Bart Sears

In addition to a brand-new story by Michael Avon Oeming (Rapture, Powers), this volume sees Jimmy Palmiotti (Jonah Hex) and Mark Texeira (Ghost Rider) introduce readers to the daughters of Midora, Ron Marz (Green Lantern) and Bart Sears (The Helm) visit the Island of No Return, and Tim Truman (King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel) and Marian Churchland (Elephantmen) provide a breathtaking yarn of their own! A must-buy for any Conan fan! Collects Conan and the Daughters of Midora, Conan: Island of No Return #1–#2, and stories from MySpace Dark Horse Presents #11 and USA Today.

On the run from a cadre of guards, Conan is aided by two sister thieves who just happen to be in need of a strong back to help them with an upcoming heist. Never one to turn his back on adventure (or two beautiful sisters), Conan agrees to assist in the robbery of a reportedly haunted cliff-top castle. But evil spirits may be the least of Conan’s problems when both sisters set their sights on taking the barbarian as their own! Written by fan favorite Ron Marz and illustrated by the incomparable Bart Sears, this is one Conan tale true fans will not want to miss!

Having broken into a haunted castle to loot its treasures, Conan and his companions discover that stories of the castle's paranormal past may have been exaggerated. But that doesn't mean that fabricated ghost stories can't be used to their advantage when Conan discovers they aren't the only thieves out for the gold!

A vast hoard for the taking, collecting Conan one-shots, short stories, and miniseries from the finest creators in all of graphic fiction, including Kurt Busiek, P. Craig Russell, Fred Van Lente, Kelley Jones, Ariel Olivetti, Dave Stewart, and many, many more. Nearly 700 pages of clashing swords, malefic wizardy, and forgotten kingdoms! Collects Conan and the Jewels of Gwahlur, Conan: Book of Thoth, Conan and the People of the Black Circle, Conan and the Songs of the Dead, Conan: The Blood-Stained Crown and Other Stories, and Conan: The Daughters of Midora and Other Stories.

What if you had a magical superpower and it hated your guts? Matt Blurdy's day has gone from crap to worse. Not only did his girlfriend break his heart at work--and in front of all of the video-store patrons--but he just got fired. All that's left to do is minibike his sorry, thirty-year-old (and freshly unemployed!) butt back home to his mom's basement and drown his sorrows in a bucket of extra crispy chicken while contemplating where his life went wrong. On the way home, Matt decides to quiet his aching heart with a brief detour to a garage sale. When an ancient-looking helmet calls to him as "the Chosen One," exhorting him to don the mantle of the "Valhalladrim," Matt touches it with trembling fingers--and is jolted by raw magical power. Holy crap! Is he going to be a superhero? Is this why he always felt special even when everyone else thought he was a loser? Then the helm gets a sense of whom it's dealing with. Suddenly, it changes its tune: "I was mistaken. You are not the chosen one. Good day." But for once in his life, Matt's not taking no for an answer. Not today.

The Helm, an enchanted artifact of countless legendary heroes, has learned that its latest Chosen One is a chubby, unemployed fantasy addict . . . who lives in his mother's basement. Defying all odds, however, Matt Blurdy managed both to defeat a bloodthirsty hobgoblin and thwart the Helm's scheme to have him killed. Now the hero's training begins in earnest: workouts, retrieval of a magic flaming sword, battles with wraiths, and a showdown with a sorcerer in mortal combat. But when the media starts reporting Matt's victories as murders, an old flame reenters the picture, and true darkness looms on the horizon, even a replica Highlander trench coat might not be enough to save Matt's hide!

Has Matt Blurdy's luck run out? His emergence as the new Valhalladrim has enraged the dark force responsible for keeping the Helm dormant for nearly a hundred years. This tremendous evil has sent a powerful necromancer-a familiar face!-to bend the previous Valhalladrim's ghost to his will and reveal Matt's location. As if that's not enough to worry about, Matt's on-again girlfriend, Jill, discovers his connection to recently reported murders and thinks he's gone crazy. This Chosen One stuff is a lot more complicated than it's cracked up to be, and fate is closing in . . .

There's been some good news and bad news for Matt Blurdy. First off, he slew the necromancer out to kill him-good news! But then it turned out that this dark wizard was none other than Damien, Matt's heinous ex-boss . . . totally weird news. And then Jill discovered the sword in Matt's closet, put two and two together, and freaked the hell out-bad, bad news! Trouble is, she could be right . . . either the world is actually in peril and the worst evil yet is closing in, or someone and his talking helmet need to be committed. Is Matt truly the Chosen One, or has he gone completely off his nut? Only one thing's for certain, people: it's time to roll perfect 20s.

Matt Blurdy's day has gone from crap to worse. Not only did his girlfriend break his heart at work -- and in front of all of the video-store patrons -- but he just got fired. All that's left to do is minibike his sorry, thirty-year-old (and freshly unemployed!) butt back home to his mom's basement and drown his sorrows in a bucket of extra-crispy chicken while contemplating where his life went wrong. On the way home, Matt decides to quiet his aching heart with a brief detour to a garage sale. When an ancient-looking helmet calls to him as "the Chosen One," exhorting him to don the mantle of the "Valhalladrim," Matt touches it with trembling fingers -- and is jolted by raw magical power. Holy crap! Is he going to be a superhero? Is this why he always felt special even when everyone else thought he was a loser? Then the helm gets a sense of whom it's dealing with. Suddenly, it changes its tune: "I was mistaken. You are not the chosen one. Good day." * Collects the four-issue miniseries.