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WELCOME TO THE SECOND "GOLDEN AGE" OF SUPERHEROES AND HEROINESSuperheroes have come a long way since the "Man of Steel" was introduced in 1938. This brilliant new collection features original stories and novellas from some of today's most exciting voices in comics, science fiction, and fantasy. Each marvelously inventive tale shows us just how far our classic crusaders have evolvedand how the greatest of heroes are, much like ourselves, all too human.In "Call Her Savage,"MARJORIE M. LIUenters the dark heart of a fierce mythic heroine who is forced, by war, to live up to her own terrible legend.In "A to Z in the Ultimate Big Company Superhero Universe (Villains Too),"BILL WILLINGHAMpresents a fully-realized vision of a universe where epic feats and tragic flaws have transformed the human race.In "Vacuum Lad,"STEPHEN BAXTERunveils the secret origins of the first true child of the space ageand disproves the theory that "nothing exists in a vacuum."In "Head Cases,"PETER DAVIDandKATHLEEN DAVIDblast through the blogosphere to expose the secret longings of a Lonely Superhero Wife.In "The Non-Event,"MIKE CAREYremoves the gag order on a super-thief named Lockjaw . . . and pries out a confession of life-altering events.Also includes stories by Mike Baron Mark Chadbourn Paul Cornell Daryl Gregory Joseph Mallozzi James Maxey Ian McDonald Chris Roberson Gail Simone Matthew Sturges . . . and an introduction by Lou Anders, "one of the brightest and best of the new generation of science fiction editors" (Jonathan Strahan,The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year).

A 2008/2007 Hugo Award nominee, 2008 Philip K. Dick Award nominee, 2007 Chesley Award nominee, and 2006 World Fantasy Award nominee, Lou Anders is the editorial director of Prometheus Books' science fiction imprint Pyr, as well as the anthologies Fast Forward 2 (Pyr, October 2008), Sideways in Crime (Solaris, June 2008), Fast Forward 1(Pyr, February 2007), FutureShocks (Roc, January 2006), Projections: Science Fiction in Literature & Film (MonkeyBrain, December 2004), Live Without a Net (Roc, 2003), and Outside the Box (Wildside Press, 2001). In 2000, he served as the Executive Editor of Bookface.com, and before that he worked as the Los Angeles Liaison for Titan Publishing Group. Anders is the author of The Making of Star Trek: First Contact (Titan Books, 1996), and has published over 500 articles in such magazines as The Believer, Publishers Weekly, Dreamwatch, Deathray, Free Inquiry, Star Trek Monthly, Star Wars Monthly, Babylon 5 Magazine, Sci Fi Universe, Doctor Who Magazine, and Manga Max. His articles and stories have been translated into Danish, Greek, German, Italian, and French, and have appeared online at SFSite.com, RevolutionSF.com, and InfinityPlus.co.uk. Visit him online at www.louanders.com.