Let’s face it: From adenines to zygotes, from cytokinesis to parthenogenesis, even the basics of genetics can sound utterly alien. So who better than an alien to explain it all? Enter Bloort 183, a scientist from an asexual alien race threatened by disease, who's been charged with researching the fundamentals of human DNA and evolution and laying it all out in clear, simple language so that even his slow-to-grasp-the-point leader can get it. In the hands of the award-winning writer Mark Schultz, Bloort's explanations give even the most science-phobic reader a complete introduction to the history and science of genetics.

The struggle to tell a comics story visually requires more than a cool-looking image; it takes years of experience and a thorough understanding of the art form's visual vocabulary. Assembled in Panel Discussions is the combined knowledge of more than a dozen of the industry's top storytellers, covering all aspects of the design of comics, from pacing, story flow, and word balloon placement, to using color to convey emotion, spotting blacks, and how gutters between panels affect the story! Learn from the best, as Will Eisner, Scott Hampton, Mike Wieringo, Walter Simonson, Mike Mignola, Mark Schultz, David Mazzucchelli, Dick Giordano, Brian Stelfreeze, Mike Carlin, Chris Moeller, Mark Chiarello, and others share hard-learned lessons about the design of comics, complete with hundreds of illustrated examples. When should you tilt or overlap a panel? How can sound effects enhance the story, and when do they distract from it? What are the best ways to divide up the page to convey motion, time, action, or quiet?

Her world has been blockaded and her people imprisoned, but the young Queen Amidala,recently elected to the throne of Naboo, is a teenager of uncommon wisdom. Exiled from her home and spirited away by a pair of Jedi, Amidala will look upon every experience as a potential key to her world's problems. But her salvation may rest in the hands of another- perhaps where she least expects it!