This year's Comic Con International: San Diego had several comics that showcased variations of covers with the Comic Con Logo or a Comic Con Banner across the front cover...  

The above comic book "Iron Man Golden Avenger" #1 didn't show a Comic Con Logo or Banner, but instead had a 'Marvel Book Market Variant' box placed on it instead of the 'Secret Invasion' Box that was shown on the regular printed copy that most sellers have listed.

I am only bringing it to my Blog readers' attention, because one - it is a variant cover that is currently listed from $19.95 to $24.95 at eBay, and two - it is a really well written "done-in-one" issue, which unfortunately isn't seen too often in comics on the market as most are continued stories...

Plus it is a good intro to the Iron Man character, no matter which 'Universe' this story belongs in.   As you can see by the photo at the top right of this blog post, I immersed myself in the Iron Man Universe by taking a 'tour' of Stark Industries while at the Con, which is where a few copies of this special issue were distributed. 

Oh, and the photo at the bottom right of this same blog post shows Tina also with the different suits of armor.  She just loved the Iron Man 1 Film!  As could be seen from her blog post review of the film as seen here:  (A Woman's POV of the Iron Man Film).

Credits to this 'one shot' comic book issue are:

Writers: Fred Van Lente, Margot Blankier

Penciler: Juan Santacruz

Inker: Juan Santacruz

Colourist: Chris Sotomayor

Letterer: Dave Sharpe

Editors: Mark Paniccia, Nathan Cosby

SPOILER WARNING: If You DON'T Want to know the story printed in this special issue, then don't read the following italicized paragraphs, just skip to the next section afterwards:

Synopsis for "Employee of the Month": Stark International holds its first "Employee of the Month" celebration and the recipient of this month's award is Pepper Potts. Pepper's young assistant Callee however, is disheartened with Tony Stark's obvious affection towards Pepper and conspires to one-up her accomplishments.

To this end, she kidnaps Pepper and holds her captive in her bedroom at her mother's house. She then hires four known mercenaries, Blacklash, Jolt, Plantman and Spymaster, and arranges a faux attack against Tony Stark. Her intention is to swing in at the last moment using a modified taser device and save Tony Stark thus earning herself the coveted "Employee of the Month" award. Her plan backfires when the villains realize that they've been tricked and a super-powered battle ensues at Stark International. Tony Stark manages to summon one of his remote suits of armor to fight against the villains.

Meanwhile, Pepper manages to escape from Callee's mother's house and rushes back to Stark International. She affects some quick repairs to Tony's remote armor and the villains are apprehended. Callee, her scheme exposed, is also taken into police custody.

Again, I found this story to be pretty darn good, and it is a "done-in-one" story.  Which is just fine since the comic is a 'one-shot' comic.  What got me though to pick it up in the first place was the gorgeous cover!  Plus, I'm an Iron Man fan since the early Tales of Suspense issues with ol' Shellhead in them, so was pleased to see some villains I recognized: Plantman and Whiplash!

Also,  if You haven't picked up this Special Variant Cover Issue, we do have it listed in our online store for a LOT LESS than what the other sellers have it listed for.  (Click here to see our listings for this special issue.)  

While You are looking at the above special variant issue in our store's aisle... Please check out our other new listings of comics, graphic novels, Comic Con exclusives and more pop culture items for sale in our online eBay Featured Store that our blogs are based on! 

Thanks again to all of YOU reading our current and archived blog posts!  We do blog daily on comic book creators, comic book reviews, and other pop culture news and events including some TV shows and theatrical films!