26/04/2024
Free Comic Book Day is almost upon us! Get excited and mark your calendars!!
Hey comic fans! Mike here! Free Comic Book Day is just over a week and a half away. At 10:00AM on Saturday, May 4th, the fun begins! Gib has once again asked me to briefly discuss as many of this year's offerings as I can get to before the big day. As of this morning, I was able to get through thirteen of the approximately fifty books available. I purposefully selected a few that I read, but I picked several at random, too. Over the next ten days, I'll continue to add mini reviews of more books in the comments, so please check back on this post. Remember, adults are allowed two free comics and kids are allowed three. We're looking forward to seeing you all soon!
BLOOD HUNT/X-MEN (Marvel – Rated T for Teen): The first story looks to be an excerpt from BLOOD HUNT #1, which is an upcoming crossover/event series. Even though it feels a little out of context, there is some fun action and we meet up with a nice cross section of heroes as they become aware of a spreading darkness. The story deals with vampires, and so the violence is maybe a little more horrific than what’s usually contained in your typical mainstream superhero book. As such, it may be a little too much for younger fans. The second feature feels more like a short self-contained story. I’m not a regular X-MEN reader, so I don’t know what led to the current status quo. However, the book sets up the new direction of the X-books quite nicely, and the elements I didn’t understand felt more tantalizing than perplexing. Jubilee is the focus and she basically escorts us through this new setup. It’s a well-crafted tale meant to draw in new readers and I enjoyed it.
ULTIMATE UNIVERSE/SPIDER-MAN (Marvel – Rated T for Teen): This book actually has three mini stories. First up is a Spidey tale that puts the wall crawler in a Five Nights at Freddy’s type scenario that seems to be leading towards some shenanigans with a certain Goblin. Next up, we’re thrown into the midst of a mission bing undertaken by the latest version of the Ultimates in Marvel’s newly rebooted Ultimate universe. Cap, Iron Lad, and Doom are looking for a new ally in their fight against the Maker when a squadron of the villain’s minions attacks them. Wrapping things up is a Venom story. There are portentous monologs and what looks to be some time travel tomfoolery. A two page conversation between two of Marvel’s editors teasing storylines puts the candles on the cake. It’s hard to say whether these are all excerpts from regular books or original stories. Though I’m out of the loop on most of Marvel’s current doings, I was able to follow along well enough. Less experienced fans may find themselves a little befuddled, though.
THE LOUD HOUSE (Papercutz/Mad Cave – Rated A for All Ages): My kid loves watching this cartoon on Nickelodeon. First thing you’ll notice is that this comic is not regular sized. It’s not as tall or wide as a regular comic. That being said, it’s still jam packed with material. The first few pages introduce the large cast in a sort of handbook style. Then, there are a handful of short stories that all capture the good-natured mischievous nature of the show. Think CAPTAIN UNDERPANTS minus the potty humor. The book closes with instructions for a kid friendly role playing game. All in all, a fun breezy read that kids should dig, although the handbook and RPG instructions may require some grownup assistance, as they’re pretty text-heavy.
CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE (Heroic Signatures/Titan Comics – Rated M for Mature): Even Conan the Barbarian gets crossover event stories, these days. Regular Conan scribe Jim Zub here sets up a story that will encompass many of Robert E Howard’s various characters, including Solomon Kane and Dark Agnes de Chastillion. The story proper focuses on Conan, but a handful of the other characters make cameos. You may wonder how these characters that all exist in different time periods could inhabit the same story, but Zub and artist Jonas Scharf give us just enough of the appetizer to make the upcoming meal seem intriguing indeed. Jeffrey Shanks (not sure if he’s an editor or what) further explains the whys and wherefores of how the story came to be. Even if you’re a Conan novice or you’re not necessarily interested in the crossover, the basic story contained herein is entertaining with the titular barbarian and some Aquilonian soldiers facing off against some fierce Pictish warriors.
ENERGON UNIVERSE 2024 SPECIAL (Image/Skybound – Rated T for Teen): Last year saw the folks at Skybound do a stealth relaunch of a shared Transformers and GI Joe universe. Considering the big name creators involved, it’s not surprising it was successful. This issue starts out with a Transformers section featuring a Megatron story, then moves onto the Void Rivals section focusing on Hot Rod and some scheming aliens, and concludes with a look at what the Joes are up to with a Duke and Baroness tale. While these stories are loosely connected, they definitely stand on their own. I haven’t been reading these titles, but I found the set ups on hand here to be entertaining and enticing. Fun stuff, for sure!
ABSOLUTE POWER SPECIAL EDITION (DC – Ages 13+): The cunning Amanda Waller, best known as being the architect of the Su***de Squad, is featured here. Her plans within plans have been at work in the DC universe for a while now and this issue sets up another round of event series. It’s a well crafted story, but if you haven’t been reading the last few years’ worth of DC’s events, you might be a little lost. Thankfully, besides the main story, we get a few pages of handbook style entries explaining who Waller, Failsafe, and Braniac are, summaries of the last few crossover events, and a brief excerpt from ABSOLUTE POWER #1 that functions as an excellent cliffhanger.
THE WORLDS OF JAMES TYNION IV (Boom Studios – Rated T for Teen): Here we have a brief look at three of superstar writer James Tynion’s books for Boom. Included are brief tantalizing looks into SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN, MEMETIC, and THE WOODS. The first in that list has been my current favorite comic since it debuted, but I have not read the other two series. That being said, I think that these are effective teases and give good tastes of the premise and tone of each book. I would say that the rating is a little misleading, as the horror on display might be too scary for some kids.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (IDW – Rated T for Teen): We get two stories here. The first might be an excerpt, but it acts as a prolog to the upcoming miniseries TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: NIGHTWATCHER. It has a dark, grim, and gritty type atmosphere and teases a mystery that will be central to the story. The second story is much more lighthearted and focuses on what Splinter does after he sends his sons out on patrol for a lesson in vigilance after they annoy him. It’s funny and fun. This book is a good example of how TMNT can be effective in dark sci fi action mode or in silly cartoon mode.
STAR WARS (Marvel – Rated T for Teen): Two stories again! First up, we have a tale that returns Leia, Chewy, Lando, and Luke to Hoth to look for some soldiers that were left behind when the Rebel Alliance base was overrun in THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. This seems like a brand new story that’s completely self-contained. Next up, we briefly meet up with Darth Vader before following a couple supporting characters from previous Star Wars comics. I’m unsure if this second story is an excerpt or not. In any case, it’s definitely more obviously grounded in the ongoing Darth Vader series.
TONS OF STRANGE (10 Ton Press – Rated T for Teen): What a disparate collection of stories! The first is a funny animals type story that parodies Star Wars. It’s cartoony and features some rude humor. In it, a couple of friends attend a lightsaber building party that includes strange beverages from all over the galaxy. Next up is an arty sci fi story that doesn’t contain any dialog. There’s a caption and some sound effects, but otherwise the narrative unfolds completely through the art. The book wraps up with an intricately illustrated black and white expansion on the Frankenstein story. It reads like something out of a ‘70s horror magazine. Very cool book.
BARDA (DC – Ages 13+): DC offers up excerpts from two of their upcoming YA graphic novels. The more substantial of the pair is up first. It’s essentially an origin story for New Gods character Big Barda. The art is cartoony and clean. We get appearances from several other well-known Fourth World characters. New fans should be able to jump right into this with no problems. The backup is a sneak peek at some pages from BAD DREAM: A DREAMER STORY. Hard to tell what’s going on here, as it’s just a few mostly out of context pages with little to no dialog, but the artwork is certainly nice. It also has much creepier imagery than the Barda section.
EYE LIE POPEYE (Massive Publishing – Rated A for All Ages): Have you ever wanted to see Popeye the Sailor Man reimagined in a DRAGONBALL Z-esque aesthetic? Have I got the comic for you! This book is a lengthy excerpt from the first issue of an upcoming mini series that will reveal how Popeye lost his eye. The artwork is very manga inspired and kinetic. I absolutely enjoyed the story, but it’s very wordy, especially in the first third. Young readers may have some trouble getting through the numerous captions and prodigious speech bubbles. You can tell there’s a love for the characters here, though, and it’s an interesting experiment, if nothing else.
THE NIGHT LIBRARIAN (Penguin/Dial – Rated A for All Ages): This is excerpted from a graphic novel being released this summer. It follows two siblings seeking help from a sort of magical librarian. It seems that their father is missing and it has something to do with characters escaping from books into the real world. It starts off with a storybook vibe, but it eventually switches gear into a more traditional youth graphic novel format. I enjoyed how the adventure and mystery elements swirled together, and the cartoony but detailed art enhanced the slightly spooky atmosphere. My favorite bit was when a pirate ship explodes from a copy of TREASURE ISLAND and splooshes out into the library.
