Hardcover sales of more than 70,000 copies have made the Encyclopedia of Things That Never Were a classic illustrated reference to myths and legends from all corners of the world. Here—culled from mythology, literature, and folk tales—is the mystical realm that has populated humanity's imagination for centuries. Over 400 entries, engagingly written and organized by type of entity, make this a complete source of information and a visual feast. Among the entries are: from "The Cosmos," Quetzalcoatl and Scorpio; from "The Ground and Underground," centaurs, elves, and unicorns; from "Wonderland," Atlantis and El Dorado; from "Magic, Science, and Invention," flying carpets and the Trojan horse; from "Water, Sky, and Air," Pegasus and Moby-Dick; and from "The Night," a host of shuddersome creatures from vampires to the golem. This is a wild and wondrous gift for any visionary.

In 24 never-before-seen paintings, best-selling fantasy artist Brian Froud interprets the ancient and mystical runes of Celtic and European origin through Elfland, a world of faeries and myth. Each painting is inspired by a specific rune, richly symbolic and potent icons open to infinite interpretations. In the hands of the exceptional folklorist and poet Ari Berk, the secret meanings of these runes are revealed and their power is made manifest. In the pages of this book a single symbol provides the visual key to a host of mythic stories, lands, and adventures. By using the runes and Froud's paintings as tools to explore both the "seen" and the "unseen" world, readers of The Runes of Elfland will be inspired to reimagine their own lives and tell their own tales. Both storybook and oracle, Runes of Elfland provides a wellspring of personal insight for the Froud fan and the Faery aficionado.

Did you ever wonder where all those mischievous vampires roaming the globe in Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles came from? In this, the third book in the series, we find out. That raucous rock-star vampire Lestat interrupts the 6,000-year slumber of the mama of all bloodsuckers, Akasha, Queen of the Damned.

 Akasha was once the queen of the Nile (she has a bit in common with the Egyptian goddess Isis), and it's unwise to rile her now that she's had 60 centuries of practice being undead. She is so peeved about male violence that she might just have to kill most of them. And she has her eye on handsome Lestat with other ideas as well.

 If you felt that the previous books in the series weren't gory and erotic enough, this one should quench your thirst (though it may cause you to omit organ meats from your diet). It also boasts God's plenty of absorbing lore that enriches the tale that went before, including the back-story of the boy in Interview with the Vampire and the ancient fellowship of the Talamasca, which snoops on paranormal phenomena. Mostly, the book spins the complex yarn of Akasha's eerie, brooding brood and her nemeses, the terrifying sisters Maharet and Mekare. In one sense, Queen of the Damned is the ultimate multigenerational saga. —Tim Appelo

An exploration of the trappings of violence and the failings of memory, Violent Cases marks the beginning of the astonishing and award-winning collaboration between author Neil Gaiman and the artist Dave McKean, offered in its first Dark Horse edition, in softcover format with cover flaps. Set only in the memory of its author, this brillant short story meanders through levels of recollection surrounding a childhood injury. After dislocating his arm, a young boy is taken to see a doctor - an aged osteopath who was once the doctor of legendary gangster Al Capone. Through studied observations and painstaking attempts at truthful recall, the author reconstructs his tattered memories of the events surrounding his meeting with the doctor, and delves into the psychological complexities that emerged from the doctor's bizarre tales of Capone's life of crime. Gorgeously illustrated in mixed media by Dave McKean, Violent Cases is a sensuous and thought-provoking meditation on our memories.

For centuries, the ceremonial evocation of spiritual beings has been Magic's darkest corner. Reputed to fulfill the Magician's material desires, evocation has been the topic of the most famous Grimoires—-the Grammars of Magic. From the Sworn Book of Honorius the Magician, to the Greater Key of Solomon and the Goetia; from the Grand Grimoire, to the complete treatise of the Lemegeton, all give direct, yet difficult, directions to the individual desiring to have the 'good life' in the here-and-now.

 But the simplest of Grimoires, the Heptameron of Peter de Abano, has escaped the attention of modern Ceremonialists. Its simplicity and power in summoning the Aerial Spirits is second to none.

 Ceremonial Magic lays bare the operation of the Heptameron. Its Magical Axioms, extensive Commentaries, copious notes, and personal instructions to the reader—-all gained from Dr. Lisiewski's forty-years of study and practice in Ceremonial Magic—-make this a resource that no serious student of Magic can afford to be without. It is all here, as in no other Grimoire. Use its instructions and the world of evocation and personal gratification are well within your grasp!

Cole Gibson is haunted by vivid and terrifying nightmares that cripple his career and alienate his family. He soon discovers his dreams are merely doorways into a separate, hidden level of reality populated by beings beyond imagining. The menacing forces lurking in this realm crave one prize above all - Cole Gibson's soul.

Under New Managementfinds The Authority facing two possibly dire losses: the death of their sardonic leader Jenny Sparks, and worse, the departure of the founding creative team of Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch. Breathe a sigh of relief as the baton of Wide-Screen Pandemonium is seamlessly passed to newcomers Mark Millar and Frank Quitely. Ellis and Hitch complete their acclaimed run with the superb Outer Darkin which the team face off, to all intents and purposes, "God"- returned to Earth after aeons to reclaim its home and forcibly evict the unexpected human "infestation". God's malevolent reappearance at the dawn of 2000 also coincides with the end of Jenny Spark's role as The Spirit of the 20th century. Ellis crafts a fitting (and supremely subversive) swan-song for Jenny that sees her go out fighting as well as offing Our Maker "US Execution style". The Nativityfinds the new creative team grappling with the series' two new intriguing strands: The Authority's new found celebrity and what happens when the Spirit of the 20th century moves in to the 21st. As far as a diabolical super-genius and his legions of super-soldiers are concerned, it's the chance to mould the future. Millar has retained the series' signature cynicism and humour while Quitely sensibly doesn't ape Hitch, his own action-friendly style ensuring the series' hectic pace. So, dispense with the doubts: it's still the best superhero series for quite some time and one that has managed to keep it's promise of being the comic with a $100 million budget every issue. —Danny Graydon

A take of retribution and deception, HELLBLAZER chronicles the final battle between the sorcerer John Constantine and the lord of the underworld.

Paul Pope brings a quiet, old-school sensibility to noisy, postmodern comics with Heavy Liquid. This graphic novel, set in the late 21st century, focuses on all the classic elements of detective and adventure stories: lost love, mysterious clients, a package everyone wants, and a tired, barely willing protagonist. The narrative details—such as the eponymous liquid, which is part munition, part drug, and much stranger than any character imagines—are calculated to foil the reader's assumptions, and the expressionistic artwork blends simple colors with bold lines to draw the eyes onward. It seems safe to say that cyberpunk's not dead. —Rob Lightner