Barbarian babes brandishing blades! Always a fun topic of discussion, but in the talented hands of painter Jose del Nido, that topic transcends mere eye candy and inspires actual shock and awe! These are truly stunning portraits that celebrate the terrifying beauty of fighting females! Sharpened steel never looked this good!

Between Russia and Germany lay contested lands. The domain of the German Lords and the western-most bastion of Imperial Russia, these lands have often been at the centre of European history, but their indigenous peoples have not. With the collapse of the Russian Empire in 1917, newly born nations sought to find a usable past to unite in common struggle. Latvia's national legend, the Bear-Slayer, was at the forefront in a battle to rescue its past from the hands of its oppressors. This book explores how the Bear-Slayer served as a template for the remembrance of two World Wars in Latvia, how the legend was used and abused by foreign occupiers, and how Latvians understand their own personal histories as an act of social memory. Also included: An interview with Latvian Waffen SS Legionnaire Janis Saulitis.

Marriage and War The Company of Slayers has escaped slavery and scheming enemies, gaining wealth and status in the process. Now real power beckons as one of their number, the warrior Balinor, is to marry Ascrina Strabo, next in line to the throne of Kangorn, just as her grandfather, the current prince, is ailing and treacherous forces are plotting to seize the Rock for themselves. Yet there is no time to celebrate, for war has come to the West. Temple Knights lead an army of the faithful to besiege the fortress city of Las Ma. For the Slayers, in the tumult of conflict, there are deals to be done and money to be made. But war is unpredictable. Enemies, both obvious and unforeseen, prepare to destroy the upstart Slayers. Noble houses, merchant companies and imperial agents all know one thing. Kangorn has never seen an uncontested succession. As plot clashes with conspiracy, old loyalties will be stretched to breaking point ­– and maybe the Company itself will not survive this test.

Director, producer and screenwriter Joss Whedon is a creative force in film, television, comic books and a host of other media. This book provides an authoritative survey of all of Whedon's work, ranging from his earliest scriptwriting on Roseanne, through his many movie and TV undertakings--Toy Story, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly/Serenity, Dr. Horrible, The Cabin in the Woods, and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.--to his forays into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The book covers both the original texts of the Whedonverse and the many secondary works focusing on Whedon's projects, including about 2000 books, essays, articles, documentaries and dissertations.

Into every generation, a Slayer is born. One girl in all the world, to find the vampires where they gather, and to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their numbers. In our time, that girl is Buffy Summers. But Buffy is merely one Slayer in an eternal continuum of warriors for the Powers That Be. We've known of others: The Primal Slayer, who stalked the earth and the forces of darkness in fierce solitude...Nikki, the funky hipster whose demise at Spike's hands lent an urban edge to his wardrobe and a bigger bounce to his swagger. Slayers by nature have a limited life expectancy; for each one who falls, another rises to take her place. Tales of the Slayer, Vol. 1, chronicles Slayers past who have influenced -- and are influenced by -- the traditions and mythologies of yore. From ancient Greece, to aristocratic Slayers holding court in revolution-era France, to the legend of the Bloody Countess Elizabeth Bathory, to 1920's Munich, each girl has a personal history, a shared moral code, and a commitment to conquer evil, regardless of the cost....

There is no time for Buffy to take a vacation and she could be facing death because there is a lot of evil in the world.