Long ago in ANOTHER galaxy farther away... Rod Espinosa, the creator of Courageous Princess, strikes back, bringing a new hope with a tale of stalwart steampunk sovereign! The empire has sent its best assassins to kill the last of the warriors of light. But they are in for a rude surprise when they take on one light warrior too many!

The steam-driven sinister imperial forces threaten innocent lives, but a renegade royal stands in their way! Aided by the principles of the Quantum Dragoons, she stands boldly as proof that, on the side of Good, there is no "weaker sex"!

There is blood in the sky. Blood and fire. Nothing can stand against the ironclad airships of the Crimson Empire. They are the mightiest sky dreadnoughts ever devised, and the Free Realms crumble before them. A brave young band of pilots must rise to meet a storm of steel, but courage is not enough. The fate of the world rests in the hands of the STRIKE LEADER.

Life isn't easy for young Orion. The conflict between his powerful home world of Salusia and its long-time enemy, the Zardon forces, is over, but now he has to adjust to... high school on Earth! A pushy-but-affectionate ninja, a haughty Zardon beauty, and a lovely soul-sucking demon are only the start of his troubles! Ben Dunn, the Godfather of American Manga, is ready to school you again!

Not so long ago in a galaxy relatively close by, a ragged alliance of rebels engages in an epic struggle to free their world from the grip of LORD BARON and the HEGEMONIC CRUX. Having stolen the formula for WARP COAL, the secret fuel of the enemy dreadnoughts DUCHESS IMOEN flees for her life. She then stumbles across her only hope: BO, the last of the legendary storm foil warriors known as the QUANTUM DRAGOONS-and Lord Baron's son!

The Duchesses tells the story of the â??Princess Coronationâ?? class of locomotives -the streamlined embodiments of raw, bulked-up muscle and formidable power that any enthusiast will tell you were the finest steam engines in Britain. Conceived of by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway to rival the LNERâ??s illustrious â??A4 Pacificsâ??, these trains heralded in the last golden age of steam. Designed by the great William Stanier, theirs is a story of grand beginnings, a slow trajectory of decline and a recent, celebrated rebirth. Today, there are two â??Duchessesâ?? still in existence: Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Sutherland are now restored to their original streamlined appearance. As The Duchessesâ?? beautiful cover illustration suggests, these Coronation locomotives were beautiful to behold; truly majestic feats of engineering. Andrew Rodenâ??s book tells the story of their time in British Railways service; the classâ?? decommissioning in the 1960s; the extraordinary saga of two trainsâ?? unlikely preservation by Billy Butlin at his holiday camps; and their eventual return to steam on the main line. The Duchesses completes a trilogy of railway books from Aurum, joining Mallard - the story of the worldâ??s fastest steam locomotive - and Flying Scotsman â??that of the worldâ??s most famous.

May the Force be with you, in the mighty Marvel manner! The classic original Star Wars comic-book series begins with an action-packed adaptation of Episode IV A New Hope, then continues the story of Luke Skywalker and his rebel friends as they fight on against the Empire in the dark shadow of Darth Vader! New planets and new perils await - like the Cloud Riders, the Behemoth and the space pirate Crimson Jack. Han and Chewie need six allies to make eight against a world - and one of them will be cult hero Jaxxon! Luke and the droids end up trapped on a Doomworld! And the Big Game will pit rebel against rebel! COLLECTING: STAR WARS (1977) 1-23; MATERIAL FROM PIZZAZZ 1-16.

“THAT’S NO MOON.” –Obi-Wan Kenobi The Death Star’s name says it all, with bone-chilling accuracy. It is a virtual world unto itself–equipped with uncanny power for a singularly brutal purpose: to obliterate entire planets in the blink of an eye. Its annihilation of the planet Alderaan, at the merciless command of Grand Moff Tarkin, lives in infamy. And its own ultimate destruction, at the hands of Luke Skywalker, is the stuff of legend. But what is the whole story, and who are the players, behind the creation of this world-killing satellite of doom? The near extermination of the Jedi order cleared the way for Palpatine–power-hungry Senator and Sith Lord–to seize control of the Republic, declare himself Emperor, and usher in a fearsome, totalitarian regime. But even with the dreaded Darth Vader enforcing Palpatine’s sinister will, the threat of rebellion still looms. And the Emperor knows that only abject fear–and the ability to punish dissent with devastating consequences–can ensure his unchallenged control of the galaxy. Enter ambitious and ruthless government official Wilhuff Tarkin, architect of the Emperor’s terrifying dream come true. From inception to completion, construction of the unprecedented Death Star is awash in the intrigues, hidden agendas, unexpected revelations, and daring gambits of those involved on every level. The brightest minds and boldest egos, the most ambitious and corrupt, the desperate and the devious, all have a stake in the Death Star–and its potential to control the fate of the galaxy. Soldiers and slaves, loyalists and Rebels, spies and avengers, the innocent and the evil–all their paths and fates will cross and intertwine as the Death Star moves from its maiden voyage to its final showdown. And a shadowy chapter of Star Wars history is stunningly illuminated in a thrilling, unforgettable adventure. Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

Created by the best and boldest contemporary crossword constructors, these 50 never-before-published puzzles provide clever and stimulating challenges for solvers at every level. Spiral bound.