Sure, Spiderman is a wall crawler worth fawning over, and Wolverine is everybody's favorite Canadian with indestructible metal claws, but these classic graphic novel characters have aged considerably since their creation in the 60's and 70's, and new ones are desperately needed. This is when Brian K. Vaughn has stepped up; he superbly fills in the hero void with his three dimensional characters in the Marvel comic "Runaways" based in Los Angeles with cleverly re-invented superheroes.

Few authors have the power to change a reader's outlook on life or to give humanity to inhuman characters and the eloquence to create a world of just words, but Australian author Markus Zusak proves his ability as an author in his recent novel "The Book Thief."

The implementation of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech, religion and press, has always caused controversy in schools. Whether sexually explicit or revolutionary, certain books have always been banned from the shelves of school libraries. But when books like "Where's Waldo" and "A Light in the Attic" make the American Library Association's list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books, parents have taken safety too far. These books offer valuable view points that teenagers might not get otherwise; despite the language and sex, they are crucial to schools.

The man of steel is back and he is ready to fight some serious crime.

When readers think of the various Marvel comic legacies, most think of Spider Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four, not of historical drama pieces. Marvel comics has done the inconceivable. They created an alternate history where Doctor Doom and Queen Elizabeth coexist, albeit not-so-peacefully.