Whether you’re a Marvel fan or not, you have to know that the biggest event of the year is quite possibly the Avengers VS X-Men series, in stores April 4th! The Comic Bug is setting up to celebrate this launch with a big pre-release party at 8pm on April 3rd, with tons of prizes and exclusives coming directly from the House of Ideas, through out little shop, and into your hands! Along with an advance copy of the comic, we’re going to have exclusive AvX promo posters, lithographs, pins, and lots more!

“We’ve never had a bigger story than Avengers VS X-Men and we’re backing retailers with the biggest incentives you’ve ever seen through the Avengers VS X-Men Launch Parties,” said David Gabriel, Marvel Senior Vice-President of Sales. “Whether it’s advertising, promotional material or limited edition variant covers, every one of our valued retailer partners will be able to get the word out to both their regular customers and new fans about this comic event and the exciting Avengers VS X-Men Launch Parties. Some stores will choose to side with the Avengers and some will side with the X-Men, but I can guarantee one thing — Marvel will make sure all of them have everything they need to make AVENGERS VS X-MEN #1 their top selling comic of the year.”

Here’s everything you need to know:

Joe Rubinstein, David Wohl, and Scotts Koblish and Lobdell are just a few of the hot names in the world of comics that will be appearing at the Comic Bug this Wednesday to promote the trial launch of a new iPhone app co-founded by comic industry favorite, Terry Kavanagh. The MyBeanJar app, which the founders like to call “Games with Benefits,” allows players of casual games to receive free stuff—cupcakes, pizza, lattes, and more—at certain levels of achievement in each game.

Co-founder, David Chodosh, explains their goals, “MyBeanJar makes the game experience more exciting by delivering a desirable reward at a winning moment. Players consider real-world offers, especially for items that they’ve personally chosen, to be an improvement over points and virtual gifts.”
Terry Kavanagh adds, “We expect this to be a literal game changer because it connects players with their favorite products in a way that is organic to the gameplay, fun, and addictive.”

The event Wednesday will feature some of the hottest comic book writers and artists signing their books, and talking about their work. There will also be some giveaways and special incentives for joining the MyBeanJar trial.

The limited live trial sets the stage for MyBeanJar to launch nationally next year, bringing consumers’ exactly what they want—more free burgers, apparel, e-books, etc. As of midnight tomorrow, Apple users in the South Bay (El Segundo, Beach Cities- Manhattan, Hermosa, Redondo, and Torrance) are encouraged to download the MyBeanJar app, and the two “Bean-enabled” games—Theseus and Whomp-a-Weasel for free from the iTunes Stores between December 14 and December 21. Several other local merchants including Ameci’s Pizza, Baskin Robbins, Bobaloca, and Gigi’s Shoes are participating with exclusive offers—free, twofer, or sizable discounts—redeemable at their stores and restaurants from the MyBeanJar app on their iPhones.

Experience the newest Magic: The Gathering set a week before it goes on sale!

You will also receive an exclusive Mayor of Avabruck/Howlpack Alpha promo card while supplies last!

When you show up at a Prerelease you will be given the opportunity to play with the newest cards in the following formats:

Sealed Deck: Each player receives six Innistrad booster packs to use for building a deck.

Booster Draft: Players participating in a booster draft event should each receive three Innistrad booster packs to draft with.

Two-Headed Giant Sealed: Each team of two players receives eightInnistrad booster packs to use for building a deck (each team receives a total of eight booster packs).

In addition to the booster packs, each player receives (while supplies last): 

• 1 promo card (Mayor of Avabruck/Howlpack Alpha)
• 1 Achievement card

 The Achievement card is a fun activity for you to complete. Earn the satisfaction of completing all the tasks over the course of the Prerelease!

Open Dueling: Open Dueling players each receive 1 Innistrad Intro Pack and 1 promo card (Mayor of Avabruck/Howlpack Alpha, while supplies last). Open Dueling players use their Intro Pack to play against each other, as well as Prerelease tournament players who are between matches. All players should be encouraged to help teach Open Dueling participants how to play Magic.

THE KIDS OF WIDNEY HIGH WORLD PREMIERE COMIC LAUNCH!

JIM MAHFOOD, CHUCK B.B., RAFAEL NAVARRO, RIKKI NIEHAUS, NEAL VON FLUE, ROBBI RODRIGUEZ and CHRIS BRANDT appearing for signings, sketches and live art show.

LIVE PERFORMANCE BY THE KIDS OF WIDNEY HIGH!

Join The Kids of Widney High and the artists of the KOWH comic book for a night of live art, comic book goodness and rock n’ roll as we celebrate the release of their first comic book.  All of the artists on the book will be onhand to sign copies and discuss their work on the book. 

From Wikipedia:  The Kids of Widney High is a music group composed of mentally disabled students from the special education J. P. Widney High School in Los Angeles, California. The band consists of several (typically mentally) disabled students on vocals, with the instruments usually being played by non-handicapped teachers and session musicians. The group originally began as a song-writing class in 1988 taught by Michael Monagan, and has evolved since into two groups, one made up of graduates that performs in local clubs and the other a group of current Widney students in the songwriting class.

The group gained a cult following, primarily thanks to their frequent live performances at such “hip” Los Angeles venues like The Knitting Factory and Amoeba Music, as well as smaller venues like Chain Reaction in Anaheim and The Smell in downtown LA. As a result, the group often plays at a number of ska and pop punk shows, including a stint on the Vans Warped Tour. The group has also opened for The Melvins and Mr. Bungle, and have been included on several editions of the Kevin and Bean‘s KROQ Christmas Albums. Such notable musicians as Smokey Robinson, Jackson Browne, Marilyn Manson and Adam Horovitz have all cited themselves as fans of the band. [1]

In 2005, The Kids of Widney High were featured in the The Ringer, a comedy wherein Johnny Knoxville‘s character pretends to be mentally disabled in order to fix the Special Olympics and gain financially through betting on it. The group is seen performing “Pretty Girls” (which was also written by several members of the group) at a dance, and again towards the end of the film singing a version of the popular 1960s song, “Respect” in which the lyrics have been rewritten so that it becomes an anthem for those with disabilities.

Check out their sweet tunes at www.kidsofwidneyhigh.com !
For more on the Kids of Widney High Comic Book: www.atomicbasement.com

Comics on Comics… 

Japanese Maid Cafe for charity… 

Hop on-board the Battlestar Galactica for one final flight with star Richard (Apollo, Tom Zarek) Hatch, Anthony (PopGun) Wu, and Mike (The Chief) Wellman! Picking up the pieces and filling in the blanks left by what critics call “the best show on television”, this gang of fearsome warriors is going to sign manga and answer some of the most offbeat questions bounced off their heads when they film the newest episode of Comics on Comics! The signing runs from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Comics on Comics will begin promptly at 8:00 and run until 10:00. If you get thirsty or hungry from all of the festivities, never fear! The Comic Bug has MAID a new friend! As in our friendly new Japanese Maid, RAMONA! Ramona will be serving treats all night long with all proceeds going to fight breast cancer.

Sunday, January 27th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. witness a once-in-a-lifetime event right here at The Comic Bug, the “Confessions of a Superhero” release party! A screening of this absolutely amazing documentary will be followed by a brief Q & A with not just director Matt Ogens, but cast members Christopher (Superman) Dennis, Joe (The Hulk) McQueen and Jennifer (Wonder Woman) Gehrt!

Are these spandex-clad heroes menace or saviour?! Are they here to help us or make a few quick bucks? Come down to The Comic Bug Sunday, January 27th and find out.

DVDs will be available and there will be free snacks and refreshments. For more on “Confessions of a Superhero”, check out www.therealsuperhero.com.

Wednesday, January 23 from 6 to 8 p.m. explore the origins of the BPRD with creator Mike Mignola and writer Joshua Dysart. There will be a brief, interactive Q&A, refreshments and autographs aplenty!

A portion of the proceeds will go the St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Come by the store for a party with the artist of Black Metal, Chuck BB from 6-9pm. The Comic Bug will have a live ‘metal’ band playing! And we’re not talking about Mike rockin’ on the guitar!

Come by and The Comic Bug will be making a special offer for those who come in at that time, donate a blanket that will be given to the homeless and you will get a FREE copy of The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born #1. The Comic Bug is teaming up with the charity Poverty Matters to help the homeless during the recent cold nights.

Check out their website at www.povertymatters.com.

Writer, Mike Wellman, who was also responsible for Gone South, and Raphael Navarro of Sonambulo fame celebrate “…the most important comic of our time!” (-Stan Lee). That’s right, true believer. I’m sure Stan said that at some point, so we can easily infer the reference was to Mac Afro.  The party was hosted by DJ C Diddy.

We still have some copies in stock so if you are looking for a fun story with great art, come to The Comic Bug and pick yourself up a copy!  If you are lucky, perhaps Mike will sign a copy.