Happy Free Comic Book Day, fellow citizens of comicdom! Frankly, I'm surprised I was able to celebrate at all. My last brush with FCBD ended in disaster, but like that black dude in Harold and Kumar said, "The universe tends to unfold as it should."
But I still didn't get to grab some free comics from the good people of Comic Odyssey (the ultimate Free Comic Book Day destination)...due to oversleeping. And if there's anything I learned from last time, if it's already 11am, don't bother going.
Thankfully, I still had some comics waiting for me in Planet X Comics, where I was pleasantly surprised to see that I got some FCBD comics waiting for me in my pull box! And since I missed out on My Week in Comics 2 weeks in a row (did anybody miss it at all?), I thought I'd just share with you guys what I thought of these awesome freebies!
First up is Arcana Studio Presents, Arcana Studios' offering for FCBD. It's more of an appetizer of sorts, teasers for upcoming projects like Kade (looks good, reads weird), Creepsville (I find the 'mishmash of monsters and aliens and weirdos in one town' concept pretty interesting), Eve: Vampyre Diva and Koni Waves (with art that has shades of J. Scott Campbell, which means 'me likey'). It's a bit sad to know that some FCBD's just become teaser pamphlets instead of full, original stories you can spread around to your friends after you're finished, but that's just me.
Next is Radical 2009 Preview. I'm still kicking myself for not getting into Caliber (Radical's Wild West take on the Arthurian legend) sooner. Their graphic work is just gorgeous, you can tell people slaved over this. From Hercules to FVZA to Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead...I mean, they even got an upcoming title called Aladdin, Legacy of the Lost that looks like it could kick that Disney streetrat's ass all up and down Disney World! Any company that could make freaking Aladdin badass is aces in my book.
And finally we come to Marvel Comics' FCBD offering, Avengers. Unlike the first two which are simply previews and teasers for upcoming releases, this issue is an all-original story by Brian Bendis and Jim Cheung. It starts with Thor falling down from the heavens looking like somebody beat the living crap out of him and it gets crazier from there! A Frost Giant appears in the middle of New York and the New and Dark Avengers must find away to stop it from making it his personal outhouse while trying their best not to kill each other...and their actions here will have ramifications over the rest of Marvel U..As per Bendis' usual, it's a pretty wordy adventure with lots of action and peppered with punchlines, supplied by that motormouth Spidey. While Secret Invasion still left a bad taste in my mouth, I found this to be a pretty enjoyable story. Of course, the fact that the spotlight is on Ares (one of my favorite characters) might have something to do with it. And together with gorgeous art courtesy of Jim Cheung, it all combines into a fun comic that should please longtime readers and newbies alike.
And that's the spirit of Free Comic Book Day, anyway. Making people aware that there are awesome comics out there for just about anyone if you only care to look. I know I'll be leaving these babies in the office...you never know when a future comic book fan might pass by!
Speaking of comic book fans...how's YOUR Free Comic Book Day?
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My 6-year old and I were able to hit two stores in town (both after noon) and all of the free comics were still available. We made sure to spend some extra $ at each, and they both looked pretty busy. All in all, a good FCBD and we look forward to next year.
ReplyDelete--Joseph
Hi Joseph, and welcome to the blog! I'm glad that FCBD is going strong everywhere else! Here in the Philippines the only store who participates in FCBD (Comic Odyssey in Robinson's Galleria) was jampacked with fans and customers. It truly was an awesome Free Comic Book Day. Here's to the next!
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