The time is finally here! Free Comic Book Day is this weekend! There will be fun, and sun, and Free Comic Books, and other stuff! Here's the schedule of events for our Free Comic Book Weekend, so you can make your plans accordingly:

Events at Mayfaire Cinemas
Google Maps Directions to Mayfaire Cinemas

11:00PM-12:00AMThursday, May 3rd
Spider-Man 3 Midnight Showing
-Meet Spider-Man!
-Select Two Free Comics From a Limited Selection!

7:00PM-9:30PMFriday, May 4th
Spider-Man 3 Opening Night
-Meet Spider-Man and Venom!
-Select Two Free Comics From a Limited Selection!

2:00PM-7:30PMSaturday, May 5th
Spider-Man 3 Opening Weekend
-Meet Spider-Man and Venom!
-Select Three Free Comics From an Expanded Selection, Including Mayfaire-Exclusive Comics Sonic the Hedgehog and the Transformers Movie Prequel!

Events at Fanboy Comics
Google Maps Directions to Fanboy Comics

11:00AM-8:00PMSaturday, May 5th
Free Comic Book Day
-The First Fifty People Through the Door Get a Special Grab Bag! (More Information Below)
-Meet Batman, Darth Vader, and more!
-Select Three Free Comics From an Expanded Selection, Including Fanboy-Exclusive titles The Astounding Wolf-Man, Umbrella Academy, Whiteout and Battlestar Galactica/Lone Ranger Flip Book!

1:00PM-6:00PMSunday, May 6th
Another Free Comic Book Day
-Meet Spider-Man and Batman!
-Select Three Free Comics From our Remaining Stock!

Don't forget you can register at all of our events for the chance to win great door prizes like these:

Marvel Icons Spider-Man Bust

Alex Ross Spider-Man Head Bust

Amazing Spider-Man Pop-Up Book

and of course, you remember the
Amazing Spider-Man Omnibus

Other Prizes Include:
Movie Tickets to Mayfaire Cinemas
A Tattoo From Area 51 Tattoo Parlor
A Collection of Spider-Man Trade Paperbacks

All winners will be announced next week in this newsletter, so you have to check this newsletter in order to see if you won!

Hey Students! When you register for Free Comic Book Day, don't forget to write down your school information! If your school has the most participants, your school could win a collection of Award-Winning graphic novles like:

Maus
by Art Spiegelman
A Pulitzer-Prize-Winning account of the Holocaust

The Contract With God Trilogy
by Will Eisner
One of the earliest and most influential "Graphic Novels"

Sandman: Dream Country
by Neil Gaiman
Containing the only comic to ever win a World Fantasy Award, "A Midsummer's Night Dream"

Pride of Baghdad
by Brian K. Vaughan
Celebrated comics newcomer Vaughan's unique look at the Iraq War through the eyes of a pride of lions that escaped from the Baghdad Zoo

Understanding Comics
by Scott McCloud
An evaluation of comics that Will Eisner called, "A landmark dissection and intellectual consideration of comics as a valid medium."

How To Draw Comics the Marvel Way
by Stan Lee and John Buscema
The ultimate guide on creating comics by one of Marvel's greatest writers and one of their greatest artists

Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
The critically acclaimed memoir of a girl's childhood in Iran during the Islamic Revolution

Here Are Some of the First Fifty Books, Available Only in These Grab Bags!

The Free Comics

Amazing Spider-Man: Swing Shift
by Dan Slott and Phil Jiminez
Published by Marvel Comics

All-New Story & Art by an All-Star Creative Team! Fan-favorite writer Dan (Civil War: The Initiative; She-Hulk) Slott and Superstar Artist Phil (New X-Men, Infinite Crisis) Jiminez bring you a brand new tale of danger and intrigue starring your favorite web-slinger... a tale that may just come back to haunt Spidey in the coming months! Cover by Phil Jiminez.

Good for Fans Of: Spider-Man, Traditional Superhero Comics

Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #1
by J.Torres and Chynna Clugston-Flores
Published by DC Comics

An all-new, all-ages Johnny DC series spinning out of the smash-hit animated series on Kids WB! starring Superman and the Legion of Superheroes! In this debut issue, the Legion travels back in time for reinforcements to stop the Fatal Five from destroying Metropolis, because this looks like a job for... Clark Kent?! Can six teenagers from the future help a mild-mannered teenager become the Man of Steel, or will the Fatal Five determine his destiny before it's even begun?

Good for Fans Of: Justice League Unlimited, Teen Titans Go!, All-Ages Superhero Comics

The Astounding Wolf-Man #1
by Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard
Published by Image Comics

When Gary Hampton is mauled and left for dead -- his life takes a drastic turn. Gary is cursed -- when the moon is full he transforms into a beast of the night -- a werewolf! But this curse will not be used for evil -- witness the birth of the world's most unlikely new superhero -- The Astounding Wolf-Man! Don't miss Robert (Invincible, The Walking Dead) Kirkman's new series from Image Comics! It all starts right here for FREE!

Good for Fans Of: Cheesy Old Monster Movies, Invincible, Marvel Zombies, The Walking Dead

Family Guy & Hack/Slash Flipbook
by Various
Published by Devil's Due Publishing

The Family Guy steps out of the TV screen and into a this Free Comic Book Day edition from Devil's Due! Peter, Brian, Stewie and the rest of the Family Guy crew provide more uplifting, wholesome adventures that will edify and educate the masses. Yeah, right! Plus, a bonus flip book feature Hack/Slash! At the end of every slasher movie, one girl always survives... But, what if that girl then became a hunter of slashers? That girl is Cassie Hack, star of Hack/Slash -- soon to be a major motion picture from Rogue Studios!

Good for Fans Of: Family Guy, Slasher Movies, Buffy The Vampire Slayer

Little Archie "The Legend of the Lost Lagoon" #1
by Bob Bolling
Published by Archie Comics

Little Archie, several campers and two counselors are boating on Loon Lake when they are suddenly caught in a dangerous storm. A golden owl, thought only to be a legend, directs them to the safety of a hidden tunnel that leads them to yet another legend, The Lost Lagoon!

Good for Fans Of: Old-School Comics, Archie (Obviously), Betty and Veronica (Obviously)

Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse
by Floyd Gottfredson
Published by Gemstone Comics

2006 Eisner Award Hall of Fame honoree Floyd Gottfredson brings you the Mikey Mouse you love: a two0fisted scrapper in a jaw-dropping epic! "The Robin Hood Adventure" takes our hero to Medieval times, where he must prove himself a warrior -- swordfighting, jousting, and risking his life to rob the rich! And then there's that little matter of marriage to one of Minnie's ancestors... ods bodkins!

Good for Fans Of: Disney Movies, Classic Cartoons

Bongo Comics Free-for-All! 2007
by Matt Groening
Published by Marvel Comics

The comic company that brings you The Simpsons and Futurama in the fantastic four-color format joins the ranks of promotion-seeking publishers on Free comic Book Day by joining with retailers to reel in new readers, with a comic cornucopia of tantalizing tidbits and a spectacular sampling of the best in humor comics!

Good for Fans Of: The Simpsons, Futurama, Family Guy

Umbrella Academy / Zero Killer / Pantheon City
by Various
Published by Dark Horse Comics

Three for the price of... none? Conceived and written by My Chemical Romance front man Gerard Way, The Umbrella Academy features interior art by Gabriel Bá (Casanova) and Dave Stewart (Hellboy), and covers by multiple-Eisner-Award-winning artist James Jean (Fables). The Umbrella Academy debuts with a 12-page story set before the start of the upcoming series. This issue also features sneak-peeks of two other upcoming Dark Horse titles: Zero Killer, by Rex Mundi creator Arvid Nelson and Matt Camp (Shadows), and Pantheon City, written by Ron Marz (Samurai: Heaven and Earth) and drawn by Clement Sauve (Stormwatch).

Good for Fans Of: Whatever the heck this comic book is about

The Lone Ranger / New Battlestar Galactica Flip Book
by Various
Published by Dynamite Entertainment

Dynamite Entertainment proudly presents their first Free Comic Book Day comic featuring: Battlestar Galactica: Year One #0 beginning a brand new story from the creative team of Brandon Jerwa and Stephen Segovia! Taking place before the events of the now-classic Sci-Fi series, Year One presents a "season zero" that introduces us to the cast and crew of the Galactica as they face new challenges and threats, all under the watchful eye of the Cylons! On the flip side, Lone Ranger: The Creed #0 presents a special tale in which the immortal words of the Lone Ranger's Creed to help narrate the story! Plus: Previews of Red Sonja, Painkiller Jane, Highlander, and Raise the Dead!

Good for Fans Of: Sci-Fi TV Shows, Westerns

Transformers: The Movie Prequel
by Simon Furman & Chris Ryall
Published by IDW Publishing

Before the live-action Transformers movie spectacularly explodes onto theater screens in July, read the official beginning of the story right here! In this prequel to the film, Prime Directive," travel from Cybertron to Earth to witness the events that lead to the Transformers bringing their war to our world! This special Free Comic book Day edition features issue #1 of this prelude, as well as additional art from series artist Figueroa.

Good for Fans Of: Transformers, Classic Saturday Morning Cartoons

Whiteout #1
by Greg Rucka & Steve Lieber
Published by Oni Press

Oni Press and the Eisner-winning team of Greg Rucka and Steve Lieber are pleased to offer the first issue of one of the most critically acclaimed indy comics series of the last decade! U.S. Marshal Carrie Stetko is the lawwoman charged with maintaining order in the snowy wasteland of Antarctica, but when someone commits murder on "The Ice," will Carrie be able to find the culprit?

Good for Fans Of: Sci-Fi TV Shows, Westerns

Sonic The Hedgehog
by Ian Flynn and Tracy Yardley
Published by Archie Comics

What could be better than Dr. Eggman's killer robot, Metal Sonic? How about the real thing! What has turned Sonic against his friends in Knothole, and who among our heroes has to power to stop the true blue hero-gone-bad?

Good for Fans Of: Sonic the Hedgehog, All-Ages Video Games

There will also be a live remote by

And Free Pizza Supplied by Hungry Howie's!

Tickets are only $2.00! You could win one of several amazing prizes, including our Grand Prize:

A Year's Subscription to 10 Comic Titles
Over a $300 Value!

You could also win:

A $100 Gift Certificate to Area 51 Tattoo Parlor!

A Limited Edition Signed and Remarked Art Print by Tom Fleming!

Best Buy Gift Cards!

If you're looking for more ways to support the Cape Fear Literacy Council in their battle against the sinister Illiteracy Council, you should check out their website at www.cfliteracy.org! They're also associated with www.goodsearch.com: all you need to do to support them every time you search is go to the GoodSearch website and type "Cape Fear" into the "I Support" box, and every search you make supports the Cape Fear Literacy Council!

Wow, I guess I got all the relevant information into the title there!  Good for me!

Free Comic Book Day's little brother doesn't want you to forget about him! We'll be doing all sorts of stuff for our gamers on this Free Comic Book Weekend. Here's our schedule of events:

Saturday, May 5th

Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures Demos
12pm, 3pm, and 7pm

Learn to Play Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures, and register to win a Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures Starter!

World of Warcraft TCG Demos
3pm, 5pm, and 7pm

Learn to Play the new hit card game based on the massively popular video game! Each participatnt in the demo gets a free booster while supplies last, and you can register to win one of three starter decks!

Sunday, May 6th

Heroclix and HorrorClix Demos
1pm, 3pm, 5pm

Each participant gets a free limited edition Batman Miniature and a free HeroClix booster while supplies last, and you can register to win a HeroClix starter.

Also, Magic Players can get a great deal with this coupon! Sure, the expiration date may have expired, but here's a secret: we don't care.

52 Week 52

It's finally coming to an end. The series that has pretty much consistently been one of the best books to come out each week with no delays ends this week. See what writers Geoff Johns, Greg Rucka, Mark Waid, and Grant Morrison have in store for the conclusion of their epic that made a story about Booster Gold, Animal Man, Steel, The Question, Elongated Man and Black Adam one of the must-read books over the past year. This is it! The Secret of 52 Revealed! The Year Without Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman ends! And next week, the Countdown begins!

WORLD WAR HULK BEGINS!
World War Hulk Prologue: World Breaker
Incredible Hulk #106

Did you read the awesome Planet Hulk story arc going through the Incredible Hulk? If you have, congratulations! You are a discerning individual of character and taste! If not, then I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, provided that you pick up World War Hulk. If you haven't already read the preview--well, check out the bottom of this page. It is pretty much awesome. Thanks to the magic of preview copies, I have already read both of this week's issues. The Prologue is an excellent set-up for the smashing to come, and it even includes a Mini-Marvels backup story about the Illuminati's decision to launch Hulk into space that is actually really hilarious. Incredible Hulk #106 actually has very little Hulk, but fear not! It's a sharply-written tale about Amadeus Cho (a boy prodigy who befriended Hulk before the whole Planet Hulk deal) trying to round up heroes to support the Hulk when he comes back, starting with Jennifer Walters--the She-Hulk! Also, the scale of this event shouldn't be as overwhelming as Civil War, and it might even come out on time!

Marvel Illustrated: The Last of the Mohicans #1

To quote Mark Twain:

"Cooper's art has some defects. In one place in 'Deerslayer,' and in the restricted space of two-thirds of a page, Cooper has scored 114 offenses against literary art out of a possible 115. It breaks the record.

"There are nineteen rules governing literary art in domain of romantic fiction -- some say twenty-two. In 'Deerslayer,' Cooper violated eighteen of them."

Fortunately, there are a lot of pretty pictures in this comic so it doesn't matter how terrible of a writer Cooper is! Instead of slogging through his inept prose, you just get the story and the dialogue! Hooray for comic books!

Check out information on the upcoming WE Fest XI at their official website! You can listen to bands and other music at WE Fest's myspace page!

Fanboy is also going to be working with WE Fest to spotlight independent and local comics, with more information coming soon! If you are a self-published comic creator or have a small press comic and would like to attend WE Fest, please contact Fanboy Comics at fanboycomics@bellsouth.net.

The heroes of 52 have action figures!  Booster Gold!  Animal Man!  Supernova!  Isis!  Batwoman!  I personally think all of these characters are awesome.  Especially Animal Man.  The dude kind of gains animal powers from some sort of Platonic ideal of an animal or something.  It's confusing, and involves morphogenic fields or something Grant Morrison came up while he was on the cocktail of drugs and hallucinogens that he's pretty much replaced his blood with at this point.  What was I talking about?  Who cares, 52 is awesome.

Ed Brubaker's Captain America is one of the best superhero comics being put out by any company.  Here's the blurb:

Captain America has fallen into a clash with his government and his friends, and the people close to him are paying the price. The life of Cap's girlfriend, Agent 13, is torn apart as her superiors use her divided loyalties against her. Elsewhere, a new villain emerges; the Red Skull begins to make himself known; and the Winter Soldier again comes face-to-face with Cap. But which side will he choose? Plus: James Buchanan Barnes, Captain America's one-time partner Bucky, faces his first Christmas of the 21st century - and the truth of the terrible things he was forced to do as the Winter Soldier. And with Cap caught in a conflict he can neither take a side of - or understand - what moves can he make to try to redeem himself?! 

Seriously.  The best.

"Oppenheimer was no mage, but how can you say he wasn't a wizard? I'm sure he'd never seen any Watchtower or Atlantis god-king or any of your other old myths. But he conjured up something the world had never seen before and changed this Earth forever. No mage had ever done what he did, but we consider ourselves the Awakened people. I'll bet you anything that when he saw the flash, he woke up, whether it was like us or not. Imagine what we can do when we see through the Lie and recognize that magic and science are all the same thing: wondrous." - Morton, Libertine Futurist

Man, read that quote and tell me this game isn't awesome.

This boxed set contains enough plastic components to assemble twenty (20) Black Orcs with options for a Champion, Standard Bearer, and Musician. All models are supplied unpainted and require assembly.

My friends who play orcs inform me that this is a huge improvement over the previous situation.  Hooray for plastics!

This Week, Free Comic Book Day Rules All!

Did you see that James Fenimore Cooper thing by Mark Twain that I posted in the Shipping This Week section?  If not, you should really check it out.  Mark Twain is pretty much a true American Hero.