By the spring of 1998, it had become clear that Italy, after considerable effort, had succeeded in bringing its public finances into line with the Maastricht parameters for joining the European Monetary Union. This was generally viewed as an important success of the Olive Tree coalition government led by Romano Prodi, and a sign that Italian political life had become "normal." Nevertheless, the Bicameral Commission, which should have fostered a radical consitutional reform with the aim to stabilize and strengthen the bipolar structure of the party system and the majoritarian functioning of democracy in Italy, was dismantled in June. Moreover, in October 1998 the Prodi government suddenly collapsed because of the internal opposition of the Neo-Communist wing of its parliamentary majority, a further demonstration that the Italian transition towards a more effective democratic rule is far from complete. David Hine is Fellow and Senior Censor at Christ Church College, Oxford. Salvatore Vassallo is senior civil servant in the Emilia-Romagna regional government's Institutional Affairs Bureau and Professor of Public Policy Analysis at the University of Trento.

Beyond the Market: The European Union and National Social Policy considers the extent to which the European Union has impacted on the formation and content of social and environmental policy in the member states, focusing on the four larger members: Germany, France, the UK and Italy. The contributors use theory and empirical evidence to highlight the factors that influence the formation and content of social policy and why some states have been able to resist EU social policy initiatives successfully and maintain their autonomy.

Beyond the Market: The European Union and National Social Policy considers the extent to which the European Union has impacted on the formation and content of social and environmental policy in the member states, focusing on the four larger members: Germany, France, the UK and Italy. The contributors use theory and empirical evidence to highlight the factors that influence the formation and content of social policy and why some states have been able to resist EU social policy initiatives successfully and maintain their autonomy.

With Spawn revitalized, it's time to take his pounds of flesh from those who have imprisoned and tortured him. A battle royale of classic proportions in the bowels of Hell itself with Spawn's most vile villains!   Collects Spawn Issues #147 - 153

God is not in his Heaven, and all is wrong with the world. The goddess Kali is doing some head-hunting in India while the Angel Zera takes on the Forgotten Ones in a battle for control of the hosts of Heaven. Wanda’s family is being torn apart as Spawn bares his heart to Cyan, and a new foe, The Disciple, stands in the way of Spawn preventing an approaching apocalypse.   Collects SPAWN #154-160

"The Man Who Laughs" (first published in 1869) is Victor Hugo's scathing indictment of the injustice and inequality within Britain's political system. It is the story of Gwynplaine, the two-year-old heir to a rebel lord, who is abducted upon the orders of a vindictive monarch, and whose face is mutilated into a permanent grisly grin, then abandoned. After years of living in poverty, Gwynplaine is reintroduced to the aristocratic life and resolves to become the voice of the voiceless--whether he is heard or not. Author David Hine and artist Mark Stafford introduce Hugo's classic to a new generation of fans in this graphic-novel adaptation of abduction, mutilation, loss, and prejudice.

Somewhere in the British Isles, at the end of a neglected road, there is a village called Lip Hook. For its inhabitants, the village is more than the end of the road-it's the end of the world. Beyond it, there is nothing but mist-shrouded marshland. Few travelers take the road to Lip Hook, but one foggy night, a car speeds perilously toward the village. The driver is a dangerously beautiful woman, the passenger a man with a gunshot wound and a suitcase containing a treasure he has risked his life for. Cash-strapped but in need of a place to hide, the two fugitives seek shelter at the Hanged Man Inn, where the woman persuades the innkeeper to accept payment in kind. As days pass and the woman extends her services to more of Lip Hook's men, among them the village priest, a false faith grips the community-and reason, logic, and humanity begin to disappear.

TODD MCFARLANE unleashed his signature creation, SPAWN, in 1992. In doing so, he created the most successful independent comic book in history. Now for the first time Issues 151-200 are collected in FULL Color. Some of these issues have never been collected before! SPAWN COMPENDIUM VOL. 4 presents the continued tales of Spawn, as he discovers the true meaning of becoming a Hell spawn. He settles on a path of bloody revenge in search of a way back to his humanity! Collects SPAWN #151-200

The Redeemer rushes to Nyx’s side to protect her from Spawn’s spurn revenge. As the truth unfolds, things are not what they seem. Spawn, Nyx and The Redeemer have all been playing right into Mammon's hands.   Collects Spawn Issues #139 - 151

Extreme horror for desperate survivors in a world overrun by psychopaths (think 'The Walking Dead' and '28 Days Later' meets 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre'), as written by bestselling authors Christos Gage and David Lapham.

As they count their losses following their battle against the Sphere of Power, The Marked explore their origins, following a thread of tales starting with the rescue of Lovecraft from the mysterious Kah-Loh-Lu, back through history to the first woman to be marked with the power of magic. Collects THE MARKED #6-10

The dream of a peaceful Utopia turns into a nightmare as war breaks out on Perdita. To save her people, Sonata journeys to The Citadel to find the last of the Old Gods. An epic tale of love, betrayal and madness... A story not to be missed, with a fantastic new world and new characters introduced! Collects SONATA #7 - 12

One of the most profound changes in British public life over the last twenty years has been the increasing concern with probity and standards. Some of that concern has been the product of scandals such as the cash for questions affair and the expenses scandal; some of it reflects the erosion of trust in politicians and in traditional approaches to government and administration. The book analyses the way new machinery and new rules have been put in place in different parts of the public sector as a protection against corruption and conflict of interest and as a spur to raising standards. It provides the first full-length treatment of the evolving integrity agenda in the United Kingdom. The book traces the impact of the Committee on Standards in Public Life which set out the Nolan principles in its first report in 1995 and examines how those principles have been applied in different sectors - Parliament, the executive, the civil service, local government and the devolved governments - and how they have been applied to the problems of party funding and lobbying. Finally, it assesses the changing level of support for the Committee's mission and the impact of its work both on the quality of public life itself and on public confidence. -- .

Fresh from surviving the tortures of hell, Spawn learns he harbors many souls within him that help him beat back the monsters of Armageddon. Meanwhile, God is not in his Heaven, and all is wrong with the world. The goddess Kali is doing some head-hunting in India, while the Angel Zera takes on the Forgotten Ones in a battle to control the hosts of Heaven. Wanda's family is being torn apart as Spawn bares his heart to Cyan, and a new foe; The Disciple stands between Spawn and preventing the apocalypse.   Collects Spawn Issues #152 - 163

Their magic is channeled through their tats! The Marked may look like cool young influencers, but beneath the designer clothes their bodies are tattooed with the magical glyphs of an ancient order that secretly protects the world against evil forces. With no new occult threats, The Marked use their tattooed powers solely for the pursuit of pleasure until a young woman called Liza creates a dangerous new form of Hybrid Sorcery. The party is over for The Marked. You'll believe in magic - terrifying, soul-destroying magic.

As Armageddon consumed the world, Spawn turned against his masters, destroying all life on Earth. While God and Satan continue their endless conflict in a parallel universe, Spawn has re-created the world and resurrected the human race, in what has become known as the White Light. The portals to Heaven and Hell are closed, leaving humanity free from the influence of angels and demons.   Collects Spawn Issues #161 – 166

This deluxe oversized and slipcase hardcover edition presents twenty-five previously released, sold-out issues of classic SPAWN stories in an all-new size and format. Additional material includes color and black-and-white cover galleries and never-before-seen art, plus all the bonus material from the original collected editions. The absolute top tier of the SPAWN ORIGINS family of books! It doesn't get any better than this!   Collects Spawn Issues #126-150!

In this adaptation of the Jules Verne classic, set in the year 2717, The Lighthouse is a supercomputer the size of a skyscraper that guides space craft through a turbulent sea of wormholes. Maria Vasquez has chosen this isolated base to escape her troubled past, but now she and her glitchy nanny bot, Moses, are the only ones who can stop a crew of murderous pirates from seizing the most devastating weapons ever created. COLLECTS JULES VERNE'S LIGHTHOUSE #1-5

An entertaining, often humorous in-depth study of the facts surrounding the Latter-day Saint Church, the Society of Freemasons and their relationship to what is known as the Extraterrestrial Phenomenon. The book covers five thousand years of human history by focusing on the relationship between science and religion, knowledge and power and the adversarial relationship between the powerful and the powerless. Deceptions of the Ages describes the process by which the Society of Freemasons along with the Rothschild Dynasty gained control of the governments of the United States, England and the rest of Europe through their control of currency, finance and industry while at the same time, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint grew to encompass the world, virtually unnoticed. The underlying theme is information and knowledge and how it is used and distorted in the modern world by corporations, governments and the media that they control.