.09 Written by Jason Aaron. Art and cover by Cameron Stewart. A new volume collecting the hard-hitting, acclaimed miniseries examining life on opposing sides of the Vietnam War through the eyes of two young men: Bill Everette, an Alabama farm boy who's been drafted into the Marine Corps, and Vietnamese farmer Vo Dai, who enlists in the People's Army of Vietnam to fulfill his duty to his country. This volume features loads of behind-the-scenes extras, including an introduction by Captain Dale Dye. 144 pg, FC.

Savage Dragon Archives Vol 2 TP - $15.99 This volume kicks off with an all-out gang war in the streets of Chicago and builds to the destruction of the planet Earth itself! Dragon goes from cop to corpse and to hell and back. Featuring the birth of Dragon's son. The death and rebirth of Darklord and Dragon's ascension to the head of Special Operations Strikeforce. Guest-starring Spawn, Hellboy, the Maxx, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and God. Collects SAVAGE DRAGON #22-50.

Neal Adams Sketches SC - $15.99 by Neal Adams. Peer into the mind of one of the comic medium's most celebrated creators! Neal Adams Sketches packs 48-pages of largely unseen Adams work between color covers. Each page is dense with the superlative layouts and variant cover layouts that have defined a career that has kept his work in print and in constant demand for over 30 years.

Legend Of Grimjack Vol 7 TP - $19.99 IDW continues their re-presentation of the entire First Comics GrimJack saga, in order. This seventh volume covers issues #38-46, plus 'Rough Trade,' a Munden's Bar story from issues #44-46. Written by co-creator John Ostrander and featuring art by Tom Mandrake. Co-creator Timothy Truman provides another all-new cover, too!

Berserk Vol 17 TP (Mature Readers) - $11.19 Renegade devil-slayer Guts, the Black Swordsman, may be the bane of the demonic realm, but the citizenry of Midland, the kingdom he formerly served, aren't exactly members of his fan club, either. When the holier-than-thou Knights of the Holy Iron Chain capture Guts and decide to whip (literally) some repentance into him, Guts develops a few ideas of his own . . . like taking the Iron Chain's leader hostage and showing her that when Hell comes calling, the only thing worth praying for is a sword! Created by Kentaro Miura, Berserk is an out-of-control manga flashfire, a searing epic of blazing action, blasphemous horror, and black humor that has left scorched earth and toasted readers in its fiery wake. Burn, baby, burn! Comes shrink wrapped and carries an 18+ content advisory.

Fear Agent Re-Igntion Vol 1 TP - $11.16 When down-and-out alien exterminator, Heath Huston stumbles upon an extraterrestrial legion of amoebas preparing to annihilate the Earth, he's forced to choose between the bottle and resuming his role as a peacekeeper, as The Last Fear Agent. Heath's former band of soldiers, the Fear Agents was comprised of a group of the last remaining humans on Earth, whose sworn duty was the protection of their homeworld against alien invaders. A number of years after preventing a large-scale invasion of Earth, the Fear Agents were all slaughtered in a mysterious incident. Written by critically acclaimed scribe Rick Remender (Sea of Red; Strange Girl) and drawn by Eisner nominated artist Tony Moore (The Walking Dead; Exterminators). Collecting Fear Agent #1-4.

Fell Vol 1 Feral City TP - $11.96 Detective Richard Fell is transferred over the bridge from the big city to Snowtown, a feral district whose police investigations department numbers three and a half people (one detective has no legs). Dumped in this collapsing urban trashzone, Richard Fell is starting all over again. In a place where nothing seems to make any sense, Fell clings to the one thing he knows to be true: Everybody's hiding something. Collects FELL #1-8.

Arf Forum SC - $15.99 edited by Craig Yoe. The third volume of the popular Arf series, Arf Forum runs the gamut of Krazy Kat's kartoonist George Herriman to heartbreak rocker Elvis, Spider-Man's Stan Lee to New Yorker cartoonist Otto Soglow, Little Nemo's Winsor McCay to silent film star Charlie Chaplin, Nancy's Ernie Bushmiller to Surrealist Max Ernst.

Csi Case Files Vol 2 TP - $15.99 Steven Grant, Kris Oprisko (w), Gabriel Rodriquez, Stephen Mooney (a) CSI Case Files: Volume Two collects three full-length original CSI comic book miniseries-CSI: Dominos, CSI: Secret Identity, and CSI: Dying in the Gutters-in one specially priced volume. Presented in black & white and printed on newsprint, this second volume offers over 300 pages of comics based on the top-rated TV show.

Dork Tower Coll Vol 1 Dork Covenant TP New Ptg - $7.99 by John Kovalic. Give In To The Dork Side at a new low price celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dork Tower! Lurking in the dork shadows, you'll find Matt, Igor, Ken, Gilly the Perky Goth, and Carson the Muskrat. Whether you're a goth, a gamer, an SF fan, a comics fanboy, a computer wonk, or a mundane, you'll recognize them all! Dork Tower is a worldwide hit amongst geeks and non-geeks alike!

Dork Tower Coll Vol 2 Dork Shadows TP New Ptg - $7.99 Give In To The Dork Side at a new low price celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dork Tower! Lurking in the dork shadows, you'll find Matt, Igor, Ken, Gilly the Perky Goth and Carson the Muskrat. Whether you're a goth, a gamer, an SF fan, a comics fanboy, a computer wonk or a mundane, you'll recognize them all! Dork Tower is a worldwide hit amongst geeks and non-geeks alike! Make Dork Shadows the brightest spot in your comics collection!

Dork Tower Coll Vol 3 Heart Of Dorkness TP New Ptg - $7.99 Midnight in the Garden of Lawful Good and Chaotic Evil! Bask in glorious geekdom at a new low price, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Dork Tower! From goths, gamers, and Trekkers to Renaissance Fairies and mundanes, Dork Tower covers the world of Dorkness like nobody else! So have another heaping helping of geekdom that anybody can enjoy as the Dork Tower gang tries to discover the Heart of Dorkness!

May Advance Orders The May advance order products are now available for preorder (credit cards aren't charged until release): -- May Graphic Novels -- May Statues and Busts Marvel-ous Graphic Novels Sale! Bowen Blowout Sale! Weta Kong & Narnia Statue Liquidation Free Shipping Free shipping for book orders over $99. Tales of Wonder Gift Certificates Give the gift of Wonder - gift certificates to buy comic book merchandise. Visit our newsletter archive to see the online version of this newsletter.