New Releases by Dan Jackson

Barney and Hooker are together again and fighting crime, leaving a trail of chaos, panic, and disorder in their wake. Some would say they''re drawn toward trouble like a moth to a flame. Others would claim their friends, Rosa and Felicia, dump trouble in Barney’s and Hooker’s laps. Either way, they are in over their heads when Rosa is kidnapped, and her disappearance is linked to a dangerous voodoo priest and his search for a mystery-drenched stolen statue. Written by Janet and Alex Evanovich, and illustrated by Joëlle Jones (Dr. Horrible, Token), Troublemaker brings ultimate adventure set in sun-filled Miami! • Janet Evanovich, the New York Times number-one best-selling author, brings her hit Barnaby series to Dark Horse Comics! • The entire Troublemaker story collected into one affordable volume! • “With art reminiscent of the Florida sun and writing supercharged with action, the Troublemaker graphic novel from best-selling author Evanovich and her daughter is a winner!”—RT Book Reviews

David Lapham (Stray Bullets) pits Robert E. Howard’s original barbarian king against a terrifying magical foe from his doomed homeland of Atlantis. The Hate Witch has waited from the beginning of time for a great man of uncertain destiny, whom she can use to bring about the destruction of civilization. She believes that King Kull is that man, and she has launched an all-out assault on Valusia, slaughtering its people, in an attempt to draw him to her seat of power—the wilds of Atlantis! Kull will have to return to his savage origins if he wants to hold onto the throne in Valusia and save it from civil war! Collects issues #1-#4 of the miniseries.

Collected in this ''Star Wars Omnibus'' title are tales leading up to ''The Phantom Menace'', featuring the likes of Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Aurra Sing and Darth Maul.

There is growing concern amongst observers of the media that news coverage of politics has moved away from a focus on issues, and instead towards political strategy. This emphasises the tactics employed by politicians in pursuing policy goals, as well as their performance, styles of campaigning, and personal battles in the political arena, whether it be in office, opposition, or during elections (de Vreese & Elenbaas, 2008). Strategically framed news is problematic because it portrays politicians as manipulative, power hungry and Machiavellian, and therefore invites audiences to attribute cynical motives to their actions. As a result, this type of news has been found accountable for increasing levels of political cynicism in the US electorate, which erodes civic engagement and depresses electoral participation - a process described as a media-induced spiral of cynicism (Cappella & Jamieson, 1997). This dissertation examines this type of news. Despite much concern that? driven by a number of changes to the working practices of journalists? political issues are increasingly being undermined by a narrative of strategy, there is little evidence of either the presence or effects of strategy news in the UK, especially outside of elections. This study fills some of this gap by conducting a content analysis of a non-election issue in the news media (press and TV news) over a 3 month period, whereby strategy news as a frame was examined. The issue chosen for case study was the?euro debate? of May-June 2003. The second part of the study is a framing experiment, where a sample of young people were randomly exposed to either a?strategy? or?issue? framed account of the euro debate, and then asked about their political attitudes. Content analysis findings showed the euro debate to fulfil many typical characteristics of EU reporting in the British media, with coverage cyclical and driven by events. Although there was a roughly equal balance of issue and strategy framed stories in the press, the strategy frame was more prominent in the news agenda and was more consistently spread throughout the time period. When broadcast news did cover the euro, it was usually to cover a development in the manoeuvring of political elites. Although some qualifications emerged, much of the content analysis findings confirmed the worries of media critics. Experiment findings found evidence of a?spiral of cynicism? but only for those who were less politically engaged, and their cynicism was confined to the motivations of politicians, not of the political system writ large. For the less engaged, the presentation of the euro debate through the strategy frame also suppressed their support for the euro compared to the issue version. Although some of the experiment findings should concern observers of news media performance, the evidence of this study does not support a full-blown?spiral of cynicism? in the UK.

Having barely seen each other in three decades, two friends impulsively decide to take a cross-country road trip. For one, the trip is a chance to take a few swats at a question that buzzes like an old bug in his post-religious soul, "What do I believe? Not just about God, but about morality, mortality, meaning, and the whole so-called spiritual side of life?" For the other, the journey is the culmination of a lifelong struggle to confront a buried demon and reunite with a family from whom he''s been estranged for his entire adult life. What begins as a mundane drive becomes a quest for what really matters; a soul searching, thought provoking, oddly mythic, often hilarious, always human odyssey, as these two very different people join forces to keep a ''69 Volkswagen Beetle alive long enough to reach the distant shores of home.

What would have happened if Luke Skywalker had died in the frozen wasteland of Hoth? Now''s the chance to find out, as a bemused Solo prepares to follow Luke''s final wish - to travel to the planet Dagobah and train as a Jedi with the mysterious Yoda.

Take the events and characters from one of the classic Star Wars films, throw in one happenstance, mishap, or technical glitch beyond the characters'' control, and watch how that changes everything. In Dark Horse''s first foray into Infinities (A New Hope), Luke Skywalker''s valiant torpedo attack on the Death Star failed due to a faulty detonator -- an event no one could have foreseen -- and the Rebellion was dealt a debilitating setback. In Infinities -- The Empire Strikes Back, Han Solo''s desperate attempt to locate his friend Luke in the icy wastes of the planet Hoth is thwarted when the tauntaun he''s riding succumbs to the cold while Han is still a mile from Luke''s location. Han arrives too late, barely in time to hear Luke''s dying words about Jedi training and the planet Dagobah... Thus begins an adventure far different than the one seen in the motion picture. Along the way, a famous bounty hunter is frozen in carbonite, Han and Chewie are captured on Tatooine by Jabba the Hutt, and Princess Leia and Yoda have a fateful jungle showdown with Darth Vader! Collecting the four-issue miniseries.

Everyone wants fugitive Jedi Dass Jennir. An assassin is hot on his heels, Darth Vader is also in the race to find him, and even the outlaw crew of the Uhumele are searching for their former companion. But for Jennir and his “partner” Ember Chankeli, those are distant concerns as they endure a scorching desert trek and an attack by deadly land pirates! Even under a blazing sun, these are dark times! Collects Star Wars: Dark Times—Out of the Wilderness #1–#5.