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Greetings ToW-Patrol, I got no intro for you this week, loyal readers. Why? WHY? Because I was on Kid Duty tonight, my friends, which is kind of like JLA Monitor Duty, but with way more Chinese food and a STAR WARS marathon on HBO. So between impromptu lightsaber duels with my 5 year-old son and explaining the finer points of the Skywalker family tree to my 7 year-old daughter, then wrangling the slippery little Ewoks into bed...hey, I'm pooped. The usual ToW comic-book finery lies below, but if you're a STAR WARS geek like me and haven't yet seen the CLONE WARS trailer that Lucasfilm unveiled at this past weekend's Star Wars Celebration IV event in LA, then direct yourself to http://www.starwars.com/video/view/000478.html and feast your Force-starved soul. Me? I'm off to bed.

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

New Releases 5/23 - Graphic Novels Marvel * Ultimate Galactus Trilogy HC: $24.49 * Punisher Max Vol 3 HC: $20.99 * Fantastic Four The End Premiere HC: $13.99 * Civil War Companion TP: $9.79 * Avengers Next Rebirth TP: $9.79 * New X-Men Childhoods End Vol 4 TP: $7.69 EC (Gemstone) * EC Archives Shock Suspenstories Vol 2 HC : $39.99 DC * DC Comics Covergirls HC : $31.99 * 52 Volume 1 TP: $13.99 Dark Horse * Conan Hall Of The Dead & Other Stories Vol 4 TP : $12.79 * Star Wars 30th Anniv Coll TP Vol 4 Jango Fett Zam Wesell : $15.99 * Star Wars Panel To Panel Vol 2 HC : $15.99 * Fear Agent Vol 2 My War TP : $11.99 * Mary Scary HC : $7.99 Other * Percy Gloom HC: $15.19 * Just When You Thought It Couldnt Get Worse SC: $15.19 * Rabbis Cat SC : $13.59 * Boys Vol 1 TP (Mature Readers): $11.99

New Releases 5/23 - Statues

Mjolnir Hammer Of Thor Prop Replica - $262.49 A Diamond Select Release! With the inevitable return of the Mighty Thor, now is your only chance to get your hands on the mystical Mjolnir! Measuring 18' long by 8' wide, this hefty cast aluminum hammer includes a museum-quality acrylic display case with name plaque as well as a handle wrapped in the finest glove leather. Limited to 1000 pieces, each replica also features a hand-numbered box with matching Certificate of Authenticity.

Martian Manhunter 13 Inch Deluxe Figure - $52.49 Sole survivor of an ancient Martian race, J'onn J'onzz is the newest addition to DC Direct's line of realistically proportioned, super-heroic 1:6 scale figures! This deluxe collector figure comes clothed in an authentically detailed fabric costume,includes two interchangable heads, and includes a display stand. Packaged in a deluxe 4-color window box with a 5th panel.

New Releases Full Description - Graphic Novels

Ultimate Galactus Trilogy HC - $24.49 Written by WARREN ELLIS. Penciled by TREVOR HAIRSINE, STEVE EPTING, STEVE MCNIVEN, TOM RANEY & BRANDON PETERSON. Cover by BRANDON PETERSON. Super-scribe Warren Ellis chronicles the coming of Gah Lak Tus! This deluxe hardcover collects the entire Ultimate Galactus trilogy - ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE, ULTIMATE SECRET and ULTIMATE EXTINCTION - plus extras. In Ultimate Nightmare, world communications systems break down, and the source of the anomaly is revealed as Tanguska, Russia. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. leads a force comprised of Captain America, Black Widow and Sam Wilson to investigate; simultaneously, Charles Xavier of the X-Men dispatches his own team consisting of Jean Grey, Wolverine and Colossus. What they discover there - and what happens next - defies belief! In Ultimate Secret, a hidden alien race is trying desperately to keep man from reaching the stars. Cape Canaveral scientist Phillip Lawson, secretly a Kree soldier assigned to a mission on our planet, knows of the hideous plan and will use all his considerable power to stop it...the power of Captain Mahr Vehl! But his sudden betrayal may mean a swift doom for the Earth. Starring the Ultimates and the Ultimate Fantastic Four! And finally, in Ultimate Extinction, it's time for the coming of Gah Lak Tus! And his arrival could mean the end of all life on this planet! Not even the power of S.H.I.E.L.D. or the brilliance of Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards seems able to stop its inexorable march to Earth. What role do the Ultimate X-Men have in this drama? And who on Earth is Misty Knight and how does she know the fate of our world may rest with - Ultimate Silver Surfer? Collecting ULTIMATE NIGHTMARE #1-5, ULTIMATE SECRET #1-4 AND ULTIMATE EXTINCTION #1-5 and will also include Ultimate Vision #0. 368 PGS.

Punisher Max Vol 3 HC - $20.99 Written by GARTH ENNIS. Penciled by LEANDRO FERNANDEZ & GORAN PARLOV. Cover by TIM BRADSTREET. This deluxe hardcover collects Punisher MAX Vol. 5: The Slavers and Punisher MAX Vol. 6: Barracuda, plus extras. In The Slavers, Frank Castle brutally dispatches a crew of Albanian thugs menacing a young woman on a pitch-black Brooklyn night, in a dead-end alley. Her name is Viorica, she's from Moldavia, and when she tells Frank her story, that's when the real killing starts! And in Barracuda, the Punisher meets his match! Jigsaw, Ma Gnucci, the Russian - Frank has faced some fearsome foes in his day, but none as stone-cold rotten to the bone as the Barracuda. He's big, he's mean, and the last thing on earth you want is to see him smile. Collecting PUNISHER #25-36. 296 PGS.

Fantastic Four The End Premiere HC - $13.99 Written by ALAN DAVIS. Penciled by ALAN DAVIS. Cover by ALAN DAVIS. Alan Davis writes and pencils the final story of Marvel's first family! Even the strongest family can be torn apart by tragedy - and in the futuristic world of tomorrow, the members of the once-Fantastic Four are divided and vulnerable to opponents from their past. What events could have caused the FF to go their separate ways, and how does their disbanding set the stage for a conflict that will send shockwaves across the galaxy and beyond? Collecting FANTASTIC FOUR: THE END #1-6 144 PGS./Rated T+

Civil War Companion TP - $9.79 Written by PETER DAVID, J. MICHAEL STRACZYNSKI, CHRIS BAIOCCHI, JUSTIN GRAY, MARK GUGGENHEIM, DAVID HINE, JEROME MAIDA, JIM MCLAUCHLIN, CLIFFORD LAWRENCE METH, TERRY MORROW, BRIAN REED, MIKE SANGIACOMO, DAN SLOTT, ZEB WELLS, ANTHONY FLAMINI, STUART VANDAL, RONALD BYRD, MADISON CARTER, MICHAEL HOSKIN, CHRIS BIGGS, MARK O'ENGLISH, MIKE FICHERA & JOHN RHETT THOMAS. Penciled by SCOTT KOLINS & MIKE MAYHEW. Cover by STEVE MCNIVEN. The legislation has been passed. The battle lines have been drawn. The opening shots have been fired. Now, as the controversial Super Human Registration Act continues to divide America's super human community, go behind the lines of the Marvel Comics event starring Spider-Man, the New Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and the entirety of the Marvel pantheon! Featuring in-depth S.H.I.E.L.D. dossiers on the nation's most prominent super humans; behind-the-scenes coverage with CIVIL WAR planners Mark Millar and Steve McNiven; news, gossip, and opinions from the Daily Bugle, the very newspaper the citizens of the Marvel Universe read to keep informed; and more! Plus: a final analysis of CIVIL WAR, in addition to a complete checklist of all the upcoming CW collections! Collecting CIVIL WAR FILES, CIVIL WAR: BATTLE DAMAGE REPORT, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: MARK MILLAR/STEVE MCNIVEN, MARVEL SPOTLIGHT: CIVIL WAR AFTERMATH and DAILY BUGLE: CIVIL WAR SPECIAL EDITION. 236 PGS./Rated T+.

Avengers Next Rebirth TP - $9.79 Written by TOM DEFALCO. Penciled by RON LIM. Cover by MIKE WIERINGO. The time has come for the next generation of Avengers to choose a new lineup, but first they must battle zombie versions of themselves! Then, as Katie Power (from Power Pack) joins the team, American Dream and her friends mount a search for the missing Thunderstrike. The man called Nova guest stars when strange visitors from outer space land on Earth. And more! Collecting AVENGERS NEXT #1-5. 120 PGS.

New X-Men Childhoods End Vol 4 TP - $7.69 Written by CRAIG KYLE &CHRISTOPHER YOST. Penciled by PACO MEDINA. Cover by PACO MEDINA. X-23's past returns to haunt the New X-Men. Sure, the team needs a break after the horror and insanity of the last year, but too bad! When Wolverine brought X-23 back into the Institute, only Emma Frost tried to stop it. Here and now, you'll find out why she was right! The fallout from X-23: Target X begins here! Collecting NEW X-MEN #33-36. 96 PGS./Rated T+.

DC Comics Covergirls HC - $31.99 by Louise Simonson. From the trailblazing Wonder Woman of the 1940s to edgy, girl-power-driven comics series like Birds of Prey, DC Comics Covergirls takes a look at the female characters of DC Comics throughout the company's history, and features many of DC Comics' iconic comic book covers. Written by renowned comic book writer Louise Simonson, the book examines the evolution of the comic book women of DC Comics: the 1942 introduction of the most famous DC heroine, Wonder Woman, and her various incarnations up to the present; the creation of comic book spin-offs based on characters such as Lois Lane; and the recent wealth of fierce, female character-driven comics such as Supergirl, Birds of Prey, Batgirl, and Catwoman.

EC Archives Shock Suspenstories Vol 2 HC - $39.99 by Various. This second beautiful hardcover volume of Shock SuspenStories reprints issues #7-12, featuring 24 stories in all by an all-star line-up that includes Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, Wally Wood, Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, Al Williamson, Jack Kamen, George Evans, John Severin, Bill Elder, Jack Davis, Johnny Craig, and Marie Severin.

52 Volume 1 TP - $13.99 Written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid Breakdowns by Keith Giffen Art by various Backup features by Waid and various Covers by J.G. Jones The end is near! As the year races towards its close, we follow our heroes through their final steps in space - and time! From the mean streets of Gotham to the far reaches of deep space, the last weeks tick down to their shattering conclusion. World War III is just the beginning! Plus, more origins of the DC Universe, including the JLA with Ethan Van Sciver and Batman with Andy Kubert! These final issues feature art by Darick Robertson, Eddy Barrows, Joe Bennett, Justiniano and more. 52: A year without Superman; a year without Batman; a year without Wonder Woman…but not a year without heroes.

Conan Hall Of The Dead & Other Stories Vol 4 TP - $12.79 Know, O Prince, that in an age undreamed of, shining kingdoms lay spread across the world like blue mantles beneath the stars. Hither came Conan the Cimmerian; black-haired, sullen-eyed, sword in hand, a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, to tread the jeweled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet . . . Conan: The Hall of the Dead concludes writer Kurt Busiek's (JLA/Avengers, Astro City) critically acclaimed run, paving the way for new writer Tim Truman (Conan and the Songs of the Dead) and featuring a story by Hellboy creator Mike Mignola! Eisner award-nominated artist Cary Nord (Daredevil), and Eisner award-winning color artist Dave Stewart (Ultimate Fantastic Four, DC: The New Frontier) continue their groundbreaking run on Dark Horse's best-selling Conan series with three of the best writers in comics today.

Star Wars 30th Anniv Coll TP Vol 4 Jango Fett Zam Wesell - $15.99 Jango Fett and Zam Wesell-two notorious bounty hunters, one explosive combination! When a mysterious employer hires Jango Fett to retrieve an ancient artifact, it's no surprise to find the beautiful and deadly Zam Wesell in pursuit of the same prize. Will this pair of fair-weather foes double-cross each other to land this lucrative score, or will a shared past convince the two that teamwork is the key to success . . . and survival?! Collecting the graphic novels Jango Fett and Zam Wesell into one volume for the first time, this story captures a pivotal moment in the history of the Republic. Each month, the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection series will bring readers a limited-edition hardcover of the best of Dark Horse's Star Wars graphic novels.

Star Wars Panel To Panel Vol 2 HC - $15.99 From 5,000 years before Luke Skywalker first picked up a lightsaber to nearly 150 years after the events in Return of the Jedi, Dark Horse Comics has chronicled the major events in every era of the Star Wars galaxy in amazing drawings and paintings by some of the most accomplished artists in our own galaxy. In this all-new companion to the first Star Wars Panel to Panel volume, we've spotlighted not only the stunning work of comics' greatest artists, but also the legion of characters Dark Horse has contributed to Star Wars' Expanded Universe-characters who have not only carried the romance and adventure of the galaxy far, far away far beyond the events in the films, but those who have made the jump from the pages of comic books to television and the silver screen! Every Star Wars fan will cherish this look back, forward, and beyond!

Fear Agent Vol 2 My War TP - $11.99 Lost, beaten, and trapped in the past, Heath Huston must face the demons of his inevitable future when he finds himself face to face with the automaton regime responsible for robbing him of all he loves. With the knowledge that the Feeders are progressing ever closer to Earth, will Heath be able to get payback from the automaton empire in time to save his home planet from the scourge of an alien infestation? Fan favorite and Russ Manning Award-winner Jerome Opeña joins critically acclaimed scribe Rick Remender for this exciting chapter in the life of Heath Huston, Alien Exterminator. Collects Fear Agent issues #5-10.

Mary Scary HC - $7.99 Last year, Dark Horse Books introduced readers to Dreadful Ed-a very normal, very nice human boy who winds up as heir to the throne of the nightmare world called Nocturnia! In this standalone sequel to that fantastical story we meet Mary Scary-the weird baby girl who was swapped out for Ed when her parents, the Boogeyman and his wife, needed a male heir for their spooky kingdom! Mary has always been different from the rest of her peers. Maybe it's the spider on her head, maybe it's the snake around her neck . . . but something about her makes everything about her weird! And just when it really starts to bother her that everyone seems to notice how different she is, she meets someone who might be able to help her be less scary-a very normal boy named Ed. Mary Scary is a fun and edgy all-ages book, suitable for kids and adults alike. This standalone book follows last year's hit Dreadful Ed.

Percy Gloom HC - $15.19 by Cathy Malkasian. Cathy Malkasian has made the jump from animation to the printed page with a graceful, delicate leap. Humorous and bewitching at the same time, Percy Gloom is a unique gem of a story. Occupying an unreal world of secret societies, benevolent families, and bureaucratic security, lazy-eyed Percy Gloom fights to overcome the loss of his wife, Lila, to a truth-pointing, lotharian, cult-leader. Approached by his doctor to help protect some special people and given advice by some talking goats, Percy comes to terms with his place in the gloomy world and finds himself reaching enlightenment (literally).

Just When You Thought It Couldnt Get Worse SC - $15.19 by Edward Sorel. Edward Sorel is widely recognized as America's premier illustrator. But when he wasn't painting covers and making drawings for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Time, and Rolling Stone, he was making comic strips. Sorel's strips are iconoclastic, cynical, and universally excoriating. No target escapes his watchful wrath: politicians, theological dynasties, idealogues left and right, lawyers, publishers, and the usual gang of movers and shakers (nor does he spare himself). Culled from the pages of The Nation, the Village Voice, Penthouse, and other magazines, Sorel proves he is that most dangerous of creatures - a cartoonist with a chip on his shoulder.

Rabbis Cat SC - $13.59 by Joann Sfar. The preeminent work by one of France's most celebrated young comic artists, The Rabbi's Cat tells the wholly unique story of a rabbi, his daughter, and their talking cat - a philosopher brimming with scathing humor and surprising tenderness. In Algeria in the 1930s, a cat belonging to a widowed rabbi and his beautiful daughter, Zlabya, eats the family parrot and gains the ability to speak. To his master's consternation, the cat immediately begins to tell lies (the first being that he didn't eat the parrot). The rabbi vows to educate him in the ways of the Torah, while the cat insists on studying the kabbalah and having a Bar Mitzvah. They consult the rabbi's rabbi, who maintains that a cat can't be Jewish - but the cat, as always, knows better. Zlabya falls in love with a dashing young rabbi from Paris, and soon master and cat, having overcome their shared self-pity and jealousy, are accompanying the newlyweds to France to meet Zlabya's cosmopolitan in-laws. Full of drama and adventure, their trip invites countless opportunities for the rabbi and his cat to grapple with all the important - and trivial - details of life.

Boys Vol 1 TP (Mature Readers) - $11.99 by Garth Ennis & Darick Robertson. Collecting the first 6 issues of the controversial new series from Preacher writer Garth Ennis and artist Darick Robertson (Transmetropolitan)! Don't miss this dark, twisted look at superpowers, super-people, and the men and women who make sure the world's 'heroes' never go too far.

June Advance Orders The June advance order products are now available for preorder (credit cards aren't charged until release): -- June Graphic Novels -- June 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.