I attended an A vs. X lauch party at my LCS too. LOL!!!
I picked up issue 1 (Avengers cover) and (blank cover). There was an artist there named Jim Giar and he was sketching for FREE!!!!
So I go me a very cool looking Spiderman on my A vs. X book. I also picked up 2 issues of Fear itself for a buck, yep 2 issues for a dollar.
There was a costum contest and raffles and give-a-ways. (I did not win)
And I managed to snag me a button to show my Avenger support. The LCS also had back issues for 50% off and 20% off all Marvel trades. A good time was had by all.
(going to put the sketch cover on the StarJoes facebook page today after work).

http://starjoes.podbean.com/A podcast dedicated to Star Wars, G.I. Joe, and ll of your favorite 80's franchises. We cover the current day comics being published about these properties as well as take a look back at the comics that came out before. We do toy reviews and movie commentaries. If you loved the properties that came out of the 80's, then you need to be listening to the Star Joes Podcast!!