The ancient Mayan people predicted that the world will end in 2012 and believed that we are living in the fifth, and final, age of the Sun. These mysterious beliefs are now being backed up by modern scientific findings. But where did this "super-knowledge" come from? Cotterell has journeyed to Palenque, to the tomb of the Mayan priest-king Lord Pacal, to discover the answer. 50 color plates. 91 line drawings.

The last survivor’s tale of a global catastrophe, after scientists build god-like (and uncontrollable) superheroes. Praying to be saved by a man who can fly will get you killed! From the mind of Warren Ellis, the creator of TRANSMETROPOLITAN and PLANETARY, comes the most horrifying superhero graphic novel you will ever read! What if the arms race of global superpowers did not yield nuclear stockpiles, but rather messianic beings capable of wondrous miracles and – when needed – the ability to unleash the wrath of gods? But the scientists, generals, and politicians built super-humans to save the planet, no one ever imagined how their heroes would do it – or even if they’d want to. Behold the apocalyptic tomorrow, when supermen kill us all and end the world just because we wanted to be rescued by human-shaped things from beyond Science itself!

Beginning with Schuster and Seigel's adolescent creation of Superman in 1938, Grant Morrison charts the history of the superheroes to their modern, multiplex incarnations.

Brash, bold, and sometimes brutal, superheroes might seem to epitomize modern pop-culture at its most melodramatic and mindless. But according to Ben Saunders, the appeal of the superhero is fundamentally metaphysical - even spiritual - in nature. In chapter-length analyses of the early comic book adventures of Superman, Wonder Woman, Spider-Man, and Iron-Man, Saunders explores a number of complex philosophical and theological issues, including: the problem of evil; the will-to-power; the tension between intimacy and vulnerability; and the challenge of love, in the face of mortality. He concludes that comic book fantasies of the superhuman ironically reveal more than we might care to admit about our human limitations, even as they expose the falsehood of the characteristically modern opposition between religion and science. Clearly and passionately written, this insightful and at times exhilarating book should delight all readers who believe in the redemptive capacity of the imagination, regardless of whether they consider themselves comic book fans.

"Account of how comic book heroes have helped their creators and fans alike explore and express a wealth of paranormal experiences ignored by mainstream science. Delving deeply into the work of major figures in the field - from Jack Kirby's cosmic superhero sagas and Philip K. Dick's futuristic head-trips to Alan Moore's sex magic and Whitley Strieber's communion with visitors - Kripal shows how creators turned to science fiction to convey the reality of the inexplicable and the paranormal they experienced in their lives. Expanded consciousness found its language in the metaphors of sci-fi - incredible powers, unprecedented mutations, time-loops and vast intergalactic intelligences - and the deeper influences of mythology and religion that these in turn drew from ; the wildly creative work that followed caught the imaginations of millions. Moving deftly from Cold War science and Fredric Wertham's anticomics crusade to gnostic revelation and alien abduction, Kripal spins out a hidden history of American culture, rich with mythical themes and shot through with an awareness that there are other realities far beyond our everyday understanding."--Jacket.

Explains esoteric secrets of the sacred solar science encoded in the massive army of terracotta warriors that guards the tomb of Chinese emperor Ch’in Shi Huangdi • Decodes the farewell message of the first emperor of China concealed more than 2,000 years ago in the 8,000 terracotta warriors that guard his tomb • Shows the spiritual principles of this sacred solar science and its remarkable insights into heaven, hell, and the immortality of the soul • Latest book by the bestselling author of The Tutankhamun Prophecies and The Lost Tomb of Viracocha When the first emperor of unified China, Ch’in Shi Huangdi, felt his death approaching, he decreed that he be entombed within a pyramid and that his tomb be protected by an immortal army of terracotta soldiers. In 1974 archaeologists discovered the first of more than 8,000 life-size terracotta warriors, each weighing half a ton, buried circa 220 B.C.E. near this emperor’s pyramid tomb. Maurice Cotterell shows how Shi Huangdi--like the pharaoh Tutankhamun, the Mayan lord Pacal, and Viracocha in Peru--was a keeper of the sacred solar science of the ancients, a science that included a sophisticated understanding of the effect of the sun on earthly affairs, fertility rates, and personality. The keepers of this science taught that the soul was immortal and was destined to transform into star energy or be reborn on Earth, depending on an individual’s spiritual progress in his or her lifetime. Using his unique understanding of how and why ancient civilizations encoded this extraordinary knowledge, Cotterell decodes the emperor’s farewell message concealed in the terracotta warriors--a message that reveals the true purpose of life and the imperishable nature of the soul.

Reveals how the super-science of the sun and the higher orders of spirituality are concealed and contained in the Holy Grail • Connects the discovery of 4,000-year-old Celtic mummies in China with the transmission of this ancient knowledge • Documents the truth of the Holy Grail’s connection with King Arthur and Joseph of Arimathea • Confirms the pedigree of the Grail using secret information from the Mayan Pyramid of Inscriptions in Mexico and the Gateway of the Sun in Peru Using the same knowledge that enabled him to break the codes of the Mayas, Peruvians, Egyptians, and Chinese, Maurice Cotterell now follows the migration of the Celts 4,000 years ago from Asia, across Europe, to Ireland. His account of this epic journey together with his knowledge of the secret codes of the Celts help him to identify and locate the Holy Grail, the actual cup used by Christ and his disciples at the Last Supper. The author explains the true story of the Grail: how it contains the secret super-science of the sun and the higher orders of spirituality; how it was carried to England by Joseph of Arimathea; how in A.D. 453 it was found by King Arthur, who engraved it with the same esoteric information found on the Pyramid of Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico, and the Gateway of the Sun at Tiahuanaco in ancient Peru. His discoveries reveal that the Grail does actually radiate light, in accordance with the Arthurian legends, proving that the so-called legends are actually based on fact. The author goes on to show how the holy cup was passed for safekeeping to the monks of Lindisfarne, who copied the secrets of the Grail into the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. Fleeing from Viking raids, the monks carried their treasures to Ireland, explaining how the cup found its way to the Dublin Museum--where it rests today.