Michael Panush

Nathan of Nestovich, a young rat kit orphaned by war, survived the worst of the Dark Forest to become a living legend-his story told in ballads and books. At his adventure's end, he found sanctuary in the home of Esther Essen, the headstrong daughter of the Court Rat of the powerful Grand Sable Empire. Until their peace was shattered. An army of marauding mercenaries, led by the crazed jester Smiling Spike, destroyed Esther's home and kidnaped her parents, forcing her and Nathan to flee. Spike serves Titus Tarr, a ruthless, power-hungry merchant, and these two young kits are the only thing standing in the way of his grim plan that promises doom for the rats of the world-a plan involving a mysterious, monstrous fiend known only as the Carrion King. To stop Tarr and his army of killers, Esther and Nathan must enlist the help of gun-wielding rabbit rebels, a boisterous bullfrog knight turned actor, and a master thief mouse and her adopted rat daughter. They'll face bloody murder mysteries in a secluded island abbey, cannonball battles on the high seas, and madcap theatrical performances as they fight to find the truth behind legends-and save the rats of the Dark Forest.

MURDER AT THE DAWN OF TIME In the first city of the Stone Age, a Neanderthal lawman hunts the world's first serial killer. During a time of monstrous beasts and warring tribes, the sprawling Cro-Magnon settlement known as the Heap is home to new things: safety, trade, peace-and law. Red, a Broadhead exile adopted by the Heap, keeps those laws. He is a Fang, a sworn protector of the Heap's people, and he's dealt with everything from prehistory's first crime lords and caveman blood feuds to forest-dwelling cannibals and mammoth stampedes. A new terror comes to the Heap: the Blood-Spiller, a masked nightmare who kills without provocation. Red and his partner, the clever former warrior Star, struggle to catch this new killer in the flickering torchlight and primeval shadows of the dawn of mankind. And lurking under it all is a brewing war between the Heap and Red's Neanderthal kin-and the dark conspiracy behind the birth of civilization itself. Writer Michael Panush delivers a truly remarkable tale set against the backdrop of mankind's earliest presence on the planet. Artist Earl Geier provides the cover and interior illustrations while Art Director Rob Davis designs the book. An unusual adventure for pulp fans everywhere.

Before MetropolisIn 1927 German filmmaker Fritz Lang brought to the screen one of the most ground-breaking sci-fi melodramas of all time based on the screenplay he co-wrote with his wife, novelist Thea von Harbou. Set in a futuristic urban dystopia, the story follows the attempts of Freder, the son of the city's ruler, and Maria, a citizen of the lower levels, to bridge the gulf separating the economic classes of the city. It is regarded as a classic and one of the first full-length movies in the genre. Five visionary new pulp writers have envisioned four dramatic tales which unfold in this amazing world prior to the events of that film. William Patrick Maynard & Michael Richard Maynard join forces with Michael Panush, Kevin Noel Olson and Erik Franklin to guide readers back to those vaulted, shining Towers of Metropolis in this new collection inspired by Lang's masterpiece.

THE CLAY SHAMUSSickle City is a magnet for the bizarre and unholy. When a legion of dead Roman soldiers converges on the modern metropolis, its salvation will lie in the hands of three unique warriors employed by Herman Holtz, a corrupt, bootlegging Jewish rabbi. Emmet Clay is a golem built by Holtz' older brother, a powerful Russian rabbi. As Holtz' chief enforcer, he disguises himself as a detective. His two loyal allies are the beautiful and fiery Zipporah Sarfati, a deadly Sephardic swordswoman and the young Harvey Holtz, the rabbi's son; a devoted student of Jewish mysticism. Together the three of them must uncover the secret of the Dagger Men, a secret society of Jewish warriors that traces its origins back to the bloody destruction of Judea. Writer Michael Panush (creator of El Mosaico and Stein & Candle series) offers up a terrific, fast-paced supernatural thriller filled with some of the most original, fanciful characters ever imagined. "The Dagger Men" is roller-coaster pulp ride that doesn't slow down until the very last page