Wow, first they gave us Mad Men and, now, it looks like AMC might give us The Walking Dead, one of Mr. WYA!'s favorite graphic novels. We always thought that TCM was the superior movie channel (and it continues to be for the classics that we love) but we like the direction AMC is going in these days.

Woo-hoo- Captain America is coming back to life next month.

Superheroes, just like Freddy Kruger and political pundits, never stay down for long. Just two short years after getting gunned down on the courthouse steps in the final chapters of "Civil War", good old Steve Rogers is getting the whole resurrection treatment. Yes indeedy followers of freedom and liberty, the original Cap is coming back. Marvel even has a special site for the "Reborn" extravaganza where you can catch up with free digital comics.

Bucky Barnes, Cap's old sidekick turned brainwashed assassin, turned good guy again has been doing a decent job replacing the good Captain. How will Bucky respond to his sudden demotion and what shape will Cap be in after his resurrection? Guess we'll have to read it to find out. (Condolences if you are among the many that spent premium cash to get the issue where Cap got executed. It is now probably worth the newsstand price.)

Now why would Marvel kill off the Captain just to bring him back? Hmmm, they must be making a movie. Due out in 2011, after Iron Man II (can't wait) and the Kenneth Branagh directed Thor.

These will lead to all of the heroes in the huge Avengers flick in 2012.

If you haven't picked up a comic book in awhile, the Avengers books have been a lot of fun lately and you can pick up a copy at your local comic shop.

Sunday morning combo...

...listening to Adele and reading a Pearls Before Swine book. (the Pearls link is to creator Stephan Pastis' blog which has a funny video on it- we love this guy and his work!)

Regular readers know that we are fans of both Eckhart Tolle and the comic strip Mutts so we are thrilled to see that they have come together for a book coming out this fall.

Free Comic Book Day on May 2nd!

Once again, the good folks that still crank out comic books give you a chance to reconnect for FREE. This year, expect an Avengers (these titles have been amazingly hot and once again relevant for the times), Star Wars, Simpsons, and a good old Archie title among others. You can hit the website for more details, but come on, they are FREE! How much research do you need to do?

Indianapolis has an amazing number of comic stores to choose from; Downtown Comics has several locations and Comic Carnival on east Washington is a cool, funky combo of comics, figurines, old movies on DVD and a variety of other oddities (they have a couple of other locations too).

Do the Wonder Twins really merit their own action figures?

Mrs. WYA! would love it if Mr. WYA! would start reading his favorite Marvel comics digitally to reduce the clutter of the paper comic books. There's a subscription fee to get access to thousands of comics online but here's a free one with Captain America, Spider-Man, and Abe Lincoln.

Thanks to this NYMag.com post, we just found out that Wonder Woman and Diane Von Furstenberg have joined forces for what looks to be a very inspiring book.

Sometimes, OK- a lot of times, the Mutts comic is the highlight of the newspaper for us (with Pearls Before Swine coming a close second). Besides writing a great comic strip, Patrick McDonnell seems like a great guy who is really involved in preventing animal cruelty and making the planet better in general. Along with the Greenfield Paper Company, he is offering "Grow a Note" Mutts Christmas cards that are embedded with plantable seeds so, after the holiday, the recipient can plant the card and wait for the wildflowers to grow.

YOU CAN BE IRON MAN!!!

This is a neat little contest that costs you nothing to enter. Check out this site and enter here. Hasbro is offering 3 lucky Grand Prize winners the honor of having an Iron Man figure made...with their face!!! In addition, you get the VIP treatment at the Hasbro HQ in Rhode Island to pick it up. Hurry, the contest ends 9/30/08.

In case you can't wait for Iron Man 2...

Jon Favreau, the director (and cameo star) of Iron Man has written a 4-part mini-series called "Iron Man: Viva Las Vegas" Favreau really gets this character, and probably wants to keep proving it to us until sequel time. This series is sold monthly for 4 months, the first issue was released May 7, the next one is expected to hit the stands June 4th, to find a comic store near you, click here

If you are one of the many that poured into Iron Man, did you stay for the surprise scene after the credits and, if you did, what did you think?

Free comic book day tomorrow!

Ah, the biggest holiday is nearly here. This Saturday, May 3rd is Free Comic Book Day. That's right, certain comic books are free on Saturday at participating stores. Locally, the good folks at Downtown Comics and Comic Carnival are in on the giveaway. If you haven't read a comic book in awhile, this might be just the nudge you need to discover a great new title or revisit an old favorite.

Marvel Updates-Secret Invasion- Iron Man

The Secret Invasion is ON. In this 8 issue mini-series, the Skrulls (identity stealing aliens) have replaced many characters in the Marvel Universe..with disastrous results. Brian Bendis, the writer, promises that this mini will shake the Marvel Universe to its core. The only character Bendis promised is "hands off" is Captain America (after his tragic death, it would be a cheat to say the dead hero was an alien in disguise). Issue #1, which was released last week, found our heroes at the site of a Skrull crash, which contained...our heroes. Are the crash survivors Skrulls waiting to take over? Or are the characters we have been following all along enemy invaders waiting for the signal to reveal themselves. 7 more issues people, all questions should be answered. I can't wait.

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In early May, Iron Man hits the big screen. The early previews of this Jon Favreau directed film look great, and the choice of Robert Downey Jr. to play Tony Stark is inspired. Iron Man has been one of those Marvel characters that was almost too human. He has lost friends to heroin addiction, and constantly faces the challenges of his own alcoholism. This should be one of those summer, mindless, let's have fun for 90 minutes, films. If you catch it, let me know what you think

Free Comic Book Day Contest

There is still a little over a month until Free Comic Book Day and we will remind you when it gets closer to that day on May 3rd http://www.freecomicbookday.com/. However, the folks at Free Comic Book Day are having a You Tube contest in which you make a mini commercial declaring your love of comics, superheroes, or Free Comic Book Day itself. You could win a $250 gift certificate to your favorite comic book store. http://www.youtube.com/user/FCBD08