Harry here, about to go to sleep so that 3rd jolly fat man can enter the house and deposit a 6ft LURTZ statue at the foot of my bed with a big red bow in his hair, so before I sign off for the night, I leave you with this... Download the file you see at the other end of the link, enjoy....

Click here for a Merry Christmas!!!!

oh and a friend at Marvel sent this...

'TWAS A MARVEL KNIGHT BEFORE X-MAS

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through The House
Not an editor was stirring not Tom, Mike nor Ralph
Grayhaven and Splash, Wizard and Newsarama
Were all waiting for Marvel's next melodrama

Levitz and Wayne all snug in their beds
With visions of reprints and books that they'd shred
And Jemas in straight jacket and Joe Q with the lock
Had just settled down for new schemes they'd concoct

From the Sunshine State there came such a chatter
That Joe Q made a call to find what's the matter.
Alessi was shouting, "No, no, nobody quits"
But you know what they say, if the Sigil fits?

The fans started posting the rumors dujour
But Q and J knew that one thing was for sure
As sure as a fan boy loves a bad girly
Came a holiday gift just a little bit early

A writer with wit just as sharp as a blade
They knew in an instant it must be Mark Waid.
More rapid than Quicksilver his characters came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name

Now SUZY, now SURFER, now RICHARDS, now BEN
On NAMOR, on JOHNNY, on DOOM and MOLE MEN
To the top of the House of Ideas they flew
To regain the glory and praise they once knew

And that's when it hit them, with reckless abandon
Joe Q and Bill J had a great gift for all fandom
A comic book starring the Fantastic Four
For nine cents, just nine, and not one penny more.

And then in a twinkling it came rather nifty
That the nine-cent comic should be issue sixty
So in August 02 retail lives will be merry
Three digit IQs won't be necessary

('Cause retailers want to punch Bill on the nose,
Bill wanted it known that that last joke was Joe's
And though it sounds funny with rhymes done with skill
Joe wanted it known it really was Bill's)

Now back to our story because it's the time to be merry
Lest we want the nine cent news release to get buried
What more besides Waid could we wrap with a bow?
Oh, hey don't look now, it's Mike Weringo!

In 2002 they'll make the FF idols
Unless Brian Bendis writes 50 new titles
A bargain so huge for a book so immense
Who could ever believe it's merely nine cents

So don't listen to gossip or false accusation
Don't spend your ten pennies on cheap imitations
For others will come and others will go
With seven or six cent ideas that blow

As for ten penny books by Da' Competition
It's clear to any good math-e-matician,
To pay for the companies bought (there were many)
The AOL giant needs that extra penny.

At Marvel we wanted to spread Christmas cheer
With all of our fans who we worship so dear
So we leave all yea faithful though it may sound cliched
With some closing remarks we heard from Mark Waid

As he revved the Fantasticar, map marked for home
And prepared to fly off to the Negative Zone
I heard him exclaim to Q quite elated
Merry Christmas to all...
... and keep Jemas sedated!