Spidey , who has been on the list for just 3 weeks, vaulted to the #1 position past Dragonball and even past the seasonally potent Mother's Day.

On Saturday, May 4, Bookery Fantasy (Fairborn, OH) gave away thousands of free comics, introducing hundreds of new potential readers to the exciting world of illustrated adventure.

Joey Boyack, owner of Comic Kings, Virginia Beach,VA: Our day turned out pretty good today, as we saw a lot of new faces that came in looking for the free comics.

Fox News is reporting that Quentin Tarantino is set to produce a film version of Larry Hama's Mort the Dead Teenager . Unlike Spider-Man , the X-Men , or The Hulk , Mort is no superhero--just a teenager who loses his head (literally) in a train wreck.

Our top-of-the-home-page story on Yu Gi Oh yesterday brought in this response from Bill Eckman of Classic Cards & Comics in Castle Rock, Colorado who says it can't be hot in his store if he doesn't have any.

Comic and graphic novel orders (dollars) surged again for May 2002, continuing the torrid growth that began in the fourth quarter of 2001.

Initial raw orders to Diamond US from pop culture stores were lower on 16 of the top 25 titles in May than they were in April . Six titles were up, and three were new. Of the six that were up, two were Spider-Man and two were Batman titles.

Estimated quantities for initial orders on comics shipping in May 2002 from pop culture stores ordering from Diamond US.

Marvel has announced final details of its May Insert program, which will encompass every comic the publisher will release that month to sample the additional readers that are expected to pick up comics as a result of the Spider-Man movie.

Marvel announced a new agreement today with THQ, Inc to create a series of videogames based on the classic Marvel characters Captain America , The Punisher , and Nick Fury .