Still on the Shelf 2008 – Free Comic Book Day Rundown
Welcome to the Fifth Annual Still on the Shelf: Free Comic Book Day Rundown! The Still on the Shelf regular column has been on hiatus, well, forever, but I still enjoy this annual look at the Free Comic Book Day offerings.
As always, I had to employ the assistance of my local comic shop to make sure as many of these were reviewed as possible. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Comic Universe for all their help. If you are in the Orange County, California area, be sure to pop by and check them out. They are located at 18902 Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley, and can be reached at (714) 964-9569.
With luck, you will get a chance to read it before you head out to your local shops to pick up your stuff. Many of you have the misfortune of frequenting shops that cap the number of books that you can take – a reasonable restriction in some cases, as you really need to make sure there is enough for all.
Either way, use this column as a resource, along with the listings on the official Free Comic Book Day Website to see what is out there, and discover what will be worth picking up. If you have a limit – you might as well do everything you can to make sure you pick up issues you will enjoy!
Those of you who have read my reviews know that I am not prone to giving full 5/5 reviews – to me, that is nearly impossible for a comic book these days (a full rating is the best a comic issue can be, and can you really say you have read an absolutely perfect issue?), but on Free Comic Book Day, I use a slightly different standard.
All of the issues are rated (on a scale from 0 to 5, courtesy of the SOTS Halibut) on Overall Quality, Story Completeness, and Originality. This is Free Comic Book Day, and not Free 32 Page Ad Day, and while it is expected that the publishers will use this opportunity to promote their wares, it is still a day when you are supposed to be able to get an actual comic book. Quality – as in, is the title enjoyable; Completeness, as in – is there a complete story, or are you forced to buy an issue to get the rest of the story; and Originality, as in – is this something new? The last category is a bit flexible – from some of the Independent Houses, a reprint is ok, as long as it meets the other requirements, since it is likely many readers haven’t had a chance to sample that title yet though. Once you get up to the large publishers, however – it is expected that they come up with something new. What is the point of a reprint DC or Marvel issue, if it is something we have all already read before anyway?
Every year I do make one request – all of you who did manage to score some free issues this year, read them, enjoy them, and then give them away! The collector in all of us wants to seal them away in bags and boards, but we all know these issues will be worth little. Unless it is one of those rare issues that actually stands on its own, and won’t be reprinted anywhere else, and adds to your existing collection of a title, there is no reason not to give it away to a non comic reader. Share the love of your hobby – and help promote it. The more comic readers there are, the more sales good titles will get, and the less likely you will have to write an angry letter (or blog post) because your favorite book was cancelled. Remember – as fun as this is – it is more for the potential new reader than the avid comic fan – help promote that angle, and the event will be that much more of a success.
And here is the 2008 Free Comic Book Day Rundown!
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Bongo Comics Free-For-All 2008
Written by Ian Boothby, James Bates, and Chuck Dixon, Art by John Delaney, Andrew Pepoy, Chris Ungar, James Lloyd, Art Villanueva, and Nina Matsumoto
Seriously, what a great start. This was the first Free Comic Book Day issue I read this year, and it set the bar really high for subsequent entries. It was a digest-sized issue (approximately, it was somewhere between an ashcan and a digest, and contained three stories. The first was dripping with comic book references and humor. There were subtle references to Civil War, Spider-Man, Secret Invasion, the Fantastic Four, and heck, even the issue of gun control – if you are an avid comic reader you probably caught them all, but catching the references weren’t required to understand the story whatsoever. The second story was a classic Simpson’s tale, and the third was something of a spoof on the manga-style, retelling the Simpsons as if it were a manga. All were absolutely entertaining, well written, and very engaging.
And I still can’t stop laughing at the bag of “nuts” covering a naked Bart’s unmentionables. Just a tiny bit of juvenile humor as icing to an all around great comic. Well done.
Rating:
Bongo Comics (link to unofficial fan site)
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Salem: Queen of Thorns
Written by Chris Morgan & Kevin Wash, Art by Wilfredo Torres and Andrew Dalhouse
Salem: Queen of Thorns is a 6 issue mini series from Boom! Studios – the #0 issue (of 5) came out this past January. I didn’t catch anything that explicitly stated it, but judging by the cover, this seemed to be a reprint of that.
The story itself was average. Nothing really unique in the say of stories here – the Salem Witch Trials have been overdone, and so has the “Man With No Name” western model. Combining the two really didn’t do much to spice up either. The Man With No Name story model is a good one, but after just one issue of Salem, I was ready to call it quits. The setting of the Salem Witch Trials just isn’t one where a roaming mysterious loner is a productive protagonist for very long.
The art was pretty poor. The basics were there, but the scenes seemed flat, and the panel layouts were unimaginative. Many of the panels even had key action moments obscured by bodies – almost deliberately, as if the scene itself was beyond the artist’s skill, and they were hoping the reader’s imagination would fill in the blanks.
Overall it was ok – the story was decent, but I don’t feel any particular need to read the rest of the series as it comes out.
Rating:
—
Graphic Classics: Special Edition
By Various
Ever since the failed Marvel/Dabel union was first consummated, comic adaptations of classic literature and modern novels have had more an more exposure. Of course, it is always better to read the actual story, but even if you have done that, comic adaptations have a way of allowing you to see an old story in a slightly different light. Graphic Classics focuses solely on that niche of comic making, and have produced several volumes of comic adaptations, notably of short stories from writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Arthur Conan Doyle, H.P. Lovecraft, and more. As you might have guessed, this edition is a sampling of stories from various writers.
Overall, it wasn’t bad. The art quality ranged from outstanding to fair – even the art that didn’t really work well for me at least demonstrated some solid layout, and overall the issue was an enjoyable read. Looking into the publisher, the volumes are pretty affordable – this issue was definitely a success to me as it does make you curious enough to check out their line-up. Overall you have to say this was a wholly positive outing for the publisher.
Rating:
—
Love and Capes #7
By Thomas F. Zahler
Much like last year’s Free Comic Book Day installment of Love and Capes (#4), this is an in-continuity issue of the ongoing series. Also once again, the issue itself will be available for sale later this month, with a variant cover.
It ends up being an extremely important issue of the series, in which The Crusdader struggles with proposing to his girlfriend Abby. It is a pretty touching issue, and extremely well done. Clearly it is a critical moment in the overall series, so much of one that I am honestly surprised they are giving it away for free.
High marks all around – this one was definitely good enough to pay for. Thankfully for those of you who support the small press, you will have a chance to do just that later this month.
Rating:
—
Gumby: Coloring Comic Book Special #1
Written by Mike Hersh and Mel Smith, Art by Hersh, Smith, Shepard Hendrix, Lance Borde, Ken Hooper, and You!
This year, Wildcard Inc. decided to present this as a coloring book – a novel concept, especially for an all-ages book. Though, there really isn’t a lot different from a normal black and white book, save some slightly bolder lines and a lack of extreme detail, but it is a good selling point.
In this issue, Gumby decides to jump into the computer and go surfing, but he catches a worm. To get rid of it, he must cut a small piece of himself off, and that small piece must enter his body and find the worm to eliminate it.
Up till that point, it wasn’t too bad a read, even for a kids book. But then it just gets weird. Gumby kind of loses his sense of character, and we start seeing something more akin to Spongebob or Ren and Stimpy than Gumby. One particularly vulgar moment killed the issue for me – when a mini Pokey finds mini-Gumby inside his body – and when asked how he got there, Pokey replies that Gumby “left the back door open.” Come on – this is supposed to be a kids book! Beyond that, the story just unravels to a totally weird and nonsensical ending that I am not even sure a kid would understand.
Could have been a lot better.
Rating:
—
Gekiga!
By Seiichi Hayashi and Yoshihiro Tatsumi
This – well, this was a mess. Perhaps you will get more out of it if you are a real devotee of Japanese comics, but outside that market, there wasn’t much appeal here.
This issue had two excerpts of Japanese comic translations Drawn and Quarterly will be putting out this summer. The first – well, it is the worst example of pretentious art – a story hailed as a poetic masterpiece that was literally nothing. The second followed a Japanese soldier in the wake of the Hiroshima bombing. I can see why that story might have some appeal in Japan, but it seemed to be missing a lot of context. And of course, it is only a fragment.
Really not much here – a fairly poor outing for Drawn and Quarterly.
Rating:
—
Nascar Heroes: The Headless Stuntman
Written by Jeremy Diamond, Art by Peter Habjanm Rich Duhaney, and Susan Menxies
Wow – I didn’t even know there was a Nascar comic. I almost wish I still didn’t after reading this.
To be fair – it isn’t that horrible – about what you can expect from a sports concept making the leap to comics. It is kind of a mix between Scooby Doo and Speed Racer, and quite similar to the old NFL Superpro series in it’s plot holes and ridiculousness (but without the tragic awesomeness)
I can’t see this concept having much success outside of Nascar event givaways, to be honest.
Rating:
—
How To Draw: Free Comic Book Day 2008 Booklet
By Various
Off the bat, this one was a bit better than last year’s effort – at least when it comes to substance. The lessons are still short and light on substance, but there was a bit more technique this time around, which worked in its favor.
It is still really geared to the aspiring creator – and on that front, they still would have done better if they would have focused on one or two lessons, instead of trying to pack snippets of so many in such a short issue. Still – improvement is improvement. You have to credit them for that.
Rating:
—
The Moth: Greatest Hits
By Gary Martin and Steve Rude
Last year, Rude Dude Productions revisited their old series Nexus with their Free Comic Book Day effort – with disasterous results. It was intended to be a retrospective of Nexus’s Dark Horse past in anticipation of the new series, and on that point it succeeded. But it just didn’t hold a candle to today’s printing standards (quality in the 90s was pretty poor, if you recall), and ended up being nearly impossible to read.
Sadly, they are doing much the same this year with The Moth. The Moth’s publishing history isn’t nearly as long, so the overall story was a little easier to follow, but it was still pretty bad. Two poop jokes on the first four pages, followed right up with a scene that even I found seriously demeaning.
Another year to skip over this one, if you ask me.
Rating:
—
EC Comics Sampler
By Various
Wow – a non Disney effort from Gemstone this year? Not what I expected at all. Of course, they still have their Disney effort – consider this one a little extra.
Eh, but not so much in the end. This issue collects four stories that are intended to introduce the EC Archives series – collected works of old EC Comics titles. This might not appeal to some modern readers, but anyone who considers themselves a student of comic history will certainly enjoy it. I especially liked Spawn of Venus – personally, I miss old, cheesy, hard-edged and scientifically inaccurate science fiction – there was an element of fun there that you don’t see in storytelling much anymore.
A decent issue overall.
Rating:
—
Sonic the Hedgehog #1
Written by Mike Gallagher, Art by Dave Manak, Bill White, and Lyrad Namlede
Last year, Archie Comics put out a perfect Free Comic Book Day issue with their wholly original Sonic comic. After that performance, this issue seems like a bit of a letdown. Instead of new material, they have gone back and reprinted the original Sonic the Hedgehog #1.
Sometimes this works – reprints can be good if they really offer good incentive to read something you might have missed and is worth reading. Unfortunately, this isn’t really it. Sonic is hardly a “must read start to finish” comic – there really is little value in going back and reading the first issue – Sonic is hardly a comic icon, and the first issue of a comic based on a game is pretty rarely of cultural significance. Plus the look of the comic and characters has changed so much and the story quality has improved so much over the years that this issue bears only passing resemblance to the comic that is available today.
A kid might enjoy reading it – but with the character look being so different from the characters they know from the current games, it might be a turnoff to them.
Oh well – I guess some years you have it, some you don’t!
Rating:
—
Owly and Friends!
By Andy Runton, Christian Slade, James Kochalka, and Corey Barba
Well, a new Owly is always good, but sadly, Top Self’s effort this year slipped slightly.
The issue is still full of all new, original material, which is great. And the Owly story is outstanding – as always. But instead of an Owly comic, it is instead divided into four properties, including Korgi, Johnny Boo, and Yam. The Korgi story is good, as last year’s was – but then the quality starts to slip. Johnny Boo was decent – if overly simplistic (I know it is for kids, but Owly is too, and it has a certain intelligence about it). Yam though – what in the world is that? Not horrible – just weird.
I don’t blame Top Shelf for promoting their other properties though. I guess we just got spoiled by so many years of cover-to-cover Owly awesomeness.
Rating:
—
Comics Go Hollywood
By Various
This is a pretty dense read – well worth the money for sure! (I know, it is free) Not so much a comic, as rather a look at comics in general in Hollywood. It is an interesting read that includes some storyboards, scripts, and interviews. If comic movies are your thing, you will get a lot out of this.
It really doesn’t seem to be selling anything, outside of some name exposure, which is good. Going into the summer blockbuster season, it is a great time to look at this facet of the comic book industry. Worth reading.
Rating:
—
Comic Book Diner
By Various
This one is the usual collection of Sky-Dog shorts, including the standard Roboy Red and Buzzboy shorts. A lot shorter than usual – there are more features in this issue, seemingly trying to showcase more of their line. They are mostly decent (well, save the Dreamland Chronicles, which was a muddy mess), but it might have been a little too overloaded.
Still – this is one that the kids will enjoy, as always. That is what they are aiming for here, so you have to mark it a success. Banana-Tail and Roboy Red were the highlights here.
Rating:
—
I.G.N.A.T.Z.: International Graphic Novels at Their Zenith
By Various
Confusing. Really, reading through the description of what the Ignatz line is, I gathered that they are saddle-stitched comics, akin to mini-graphic novels. Not bad – still a little hazy about the release schedule though. Oh well. In any case, this issue contains previews of the next seven Ignatz issues. Not the best tactic of course – it just contains snippets of a bunch of stories, and doesn’t give much in the way of a coherent, single story. The quality was good – particularly the art – but it is stretching things to call this a “comic book.”
It is clear from this preview that there is some good stuff in the IGNATZ line – this issue is a good selection if you tend towards more literary comic efforts.
Rating:
—
World of Aspen #3
By Various
This is the third year Aspen has produced a Free Comic Book Day issue – and once again it follows that all-too familiar format of including a few short snippets of a few titles in their line – Fathom, Soulfire, Shrugged, and Executive Assistant: Iris.
I imagine you already have an idea what this is – Aspen is nothing if not consistent. So you know if this is your kind of thing or not. Like usual, they have taken the easy-way out, and simply included previews of upcoming books – and since Aspen titles are usually so light on story (lots of brooding), you really don’t get a lot of meat out of the issue.
Rating:
—
Drafted – FCBD 2008 Edition
Written by Mark Powers, Art by Chris Lie, Mike O’Sullivan, John Lowe, Joseph Baker, and Wes Dzioba
I am always wary of Devil’s Due original titles – they are great for licensed franchises, but they have a bad habit of just dropping good titles right in the middle of the story. Cancellations happen, but when you invest money in a story, you at least want some kind of ending!
This issue was actually fairly well done – it is a mash of issues #0-5 of Drafted, and strangely enough, it actually came out as a fairly coherent story. Kind of speaks volumes about how padded comic books are these days that 6 issues of material can be condensed into a single issue without much loss.
In any case – it was an ok read. Hopefully for those of you who decide to check out Drafted based on this issue, Devil’s Due doesn’t randomly decide to drop this title somewhere down the line.
Rating:
—
Maximum Ride Volume 1
By James Patterson and NaRae Lee
This one here is a read headscratcher. Some of you might be familiar with James Patterson’s Maximum Ride series – (if not, you might be familiar with his Alex Cross series, which has resulted in 2 films – Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider) well, it would seem that a Manga version of that property is set to be released by Yen Press in July.
Strangely enough – the adaptation is pretty good. Of course – the story is butchered, but in all the right places. If you didn’t already read the book, you could swear that this actually was a manga property. More than just the art – the story itself and the dialogue make a pretty good manga. This will probably surprise a lot of fans of that genre.
I am fairly sure this will be reprinted when the series comes out in July, but overall it is an effective preview. New material, solid story elements, and it leaves you wanting to check out the rest of the series. A decent effort.
Rating:
—
Marvel Adventures: Iron Man & Hulk & Spider-Man
Jeff Parker and Paul Tobin, Art by Alvin Lee, Terry Pallot, and Wil Quintana
Boy, I can remember a few years back when Marvel completely snubbed Free Comic Book Day. Both this year and last, however – they have done exactly what the #1 comic publisher is supposed to do with their FCBD submissions. It is nice to see.
This is one of two Marvel books available for Free Comic Book Day (officially – some shops might still be handing out the Iron Man/Hulk movie promo book and the Soliel Sampler, if they still have any), and the one that is decidedly aimed at kids. The trio from the Marvel Adventures books has a showdown with The Mandarin – who is attempting to steal magical Incan Artifacts. A simple story, but exactly the kind of thing you get from a Marvel Age book. And like many Marvel Adventures stories, this one parallels old, classic story elements – this story features Grottu, King of the Insects – a giant ant character created by Kirby and Lee way back in 1960.
Overall – perfectly done. It’s a decent, original story that promotes three Marvel Adventures titles, all while telling a complete story. High marks all around.
Rating:
—
Impact University Volume 4
By Various
Like most years, Impact puts forth a fairly solid sampling of their work. Like the How to Draw book from Wizard, this really only includes a tiny sliver of each potential lesson – they could put more in an issue. But like in every year – Impact just seems to do it better. Sure they stick a few names on there that they deem to be “big” just to attract attention – but the real good stuff comes from lesser known but highly skilled creators (typically artists) who really know their stuff. Impact is just a better product, and that is reflected every year thus far in the Free Comic Book Day Effort.
The History of Digital Coloring is an interesting article of note in this issue – if you read nothing else, check that out.
Rating:
—
Atomic Robo
Written by Brian Clevinger, Paul Ens, and J. Korim, Art by Scott Wegener, Ronda Pattison, J. Korim, and Jessie Lam
One of the good things about Free Comic Book Day is that often we get a good look at one of the newer small press companies. This year Red 5 Comics treats us to a pair of stories, headlined by an all new 16 page Atomic Robo series, back-up up by a NeoZoic short.
Really not too bad. NeoZoic was kind of your typical “kick-butt chick warrior” book – so not to original but decently executed. Atomic Robo was a little more fun, and a lot more entertaining. Will have to check out another of Red 5 titles sometime in the future based off this issue.
Rating:
—
Del Ray & Dabel Brothers 2008 Preview
By Various
Well, it looks like Dabel Brothers is still kicking, and back to doing what they always did prior to Marvel (but with a slightly different stable of authors). This issue previews 4 of their current projects – Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files, George R.R. Martin’s Wild Cards, and Frankenstein and In Odd We Trust from Dean Koontz.
Overall, they aren’t terrible. Dabel has always been good at the comic adaptation, but getting 4 tiny slivers of novel adaptations really isn’t a good use of the space. This is less a comic book than an ad, unfortunately. Good to check out if you are considering picking up a Dabel title, but really impossible to enjoy on its own merits.
Rating:
—
Shonen Jump Special
By Misashi Kishmoto, Tite Kubo, and Takehiko Inoue
Argh, backwards reading! Yes, yes, I know, that is the way these are supposed to be read, and it often hurts the integrity of the panel layout to flup things around for the translation. But that doesn’t make it more difficult on me!
Thankfully, I actually have some passing familiarity with two of the stories in this comic, which will make this review a little easier. Those who have read my work for a long time know that I am not the biggest fan of manga, but you really can’t talk about comics in general without trying everything out here and there. This issue includes stories from Bleach, Naruto (both of which I have read), and Slam Dunk (new to me).
Unfortunately, even my familiarity with those two stories didn’t help all that much, Sure – I understood a little more of what was going on, but they were such small fragments of the stories (and mangas tend to be really decompressed) that there was almost no value in reading them. Much like the Dabel book, this really is just an ad – and doesn’t stand alone at all as a comic. It is one thing to print preview material that could possibly stand alone as a short story – but to just pick random pages, or the first set number of pages – that just isn’t very valuable at all. Could have been better.
Rating:
—
Viper Comics Presents: Kid Houdini and the Silver-Dollar Misfits
Written by Dwight L. McPherson, Art by Worth Gowell
Pretty darned good. Of course, Kid Houdini is a graphic novel set for release later this year – but this is a good preview of that. Of course, the story isn’t totally complete (obviously), but it makes up the bulk of the issue, and what I read was very entertaining. Of course, it seems more geared for kids – but really, anything without excessive sex and nudity seems “geared for kids” these days, so I will just look at this as wholesome.
There were a few more pages excerpting The Sleepy Truth at the end – these pages weren’t bad, but it was extremely short, and it really didn’t click like Kid Houdini did for me. Tough act to follow, I suspect.
Rating:
—
Arcana Studio Presents 2008
By Various
Arcana’s presence at Free Comic Book Day has always been a strong one. For the last 4 years they have really been a presence – absolutely getting what the event is supposed to be about. They have consistently delivered a few original short stories in each issue, promoting their main titles, while still providing something with enough substance to qualify as a free comic book.
Unfortunately, this year saw a little bit of a slip. With the exception of the 100 Girls story, all of the shorts seemed to continue directly into another issue. Of course, this is still all-new material, which is good, but a couple of the stories seemed to lack the context to really make them stand out on their own.
As usual, however – the work is good quality, but I didn’t find myself enjoying this issue as much as I have in previous years. Oh well – 4 out of 5 ain’t bad at all!
Rating:
—
Amelia Rules! Comics and Stories
By Jimmy Gownley
Amelia Rules! is another one of those titles that almost always make for a great Free Comic Book Day installment. The series itself is flat out awesome, and any opportunity to expose new readers to great work is a good one. They have certainly taken advantage of this event to its fullest extent in previous years.
Like with the Arcana issue, this one had me a little worried. They broke it up a bit, included a little preview of an Amelia Rules! musical, and had some story short at the end, one of which was to be continued in a collected volume. But the book was still outstanding. The opening story was touching and real – and dealt with the very difficult situation of a child having to confront her father going off to war, without all the political garbage a story like this would invoke in this day and age. And though this was a fragment – the selected pages were very complete, and they even provide a URL to download the rest of the comic for free through the WOWIO service.
Bottom line – Amelia Rules! delivered once again. A fantastic issue.
Rating:
—
Comic Book Challenge Showcase #1
Written by DJ Coffman and Jorge Vega, Art by Dominic Vivona, Nei Ruffino, and DJ Coffman.
This year, Platinum Studios decided to showcase their two Comic Book Challenge winners by giving us a taste of DJ Coffman’s Hero By Night, and on the flip-side, a few preview pages of the Gunplay graphic novel from Jorge Vega.
The Gunplay story – well, I have read the full graphic novel. It is outstanding, but the preview pages are just that. Might be enough to give you a taste for the book, but it doesn’t really qualify as a complete enough story to give high marks too here. Thankfully, it is only a small portion of the issue.
The bulk is a retrospective of the Hero By Night series – very complete in its presentation, and it gives a great insight as to what the series is all about. It also gives some locations on the web that you can read even more Hero By Night, for free, some also on the WOWIO service I mentioned before. This is a great idea – it frees up a little space for promotion, still allowing the issue to live up to the theme of a “free comic.”
Particularly for Hero By Night, this is a great way to check out an outstanding title. I recommend you take advantage of all the free materials it directs you to, and after that, go ahead and start buying the series. After reading this issue, you will agree that it is well worth it.
Rating:
—
Maintenance #1
Written by Jim Massey, Art by Robbi Rodriguez
This issue was just plain awesome. Maintenance follows a couple of average Joe maintenance workers who happen to be employed by a Super-Villain organization. In this issue they accidentally get sent back in time to find a group of caveman who the mad scientist they are working for has been arming to form a super-caveman army. (They look like Captain Caveman too, which resulted in added humor) Of course, the cavemen have little interest in the weapons and jetpacks – they want modern convienences! The issue itself is a tremendous read – I highly enjoyed it.
It also contained a short preview of Marc Guggenheim’s Ressurection – a couple of pages there, really only a preview of that series.
The Maintenance story is a reprint of the first issue of the series. This is really ok in Oni’s case, as it is likely you haven’t read it, and it is a great look at a series with a couple of trades available to check out. But you don’t need to get the other volumes to follow this story – a good content selection.
Rating:
—
Ape Entertainment’s Cartoonapalooza
By Various
This year, Ape Entertainment included several snippets of various titles under their imprint. It is a mixed bag overall – a couple of the selections were really incomplete, and didn’t stand very well on their own. The Go-Go Gorilla story was probably the best in the bunch – a witty little story that was solid from start to finish.
This issue would have been a little better if they only focused on two, maybe three stories – but on the whole it was decent.
Rating:
—
The Stranded/Dan Dare Flip Book
By Various
For starters, this is a much, much better effort from Virgin this year. Not that last year didn’t preview some quality stuff, it was just too dense and too difficult to decipher in the short snippets they offered.
This issue was the standard Flip-book style story, and while there was an element of too-be-continued, it was a strong showing that demonstrated that Virgin is really serious about the Sci-Fi genre, and their relationship with the Sci-Fi channel.
Plus, it was just darned cool to see Dan Dare again. A good issue.
Rating:
—
Tiny Titans #1
By Art Baltazar and Franco
DC really aught to do better.
Not that Tiny Titans isn’t a decent franchise. It is a comic for kids – and on that note, it is a great success. It is definitely cute, easy to follow, and very suited to the younger reader. Many young kids might not have read this issue – which is its saving grace – Free Comic Book Day often draws crowds of families who might be seeing this book for the first time. The #2 comic publisher should be putting out an original work for Free Comic Book Day, but the audience for this title and the potential to draw new young readers into the medium does help offset that failing a bit.
Rating:
—
Project Superpowers: The Death-Defying Devil Man
Written by Jim Kruger, Art by Andy Smith and Debora Carita
This issue was a travesty. Project Superpowers has gotten so much buzz, and instead of capitalizing on that and giving potential new readers who wouldn’t give this series a look if it wasn’t free some serious meat, they instead offer a story snippet that is too dark, too confusing, and too muddled to really get a sense of. On top of that – this book is over half ads. When rating Free Comic Book Day issues, I often talk about the difference between “Free Comic Book Day” and the idea of a “Free 32 Page Ad Day,” but I never imagined that a publisher would take it this far. They try to hide some of the ads by cramming a few preview pages into a single page – making them too small to really read, or understand.
This is a real shame. Dynamite has been a publisher on the rise in recent months – and to put something out like this is almost an insult. Yes – it is free, and it is supposed to be an opportunity for publishers to showcase their titles. But it isn’t supposed to be an excuse to cram a bunch of ad pages similar to what you might find in Previews and pass it off as an actual comic book.
Rating:
—
All-Star Superman #1
Written by Grant Morrison, Art by Frank Quietly and Jamie Grant
OK, honestly, who hasn’t read All-Star Superman #1? It was the #2 selling book in November of 2005, selling over 170,000 copies.
That’s good right? The series is fantastic, without question, and this issue in particular sold extremely well. What’s the problem?
The point is this issue sold extremely well. It was widely purchased, and though the series deserves praise and new readers, who really needs to see this issue again? It’s cheap. DC is the #2 comic publisher, and instead of following Marvel’s example, it just reprinted two old issues with a Free Comic Book label, and shipped them out.
Yes, along with Tiny Titans #1, this is a complete comic, and fits the definition of a Free Comic Book. But unlike Tiny Titans, the potential for new readers picking this up is quite low. And those who do – even fewer are going to come back and buy more issues. The new market DC would appeal to with this book are very casual comic readers, and aren’t going to have the patience to sit and wait and hunt for the next issue – All Star Superman’s shipping schedule is so erratic and delayed that only the most loyal comic fans will catch its release. They are the only ones that follow the shipping schedules close enough to notice its release. So the potential new casual readers do get a complete new read, but very few of them will come back for more. Meanwhile the loyal readers who already buy DC are given something they have already seen before.
DC can and should do better. Especially with a Batman movie out this summer. Why not do a killer Batman one-shot pitting him against the Joker, just for this very event? It has crossover movie appeal, and would give the loyal fans and potential new readers alike something of substance. Instead, they phoned it in. Again. Not the way to challenge Marvel for dominance of the market – not by a longshot.
Rating:
—
Transformers: Animated
By Marty Isenberg and Zachary Rau
Not a terrible effort from IDW – it is kind of strange that they didn’t use something they are publishing currently for this event (they may be putting out an Animated adaptation series, but I haven’t seen any real word of it), but it is something the kids will enjoy. Long time Transformers fans might find it a bit distasteful – but the Transformers have been reimagined so many times in the past, I have no doubt this incarnation will stick somehow.
So on all marks, it works as a Free Comic Book Day effort. However, since there isn’t any real crossover appeal to any of IDW’s current projects, I am not so sure it will actually boost their sales any. A strange selection to say the least.
Rating:
—
Archie’s Pal Jughead
Written by Craig Boldman, Art by Stan Goldberg, Bob Smith, Rich Koslowski, and Barry Grossman
All in all, a solid issue of Jughead. Oh, I should say more than that?
Most Archie Comics are hit and miss, and over the years they have produced the whole spectrum of Free Comic Book Day issues – from amazing to abysmal. This one ranks pretty high up there – it is a solid read, and delves into pop culture a bit, which is usually a success for the book. Of course, many comic readers will find it a bit dated – which is ok, because Archie Comics don’t appeal to most mainstream comic readers anyway. Some enjoy it for its timeless quality and frankly the line’s incredible history – but the average superhero reader gives it a pass. But the “common folk” – those casual readers who rarely (if ever) step foot in a comic shop – this issue is more for them than the average X-Men fan anyway.
A good issue – well done and entertaining.
Rating:
—
Hellboy/B.P.R.D
Written by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi, and Joshua Dysart, Art by Duncan Fegredo, Dave Stewart, Guy Davis, Paul Azaceta, and Nick Filardi
First off – kudos on the cool Hellboy/BPRD Futurama line-up. That was cool.
Well, as the title suggests, this issue features both a Hellboy and a B.P.R.D. short, as well as a short called Bishop Olek’s Devil. All three stories are good – the first two exactly what you would expect from the respective properties, and all are very thoughtful.
A good effort from Dark Horse- something for the existing fans of Mignola’s properties – and a great way for potential new readers to get a look at the franchise. All-in-all a solid outing.
Rating:
—
Broken Trinity Prelude
Written by Ron Marz, Art by Stepan Sejic
Honestly, this one kind of bored me – but to be honest, Top Cow often does. There are some good characters with storied histories there – but they have never really appealed to me all that much. Still – the quality here is obviously good, even if I am not the perfect audience for the story. It is well worth the read – some of you will certainly enjoy it a lot more than I did.
As the title suggest, this issue is a prelude to Top Cow’s Broken Trinity summer event. Lots of exposition – this will be a great resource for the uninitiated who were considering giving that series a chance.
Rating:
—
Imaginary
Art by Various
OK – a comic book is supposed to have more than art. Radical kind of missed the point there, and instead used this issue to preview the art for several of their upcoming properties. Complete pages are there – well, complete minus the dialogue. So it is really just a picture book.
Admittedly – the art is gorgeous. It is a bit heavy though – and way too dark. Maybe this was a trial run – but when you have breathtaking and beautiful art on a comic page, it is best to avoid a lot of dark colors. Bright colors pop more – as opposed to dark colors, which really make it difficult to see. Especially on the glossy stock – the black ink ends up causing a glare which makes it harder to see the detail. The art is gorgeous, but tough to see on the paper.
Still, as pretty as this book is – it totally fails the “Comic Book” standard.
Rating:
X-Men – 2008 Free Comic Book Day Edition
Written by Mike Carey, Art by Greg Land
A fantastic effort. Like the Marvel Adventures issue, Marvel went out of their way to produce an original, single-issue comic that relates to what is going to be happening in the ongoing continuity.
Really little point in heaping more praise on this book – it is a well produced comic, and exactly the kind of thing you would expect from a regular X-Men issue (minus the six issue story). A perfect example of what this day is supposed to be about.
Rating:
Heroclix Iron Man Figure – FCBD 2008 Edition
Not exactly the best person to review a Heroclix figure, as I haven’t played the game (time being a huge factor there), but I did manage to check out the freebie this year. This figure is a new version of the one released as part of the Armor Wars set – I guess it is a rare one, so it will be a perk for players of the game who haven’t shelled out the cash for that one (with some changes that will maintain the rarity of the original figure.
It isn’t exactly a comic book, but it is a fun perk to players of the game.
Rating:
Well, there were only two issues I didn’t manage to get my hands on – the Gyro Gearloose issue – (It is Carl Barks and Don Rosa, so I think it is safe to say it is awesome), and the Manga digest. The latter hasn’t appealed to me in previous years, so I don’t think I am missing much there. Plus there is a set of three Star Wars CMG figures that should be out there today – be on the lookout for those if you are a collector. As with last year – if you happen to pick up any of these – please feel free to add your thoughts!
Thanks again for reading … see you next year!
Post your comments in the Forum!
March 6, 2007
Still on the Shelf 2007 – Free Comic Book Day Rundown
Welcome back to the fourth annual Still on the Shelf, Free Comic Book Day Rundown! Though I have to say, as many comics as were released this year, it may have to count for the fourth and fifth editions. I have still never managed to get a hold of every issue offered on Free Comic Book Day (I think there are regional issues working against me), I have managed to get most of them. And if volume is any indicator of success, this event just keeps getting more and more popular.
2004 was the first year of this column, and I covered 18 issues. In 2005 I covered 22. Last year, 2006, the number crept up to 24. This year, I know I missed three or four issues, but I still had a staggering 38 issues. Needless to say, one look at that pile, and I knew there was no way I would be able to get this column done on Saturday as I had planned.
As usual, this column would not be possible without the help of a local comic shop, who went the extra mile to make sure that these titles were available to be reviewed for this column. This year, I’d like to thank the folks at Comic Universe for all their help. If you are in the Orange County, California area, be sure to pop by and check them out. They are located at 18902 Brookhurst Street in Fountain Valley, and can be reached at (714) 964-9569. The folks there are friendly and are happy to help you find anything you are looking for.
As with prior years, each comic is rated up to five halibuts (courtesy of the SOTS Halibut) based on Overall Quality, Original Content, and Story Completeness. To earn a full 5 rating, an issue must be of good quality, stand on its own, and be made up of original material. Those familiar with my reviews know that I have never, ever given a 5 rating in a regular review. For the purposes of this rundown, the qualifications are different, so you will see a few.
As with every year, I urge all of you who came away with some free books this year to spread the love. You know your friends – you know what they will like. After you are done reading an issue, pass it on to someone else you know you will enjoy it. The strength of the industry depends on new readers. The more people reading comics, the more likely your favorite comic will not get the axe due to low sales. Share your love of comics by giving these away – after all, they didn’t cost you anything.
And now – the Free Comic Book Day 2007 rundown!
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Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse. By Floyd Gottfredson and Various.
Seems like most years we have some Carl Barks to look forward to, but this year they have decided to honor Gottfredson who was recently inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards Hall of Fame. The bulk of this issue reprints Mickey’s Robin Hood Adventure, a series of strips that appeared back in 1936. It is every bit the classic, and though possibly not as enjoyable as a Donald or Scrooge comic (Mickey was never that interesting to me), it is always interesting to see a 70 year old comic strip, and see just how different things were done back then.
Rating:
—
Nexus. By Steve Rude and Mike Baron.
A real mixed bag here. The concept is good, the execution of this particular issue was not so much. Many of you may remember Nexus – a sci-fi title that was published about 10 years ago by Dark Horse Comics. This is the same property, which the creators are trying to bring back. The issue itself is made up of brief snippets – classic “moments” in the history of Nexus. It is meant to give you some insight into the character, but it ends up being just plain boring. The work is not up to today’s standards, and this presentation is so spotty that only those fans of the property will really enjoy this read. Sci-fi is poised to make a huge come back right now, and while there might be a home for Nexus, it isn’t going to make it very far without some kind of fresh start. Reprinting past glories isn’t going to attract new readers.
Rating:
—
The Lone Ranger #0/Battlestar Galactica Season Zero #0 Flip Book. Written by Brett Matthews and Brandon Jerwa, Art by Sergio Cariello, Dean White, Stephen Segovia and InLight Studios.
Flip-book style this year for Dynamite, which is sometimes a good way to go.
The Lone Ranger has been an extremely well received property that, despite my love for a good western, I still haven’t sampled. The offering in this issue was a bit light though. It basically showcased the art, spent a little time fleshing out the Lone Ranger’s morality with a series of clichés, but didn’t do much beyond that. It was a little disappointing to be frank – there was nothing in this issue that would make me not want to pick up the Lone Ranger, but there was also little to entice me. It was just kind of – there. Basically a long “Look! It’s a Lone Ranger comic!”
The other side had some problems as well, but those were mostly preconceived. I am one of those people who really enjoyed the original Battlestar Galactica, and never could bring myself to watch the new version. I am sure it is a fine program, but it just isn’t for me. This read, though, was fairly decent. A basic sci-fi story, well, the setup of one, one would presume that the story continues in the series itself. Decent – made me want to read more, but there wasn’t any resolution, so you don’t walk away with much more than questions. Good as an ad, but as an actual comic read, not so much.
Rating:
—
Who Wants to be a Superhero? Preview. Written by Stan Lee, Art by Will Conrad and Michael S. Bartolo.
So this thing actually does exist! It was originally slated to come out a few months back, but was pushed to July to coincide with the premiere of the second season of Who Wants to be a Superhero?. Well, this is only a preview, and a light one at that – a whole 8 pages. And it is very much a Stan Lee comic, reading like something that came through a time machine. To some people, this is a negative, and that is understandable. Stan Lee has a very classic and unique style that just wouldn’t make it if he was just breaking into the industry today – people expect more sophistication from their comic stories. But it is elegant in its simplicity – you know who is good and who isn’t, everything is clear and easy to follow, and a lot happens. Heck, today, these 8 pages would take many contemporary comic writers 3 issues to tell! This issue is a fun start – the issue should be decent. Wish they would have put together an 8 page original story instead though.
Rating:
—
Amelia Rules! “Hangin’ Out.” By Jimmy Gownley.
Amelia is one of those titles I always look forward to on Free Comic Book Day. Gownley does a great job putting this book together. It is good for a younger audience, and while it is geared at them, it is also extremely smart. This issue isn’t nearly as heavy as last year’s was, mostly dealing with Amelia and her circle of friends hanging out inside on a very rainy day. Lots of clever moments as usual. Gownley does great work. Included in this issue is a short Apathy Cat back-up story by Harold Buchholz. It was a but silly, but nothing to scream over. A decent back up that would probably bring this rating down a bit, but the Amelia Rules! story was strong enough that it is easy to ignore.
Rating:
—
Gumby. By Various.
I can’t say I have ever read a Gumby comic before… It is tough to tell whether this is reprinting material from one of the first three issues of the ongoing or not – it probably is, but in a case like this it is okay.
Unlike a DC title, chances are most of you haven’t read Gumby either, and this is your first exposure. It was decent. The story stood well on its own, and was both true to Gumby’s roots and a creative on its own. A fairly fun read and one kids should enjoy.
Rating:
—
Transformers: Official Movie Prequel #1. Written by Chris Ryall and Simon Furman, Art by Don Figueroa and Josh Burcham.
A reprint, but a much appreciated one. The coming Transformers movie is cause for both excitement and consternation. A live action Transformers flick is awesome, but from the look of the robots, it will be less Transformers and more Bionicles. Peter Cullen is returning to do the voice of Optimus is indeed awesome, past experience with Michael Bay’s directing leaves a lot to be desired. The most positive thing I can think to say about this issue is – it makes me feel better about the movie. And that is no small praise. It has a different look, but thus far it feels like Transformers. If this carries on into the movie, it will be a success.
Rating:
—
Chose Your Weapon Sampler. By Jin-Hwan Park, Dan Hipp, Seung-Yup Cho, Ki-Hoon Lee, Oh Se-Kwon, Jae-Hwan Kim, and Richard A. Knaak.
This digest collects five story fragments of various Tokyopop stories. It was a little tough for me to get through, but that is more because I am not a big fan of Manga than it is an aspersion of the quality of the work. The scene selection was good – while these are clearly not complete stories, they did do a good job clipping stories in a way that the scene stood on its own and made some sense. Gotta give the editors on this one a little credit.
This might not appeal to a broad audience, but if you are curious about Manga, Tokyopop in particular, this is an excellent showcase of their products.
Rating:
—
Sonic The Hedgehog: Unburying the Hatchet. Written by Ian Flynn, Art by Tracy Yardleyi, Jim Amash, and Jason Jensen.
This was a really fun issue. It stands alone and is all original material, two huge plusses on this day. This issue in particular takes place right before the upcoming Sonic #174, but you aren’t stuck with a To Be Continued.
The story is a fun action read that is all-ages appropriate. Not as thoughtful as something like Amelia, or as skillful as something like Owly, but it is a solid story that is a perfect example of the kind of thing readers are looking for on Free Comic Book Day. This should turn a lot of people on to the Sonic comic.
Rating:
—
Virgin Comics Special. By Various.
A bunch of new small publishing companies have popped up over the last year, one of them being Virgin, who launched their run with Devi about a year ago.
This year’s effort collects some excerpts from four of their books – Ramayan 3392 AD, The Sadhu, Walk In, and Devi. Not the art is just stunning – in all four stories. But the stories themselves are heavy – far too heavy for a casual read. Virgin would have done well to follow the past examples of Arcana and Image and go for shorter original snippets rather than reprints in this case – their material really is too dense to get readers interested in four titles in such a short period. They are still new to the game, though, some trial and error is to be expected. Still – some darned good art in this one.
Rating:
—
Owly: Helping Hands. By Andy Ruton.
Not sure why I even bother with this one – I should just slap a five on it and move on! As expected, Owly was forty-two different shades of awesome, and once again a stunning example of artistic storytelling. To call it cute doesn’t even come close to covering it. This is one of those titles you look for first if you are a guy trying to get his comic-hating girlfriend to go to the shop on Free Comic Book Day. Stick this in her hands and all will be forgiven. For that day, at least. Ruton delivers strong again with another excellent outing. There is a back-up in this year’s issue, a short called Korgi, Sprout’s Lost Cookie by Christian Slade. It isn’t quite as cutesy as Owly, but also well done and effective. A nice capper to a great issue.
Rating:
—
Unseen Peanuts. By Charles M. Schulz.
One of the most important criteria for a perfect Free Comic Book Day submission is originality. How, then, can you make a perfect Peanut’s offering? Simple – a perfect gimmick. Unseen Peanuts collects over 150 classic Peanuts strips from the 50s and 60s that have only been reprinted in one place – the Complete Peanuts volumes from Fantagraphics. All of these strips were considered “Lost” for one reason or another. Each string of strips come complete with a bit of commentary explaining why the strips were never reprinted – specifics that you actually can’t find in the hardcover volumes. Even if you are already buying the hardcover volumes like I am, you will enjoy this issue.
Rating:
—
Justice League of America #0. Written by Brad Meltzer, Art by various.
Unfortunately, it looks like DC is going the reprint route again this year, which is a same. Their main offering this year reprints the #0 issue of the new Justice League of America. The issue itself doesn’t do a whole lot to introduce the new League, but it does do a nice little recap of the history of the League through the eyes of the “Trinity” of Batman, Wonder Woman, and Superman. An ok read – but when I think of an ideal DC Free Comic Book Day submission, I think of an original superhero story with lots of action that gets you excited about a particular character. There was no action, way too much drama, and far too little new material here (read: none). DC can do better.
Rating:
—
Buzzboy/Roboy Red: The Buzz & The ‘Bot!. By Rich Faber, John Gallagher, and John Green.
Buzzboy is always good for a solid Free Comic Book Day outing. Huge points for complete stories and all-ages accessibility, though there is some reprinted material in this issue. This isn’t as great a sin for a company like Sky-Dog as it is for someone like DC – chances are, you have never seen the Roboy graphic novel, so this is all new to you. As I said before – this is a well-written all ages property (both of them), but it isn’t quite as smart as something like Amelia, so the older you are, the less interesting this will be to you. That is ok though – it is meant for the younger reader, and it should suit them just fine.
Rating:
—
Impact University Volume 3. By Coleen Doran, Tom Nguyen, J.
Peffer, Jim Pavelec, and Jason Cheeseman-Meyer.
For the third year, Impact is back with a couple excerpts from its line of Workshop books. And as in previous years, if you consider yourself an aspiring comic creator, this is an issue you should have checked out. It includes a few short art lessons from some popular artists today, and an intro by Gail Simone. Informative for the aspiring comic artist, as well as for the fan who likes to read about the inner workings of comic creation.
Rating:
—
The Umbrella Academy/Pantheon City/Zero Killer. Written by Gerard Way, Ron Marz, and Arvid Nelson, Art by Gabriel Ba, Dave Stewart, Clement Sauve, Stephane Peru, and Matt Camp.
Three pretty solid stories headlines by the original 12 page prelude to The Umbrella Academy set prior to the upcoming series. It was a pretty fun read – a little on the dark side, but dark humor and super-heroics go well together these days. The second story, Pantheon City is a little less enjoyable, but it seems like a concept that needs to be flushed out a little more. The Zero Killer snippet was entertaining – it was very much a character oriented story and is a good introduction to the upcoming title. A good effort from Dark Horse this year.
Rating:
—
Family Guy/Hack/Slash Flip Book. Written by Tim Seeley and Matt Fleckenstein, Art by Emily Stone and Various.
This issue is by no means to be read by children.
On one side of this issue we find a Family Guy short. I admit that Family Guy is good for an occasional chuckle, but it doesn’t translate very well at all to a printed medium. It comes off as coarse and crude, and the timing which elicits the laughs on the show itself is just impossible to recreate in comic form. It ended up just being offensive.
On the flip side, you find Hack/Slash, a great creative idea from Tim Seeley that I have been a fan of for some time. They do seem to be too hyped on the potential for the feature-film. 99% of comics that are optioned for movie release never actually happen, and to hype an option two years before an initial slated release date is a lot premature, and might illicit a negative reaction from more savvy comic readers. The story itself is a good one – a flash of the origin of Cassie Hack and how her role as a Slasher killer was cemented by bringing her mother’s rampage to an end. Also unsafe for the younger reader, but it probably turned a couple more people on to an outstanding series.
Rating:
—
Legion of Super-Heroes in the 31st Century #1. Written by J. Torres, Art by Chynna Clugston and Guy Major.
The second of DC’s traditional two outings is the Johnny DC effort, a reprint of Legion of Superheroes in the 31st Century #1, the comic book based on the Cartoon Network cartoon. This one is very kid friendly, and a good book to have picked up if you had young ones in tow. Of course, it is a reprint, like DC’s submissions usually are, but you had a complete story and a somewhat entertaining one. Legion fans might find the issue a grating read, but for a kid it might just be passable.
Rating:
—
How to Draw. By Various.
Maybe it was just a visceral reaction to all things Wizard, but of the three “how to” submissions this month, this was my least favorite. It was really light on the mechanics, and didn’t give any complete lessons like the Impact book did, instead giving you a “taste” of the lesson you would get, and then telling you what to go and buy. It was decent from a very general standpoint – if you wanted an overview in comic art creation, the issue was productive. For real mechanics, though, there were better offerings.
Rating:
—
Wahoo Morris. By Craig Taillefer.
Right off the bat, this title describes itself as the next Strangers in Paradise (quoting a review), and immediately that was a mistake. Something ALL comic promoters should keep in mind (especially the indies), the moment you declare yourself the next insert big awesome title here, you open yourself up to such scrutiny that even the tiniest misstep will be brought to the surface. This issue was a reprint of the very first Wahoo Morris, with some strategic edits to clean up some of the nudity and foul language, to make it safe for any younger readers who might pick it up. It isn’t exactly an all-ages book anyway, but I have to give Taillefer a ton of credit for that move. The story itself? It weathered the storm of my initial heightened skepticism and turned out to be a pretty good read. The only thing it really had in common with Strangers in Paradise was the fact that it is black and white, and is a kind of slice of life love story – the reviewer that blurb can be credited to was really lazy on that comparison. But it is a good title with a lot of promise. This issue was a successful one.
Rating:
—
Pirates vs. Ninjas #1. Written by Fred Perry, Robby Bevard, and Wes Hartman, Art by Craig Babiar and Wes Hartman.
Ah, the inevitable attempt to capitalize on pop culture phenomenon. You knew it had to happen sometime. This issue was a reprint of a previous issue – a trade of the first series is set for release in the next two months. It was a little padded but fairly generic fun. Being the first part of a four part series, it did leave a bit to be desired in terms of a conclusion. Wish they would have done something original instead of a straight reprint to be honest – a issue-sized, self contained, straight up brawl between some pirates and ninjas would have done a lot more to generate interest in the series than the meager offering we got here. Could have been better, but not too, too bad as it was.
Rating:
—
Worlds of Aspen #2. [i]By Michael Turner, Jeph Loeb, Vince Hernandez, Marcus To, Don Ho, Jason Gorder, Sal Regla, Peter Steigherwald,
This year’s effort from Aspen was very similar to last year’s – a few excerpts from various stories in their line-up, including the Soulfire, Fathom: Kiani, Soulfire: New World Order, and Shrugged.
Like I have come to expect from Aspen, there was nothing really good or bad about any of these stories. The art on Soulfire: New World Order was surprisingly fresh – everything I have seen from Aspen at this point has been that horrifically generic Turneresque style – it was nice to see something different. The stories were fairly generic, and being incomplete excerpts, you really didn’t get a satisfying read out of any of them.
In the end – a powerfully average outing for Aspen once again – something that seems to have become the standard for that line.
Rating:
—
Arcana Studio Presents 2007. By Various.
Another strong submission from Arcana Studio – that makes four years in a row! My reaction to this year’s is not-so-surprisingly similar to last year’s. As the years go on, Arcana has grown better at their craft, and as a company they are really putting out some great work these days. Several years ago, when they first started out, a lot of the praise they earned was owed mostly to potential – they are really realizing that right now.
Three new stories were found in this year’s issue – a Kade: Sun of Perdition short, a prologue to the upcoming 100 Girls series, and a look at the forthcoming Clockwork Girl series (which is starting off with a $.25 issue. All three were solid stories – I was particularly impressed with the art on the Kade short – it was really something special.
Arcana has nailed the Free Comic Book Day formula from day one. Show off your line, but give readers a complete read that is easy to follow. Right on the money for the fourth straight year.
Rating:
—
Last Blood #1. Written by Bobby Crosby, Art by Owen Gieni.
The first thing that came to mind when I opened up this issue was The Walking Dead – only with slightly less awesome art. While the art critique held up in the end (it was decent, but could stand some improvement), I was pleasantly surprised at the original twist Crosby added to the story. Yes, it is a zombie book, and yes, the story does follow a group of living people who have to survive in a world overrun by those creatures. The twist? Vampires. Needing a source of blood to survive, vampires actively protect the humans from the zombies to ensure their own survival. The issue also reveals a connection between the vampires and the zombies that actually makes a lot of sense.
This issue looks to be the actual first issue of the series – a tactic we are seeing employed a few times this year. This issue is the actual #1, with issue #2 set to come out in July. That is the very spirit of Free Comic Book Day. A little more risky, but readers who picked this issue up got a real free comic in every sense of the word.
Rating:
—
Digital Webbing Jam 2007.By Various.
Digital Webbing gave us a look at five of their properties this month. These stories are described as “remastered,” or simply previews – which means they probably aren’t original, but once again – indie companies tend to get a little pass on that.
The first was a Bloodrayne short that wasn’t too bad. It was high action, and though you really don’t get too much detail about who Bloodrayne is (unless you are already familiar with the game), you get a nice fight sequence and some decent conflict which stood pretty well on its own. The Fist of Justice short had a clever twist, but ultimately it wasn’t something that could carry a concept over the long term. I really tried to like E-Man, but there just wasn’t much there to really go on. Zombie Highway’s and Punks were also way too short – it probably would have served the whole issue better to give those pages over to Bloodrayne and Fist of Justice for to better showcase those books.
This issue was better than I expected – the spotlight features stood well on their own, and were fairly enjoyable.
Rating:
—
Love and Capes #4. By Thomas F. Zahler.
Like Last Blood, this is a legit complete issue that is part of the series. It is going to be available for sale in July as a variant cover – mostly to give readers the opportunity to check it out who might not have been able to find a copy on Free Comic Book Day, which is a perfectly acceptable strategy, and one I think falls very much in the spirit of “original, non-reprinted” content. The issue itself was fun. There is plenty of spoofing of mainstream heroes, but the core of the story is essentially a romantic comedy that spotlights the relationship between The Crusader – a super-hero, and Abby Tennyson, the owner of a bookstore. The issue was a light and fun read that was well put together. Hope you got a chance to read it.
Rating:
—
Comic Genesis Free Comic Book Day 2007. By Various.
As in prior years, Comic Genesis devoted their Free Comic Book Day issue to highlighting thirty web comics that are hosted on their site. They also include instructions on how to set up your own account with them and post your work.
A novel idea – and it probably did bring in a few takers, but as a comic, it resulted in a slightly amateurish product. The production was nice, but the strips themselves often left a lot to be desired. Several forgot to even showcase why their comic is worth reading, instead devoting the whole thing to a big ad where the characters asked people to check out their strip. A few gems – worth flipping through, but there really weren’t any solid standouts. Having to sift through a lot of hard-to-read and humorless strips really made it worse for the few gems in there.
Rating:
—
Little Archie: Legend of the Lost Lagoon #1. By Bob Bolling and Jim Amash.
Archie still hasn’t managed to recreate the magic of its 2004 Free Comic Book Day entry, but this one wasn’t half bad. Granted – Little Archie is about as intriguing as Baby Mickey (sorry – Muppet Babies was the only time the concept ever worked) – but Bolling does manage to tell a somewhat interesting story. The real stars of the story were the grown-up camp counselors, whose behavior in the story really mimicked the kind of thing you would see from the regular cast of an Archie book. This made me kind of wonder why they bothered with the Little Archie gimmick at all.
Could have been worse – but the gimmick was a killer here.
Rating:
—
The Astounding Wolf-Man #1. Written by Robert Kirkman, Art by Jason Howard.
Another “Give the first issue away” effort – and Image being as big as they are, this will probably pay off the most for them. Robert Kirkman, of course, is well known for his work at Image. Invincible and The Walking Dead are two of the top books in their line, so you can bet they would be eager to add a third. The story itself followed a pretty standard wolf-man formula, and was fairly enjoyable, if predictable. I can recall that the first issue of the Walking Dead was very formulaic- it took several issues before it really started to stand out. The same may hold true here – it has potential for sure. A lot less serious and not nearly as dark as The Walking Dead, but just as appealing to fans of the supernatural. A good first issue, and a great Free Comic Book Day submission.
Rating:
—
APE Entertainment’s Comic Spectacular!. By Various.
Most of the time, when I pick up an anthology-style Free Comic Book Day issue, I cringe before opening. Cracking open APE’s issue was such a relief. Inside there were sex actual short stories. Not excerpts of stories – full stories with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It seems like comic creators have a hard enough time with 8 page stories – to see this many 5 pagers of such high quality was a real treat. My favorite line of all the FCBD issues I read this year appeared in this issue – “The Civil Boar tie-ins broke my fall. I knew they were good for something.” If that doesn’t about sum it up, I don’t know what does. This was an outstanding effort for APE, and I hope they pick up a few new readers for their efforts.
Rating:
—
Liberty Comics #0. By Dennis Mallonee, Mike W. Barr, Billy Tucci, Andrew Pepoy, Henry Vogel, Mark Propst, and Rob Jones.
Heroic Publishing has gone with Liberty Girl again to headline their Free Comic Book Day submission, and it seems to have worked out in their favor once again. This issue contained four complete stories – and all four in the same “Golden Age Style” that Heroic prides itself on. And they pull it off. It leaves a little to be desired in terms of character development, but that really isn’t what this issue is all about. It was good decent fun, and this year’s issue was even better than last year’s. I am glad to see that Heroic has managed to stick around this long – it is always a treat to crack open one of their issues.
Rating:
—
The Train Was Bang On Time. By Eddie Campbell and William Hornber.
Bonus points for creativity in format, I have to admit. Sadly, that was the most novel thing about this issue.
To be frank, it was a little confusing and a lot boring. The issue quite literally started with a bang – a protest turns bloody as a train is blown up, instead of merely blocked as a group of protesters intended. Framed as a detective story, a good mystery was anticipated. Unfortunately, after the explosion, the story just kind of meanders. The reason for this is several fold – one, a real weakness in artistic storytelling, and two – a poor script that relied on good artistic storytelling to carry it. Page after page without a word on it attempted to convey what was happening – and that lack of dialogue killed what could have been a good story. Sometimes it is better to forget trying to be so bloody artistic and tell a good story – when you go for “artsy,” you often fail if you don’t do it with good reason and skill.
Could have been much better.
Rating:
—
Whiteout #1. Written by Greg Rucka, Art by Steve Lieber.
This issue was a reprint of the original Whiteout #1 published way back in 1998. Oni has just released a “remastered” trade of this mini, and is including the first issue here by way of promotion. OK, so it isn’t exactly original or yet-unseen material, but it was a decent first issue, and there is a really good chance that most Free Comic Book Day patrons hadn’t read it before. The ending is a little rough – the story is incomplete and not really satisfying if read on its own, but as a lead in to a four issue mini, it wasn’t too bad.
Not the ideal choice for a Free Comic Book Day submission, but far, far better than a lot of the alternatives.
Rating:
—
Viper Comics Presents Volume Two. By Various.
I’ve been an unabashed Viper fan for a long time, which makes this review very, very hard.
This effort was really less than stellar.
It started off well enough – the Yeti Another Day strips were an excellent warm-up. This issue was bound to be Sasquatch-heavy with their promotion of the upcoming anthology, so it set the perfect tone. The second short – an excerpt from Sasquatch vs. UFOs started off well enough, and seemed like a clever concept. However, the end is where things started to go wrong. That story ended in a cliffhanger without giving any real substance of its own. The stories after that had even less substance. Even Oddly Normal – a fantastic title, was pretty empty. Don’t get me wrong, it started off as any good Oddly Normal issue would, but the pages included couldn’t stand on their own at all.
This was a decent showcase of Viper’s various titles, but they forgot that Free Comic Book Day is supposed to be about free comics, not free ads and preview pages. Outside the initial strips, nothing in this book could be read or enjoyed on its own. A real shame. All of these titles deserve to be given a shot – but this particular issue was a weak contribution to the event.
Rating:
—
Marvel Adventures Three-In-One. By Various.
The first of two Marvel submissions this year – this one was geared towards the all-ages reader. And it wasn’t half bad. The “solicit” for this issue promised all-new stories, though I am pretty sure that the Franklin Richards story in the back was a reprint. The Hulk and Iron Man stories seemed fresh, however, and for ten page shorts were exceptionally well-written. It just goes to show that there really are people left at Marvel who can write a short comic story- most impressive! This was a great issue for the kids, and the average non-comic-reader Joe who happened to pick this one up.
An excellent start for Marvel.
Rating:
—
Amazing Spider-Man Swing Shift 2007. Written by Dan Slott, Art by Phil Jimenez.
Wow – just wow. I honestly don’t think Marvel has ever done a better Free Comic Book Day issue. Last year was the first year they really did well, but this is absolutely perfect.
OK, So there is a new Spider-Man movie out – heck, Free Comic Book Day was scheduled to be on opening weekend for this movie. So Marvel responds by releasing a Spider-Man comic for this years event. The right move for sure.
Second – it is an original story. Written by Dan Slott to boot, which is a bonus for comic fans who follow the creative talent behind their books. And he really delivered. This story was all-ages friendly, not bogged down in continuity, fun and exciting. It had humor and action, and though it followed the old standard Spider-Man formula (you know, Peter on his way to meet X loved one, only to be interrupted by a criminal), it was handled with such humor and grace that the issue was a joy to read. And as one-off villains go, Overdrive was a pretty good one.
And as icing, why not give a preview of an upcoming issue of Amazing Spider-Man? I dislike Free Comic Book Day issues that are made up entirely of preview pages, but if you took the time and effort to deliver a high quality complete story, and want to take a couple pages to showcase an upcoming issue, go for it! Through and through, a great issue, Well done, Marvel.
Rating:
—
Comics 101: How-to and History Lessons From the Pros!. By Danny Fingeroth, Mike Manley, Bret Blevins, Bob McLeod, Roy Thomas, and Michael Eury.
Of the three “How to” comics that came out this year, this one was my favorite. Mostly because it wasn’t so artist-oriented, but also included some stuff for aspiring comic writers. But it was more than that. The real gem of this issue was the lengthy comic history articles in the back. There was a lot of informative information regarding the history of the medium in that article, and I highly recommend all of you find a copy if this issue if you missed it and read it. A lot of you probably know everything presented in it anyway, but it is a nice piece of work that I think you will enjoy. Especially if you want to make comics – you should know the ins and outs of the industry you aspire to be a part of, and this article will get you off to a good start.
Not a great issue for someone looking for a comic story, but for the real comic geek – it’s a good one.
Rating:
—
Comics Festival 2007. By Various.
If anything, I hope you managed to pick this issue up just to read Darwyn Cooke’s outstanding short.
There were several shorts in this issue, and of all of the anthology books that came out this year, this one really stood head and shoulders above the rest. In addition to Cooke’s story The Alex, there were a few other notable standouts, including True Romance from Brian McLachlan, Michael Cho, and Cooke, The Wonderful World of Kim Pine by Bryan Lee O’Malley, and what I considered to be a real commentary on the nature of masculinity in today’s society, J. Bone’s Jett Vector. Through and through a great read.
Rating:
—
Wow – there you are, thirty-eight Free Comics! As always, there are a couple that get missed in the shuffle – due to regional issues or some other unknown factors. This year, the submissions from Bongo, Boom!, Castle Rain, Comic Shop News, Keenspot, and Drawn & Quarterly were missed. If you picked up any of these issues, please feel free to add your thoughts!
Thanks again for reading, and see you next year!
Post your comments in the Forum!
May 9, 2006
Still on the Shelf 2006 – Free Comic Book Day Rundown
Welcome to the third annual Still on the Shelf: Free Comic Book Day Rundown!
This year’s event seemed a little more subdued than last – no major comic movie was released this weekend (maybe they didn’t want to alienate Marvel or DC by picking one over the other?), and the pre-event chatter wasn’t as intense as it has been in years past. Still, the comic shop was packed, and it seems like the comic community woke up to it at the last minute. The publishers, though, prepared well – this might have been the best crop of Free Comic Book Day contributions yet.
Those who have read my previous recaps (2004 2005) will recall, in this column I give a rundown and some brief comments on each of the comics offered. This year, I am going to add a little wrinkle – a rating. If for no other reason than to give the SOTS Halibut a little workout over here, each entry will be given a rating out of 5 SMACKS, 5, of course, being the best possible contribution a publisher can make for Free Comic Book Day.
If you are familiar with my reviews, I am notoriously difficult, and have never actually given anything a 5 rating. In a review, a 5/5 to me means that a particular issue is the absolute best a single issue of a comic can possibly be. I have never seen a comic that good, and thus have never ranked an issue 5/5. However, while the quality of the story does weigh heavily in these rating, the ranks in this article are only judging the quality of the entry as a Free Comic Book Day contribution, and thus a few managed to get full marks.
So what does this mean? Well, I have noticed that a few publishers don’t really seem to get that Free Comic Book Day is not Free 32 Page Ad Day. Naturally, all of these books are ads by their nature. Why participate if you don’t hope that someone will like your product, and buy more issues? But when you tell a non comic reader about Free Comic Book Day in the hopes that they will visit their local comic shop, you expect that if they do go, they will get an actual free comic book. That means a complete story that, while perhaps referencing another issue, can be read, understood, and enjoyed completely on its own. Sometimes you can get away with an excerpt from another comic, but simply a collection of preview pages chosen at random doesn’t really fit the bill.
Each ranking will take three factors into consideration – Original Content (either unique to the issue or previously unreleased), Overall Quality, and Story Completeness (does it stand alone?). An issue with full marks is high quality, contains new or preview material, and can be enjoyed without ever reading another issue from the publisher. Though hopefully it is good enough to make you want to check out more of their products.
Like every year, I would like to thank Nuclear Comics (28985 Golden Lantern #B107 in Laguna Niguel, CA – (949) 363-1263) for making sure that these issues were available to me for this article this year. I feel like a hog having all of these issues pulled for me, but rest assured that like every year, I keep the stack in my office and pass them out to anyone who might be interested in them once this article is written. Check out Nuclear Comics if you are in the Southern California area, it is my LCS of choice and worth the trip.
This event really is about getting new readers to give comics a chance, and those of us who are already on the bandwagon need to help facilitate that. So don’t corrupt these issues with bags and boards or tuck them away in a dark box in a closet somewhere. Get them out there – pass them out, and make sure anyone who might want to read one gets a chance. More readers means more money for the industry, and a better chance that your favorite title won’t fall due to low sales. And even better – more comic readers means more people you can share your love of the medium with. Isn’t that reason enough?
Without further ado, in the order I read them – the Free Comic Book Day 2006 Rundown
Archie’s 65th Anniversary Bash #1. Written by Dan Parent, Art by Parent and Jim Amash.
Starting things off this year is Archie’s contribution to FCBD, usually the strongest in 2004, and one of the weakest last year. This year’s was in between, a little camp mixed with a good introduction to the titles they offer. This year mark’s Archie Comics’ 65th Anniversary, and the story of Archie possibly having to leave town leant itself well to a bit of a retrospective of the whole Archiverse. Not exactly high marks for story, but it did do something to introduce the Archie line to the potential new reader.
Rating:
Comic Genesis. by Various, Edited by Kelly Price
The format on this one was a little confusing – the intro talks about Comic Genesis as a web strip hosting service, but all of the strips included seemed to have their own link. One would presume that each of these have a regular web comic feature – so Free Comic Book Day would be an excellent way to draw new readers to those sites. Find some strips you like, and check out the site. Easy as that! On the whole it was pretty poor, but there was one standout – Staccato was hilarious. The back half of the book was dedicated to God Mode, basically a PvP clone in concept, though there were a few good puns, the Square/Borg gimmick was pretty good. In all, Staccato was a bit funnier, but it was a much smaller sampling.
Rating:
X-Men/Runaways. Written by Brian K. Vaughan and others, Art by Skottie Young and others.
It has been known to happen, believe it or not. Marvel blew me away with this year’s FCBD outing. New material, and not just the same promotion of the same faces? With good quality material? Hats off to them, they did a great job. Young’s pairing with Vaughan for the Runaways story really gave it a light feel – his Wolverine expressions were outstanding. Though contrived, the meeting between the X-Men and the Runaways went off about as it should, and really did a great job introducing the kids to anyone who might have just picked this one up because Wolverine was on the cover. Of course, the Franklin Richards bit was outstanding, and there was a nice intro to the Marvel Adventures Avengers, and a pretty extensive recap of the entire run of Ultimate Spider-Man. After last year’s non-effort on the part of Marvel, they really deserve top marks for this year. This is EXACTLY what they should be releasing for Free Comic Book Day. Well done, a great issue.
Rating:
Superman/Batman #1. Written by Jeph Loeb, Art by Ed McGuinness and Dexter Vines.
And the flip side of the coin goes to DC with this reprint of the very old Superman/Batman #1. With all the exciting things going on in DC nowadays, you would think they would go with something a little more timely. Especially something that isn’t plagued with tardiness issues? Maybe something creative – a joint #0 for a few of their upcoming books, a little anthology deal, something. A decent issue, but it only serves to interest people in a story that is well past this point, and anyone drawn into the title would have to work very hard to find back issues and trades. Not the ideal effort. At the very least, it does qualify as a “Free Comic,” so there is that.
Rating:
Justice League Unlimited #1. Written by Adam Beechen, Art by Carlo Barberi and Walden Wong.
DC’s second outing of the month, this one presumably to appeal to younger readers, perhaps those that have watched Justice League Unlimited on Cartoon Network. I guess they are still showing reruns, but isn’t this show pretty well cancelled? And the ads in this thing – one mentioning Powerpuff Girls, which is cancelled! It almost seems like DC didn’t even try this year, which is a real shame, considering that their whole focus these past couple years have been climbing to the top of the comic game, and making this the year for new readers to sample their books. A real let down from the Spin.
Rating:
The Fantagraphics Funny Book #2. By Various.
The second year for Fantagraphics, and this year they are doing pretty much the same thing they did last – a little anthology to show off their talent. As you might expect a lot of it is rough – when you have an indie book dealing with their up and comers, few things are really going to be smooth. Of course, there are bound to be stand outs, and there were a pair here – Jason’s D.V. strips were pretty hilarious, as were Johnny Ryan’s gag comics. Naturally this one is adult themed, so no showing it to the kiddies. Overall a solid intro to Fantagraphic’s line-up.
Rating:
Free Scott Pilgrim. By Bryan Lee O’Malley, Back-Up by Andy Helms.
Oni’s outing this year features a brand new Scott Pilgrim adventure. This was my first taste of Scott Pilgrim, and it was a little silly, but nothing to write home about. The back-up, The Aggressive Adventures of Fearless Griggs, on the other hand, was a lot silly and a real chuckler. It’s strength was in word play between the modern “hip” adventurer and the maniacal, over-the top assassin who spoke in some serious hyperbole. Good stuff, it was a fun read.
Rating:
Conan/Star Wars. By Timothy Truman and Randy Stradley, Art by Paul Lee and Douglas Wheatley.
This year’s Dark Horse book is one of those flip two-fers, one half Conan, the other half Star Wars. This is my first taste of Timoth Truman on Conan, who is previously known for his work on Scout. And honestly? He really isn’t holding a candle to Busiek in this sampling. Hopefully this is just a warm up, or Conan is going to fall from grace really quickly. The Star Wars story focuses on the Clone Troopers, and is set during the Clone Wars. A decent action story – not much to speak of, but not bad. Admittedly I kind of expected a little more out of Dark Horse, especially being their 20th anniversary. The preview of Truman’s Conan was a great idea, though it is a shame that it didn’t quite turn out as well as it could have. Truman has tremendous shoes to fill, though, so this might be an example of expectations being way too high.
Rating:
Mr. Jean. By Phillipe Dupuy and Charles Berberian.
Drawn and Quarterly’s FCBD effort is a reprint of excerpts of Get a Life and Maybe Later, collections of Dupuy and Berberian short stories, and a preview of Tove Jansson’s Moomin.
The Dupuy and Berberian shorts were actually pretty interesting. Naturally not ideally suited for the common comic reader, but they are interesting for those who might like something of a “real life” genre story. Of course, the books were originally French, and there are a few cultural tweaks here and there, but nothing too foreign. In all, they were decent. The Moomin preview, on the other hand, pretty well lost me. Seems it isn’t quite my brand of humor, unfortunately.
Rating:
Jack the Lantern: 1942. Written by Michael Angelos, Art by Jerry beck and Tony Bledsoe.
I have actually had the chance to read Jack the Lantern previously – unfortunately I didn’t really enjoy it too much then, so it faced an uphill battle with me this time around. Maybe my previous experiences clouded my judgment on this one, but it just bored the heck out of me. It was a good rundown of the character and a bit about its history, but unfortunately if you aren’t into the goth/ghoulish/demon type story, this really isn’t going to appeal to you. This might be a great comic – sadly, I am about as far from its target audience as you can get. I like a good demon story, but this style just never suited me. Great presentation, but just not my style.
Rating:
Worlds of Aspen. By Various, Edited by Vince Hernandez.
The submission from Michael Turner’s house was about what you would expect, some light stories that focused heavily on the art. I’ve avoided Aspen since it first began, mostly because I am not so much a fan of Michael Turner’s art. Granted, he draws extremely beautiful people, but the trouble is that aside from hair and eye color changes, it is all the same person. The repetition gets old after a while.
Now really, it wasn’t as bad as all that. The first two preview stories, Soulfire: Chaos Reign and Fathom were extremely Turneresque – pretty too look at, but kind of fluffy on the whole (even the Chaos Reign was fluffy, and I don’t think it was intended to be). Shrugged was actually kind of clever, and had a good style. Soulfire, well, being Turner’s main project, you can imagine what I thought of that preview. The issue itself was well put together. It wasn’t original material, but it did give the reader a good look at the Aspen line-up. And if you are a Michael Turner fan, you probably got a lot out of this. Not exactly to my taste, but a decent FCBD issue.
Rating:
Buzzboy: Sidekicks Rule!. By John Gallagher, Stephen Silver, and Rich Faber.
Much like last year, this year’s Buzzboy issue contains three shorts stories. This issue appears to be original, and it promises an issue #2 to be available in August. So if you enjoyed this, you might want to keep an eye out for that. Either way – giving an issue #1 out for free is a great hook, hopefully it works out for them.
The same cast and character’s from last year’s Buzzboy have returned again, except a little younger it seems. And there is the Roby Red back-up like last year, but sadly no Major Damage, which is a real shame if you ask me. This was an entertaining read – really light hearted and family-friendly, and a bit silly at times. And filled with action – I am sure issue #2 will be equally as exciting.
A great effort for Skydog once again. Hopefully this will turn on a few new readers to their upcoming series.
Rating:
Liberty Girl #0. Written by Dennis Mallonee, Art by Daerick Gross and Mark Propst.
I really enjoy reading Heroic Publishing comics whenever I get a chance – it seems like they remember a certain something about comic books that we seem to have forgotten in this day and age. Sure, we get more literary-quality comics, but we have forgotten how to suspend disbelief, revel the pure, archtypical character, and just enjoy a super-hero comic book. In fact, if there is a failing for Heroic, its that they don’t often consider that some of their potential readers might not know how to do that anymore!
Liberty Girl is a preview issue for the new series getting started in August, so the already get high marks for new material. The story itself? Pretty decent. The character is going to need some developing, but it was basic – a superhero stepping in to help regular folk. Down to earth… so rare. A pretty decent start – definitely interested in seeing issue #1.
Rating:
Bongo Comics Free-For-All!. By Matt Groening.
Pretty run-of-the-mill Simpsons comic – a few short stories from the Simpsons, Radioactive Man, Pie Man, and Futurama. They were oddly enjoyable, really no less funny than the show, though you do have to imagine your own voices. It always amazes me to see how much Simpsons comics don’t suck. You’d think they would be lame, but I have enjoyed every one I have ever read, on some level at least. This issue was a decent sampling of what they have to offer, and was more than enjoyable on its own merits.
Rating:
Bongo Comics
Transformers: Infiltration/Beast Wars. Written by Simon Furman and Chuck Dixon, Art by E.J. Su, Guido Guidi, and Don Figueroa.
It only makes sense that IDW would use this opportunity to show off their new Transformers license. I was especially excited for the peak at Beast Wars, a series I was very much looking forward to at Dreamwave before their sudden demise.
When reading this sample though, I couldn’t help but wonder, who picked these pages anyway? Everything included was just previews to existing or upcoming issues, and it seems like they just picked the first couple pages and printed them. Almost all exposition, very little action, heck, I don’t even remember seeing Optimus Prime on any of the pages! You’d think they would throw in an awesome fight sequence in there just to get the juices flowing, and make you want to buy an issue. But I don’t even think I want to give this to my boss’s kid, a big Transformers fan, because it is going to bore the poor kid to tears.
If they weren’t going to include original content, IDW should have taken more care in choosing what preview pages to include. These just aren’t going to turn that many potential readers on to IDW’s Transformer line.
Rating:
Walt Disney’s Donald Duck. By Don Rosa, Pat and Shelly Block, and William Van Horn.
What, taking a BREAK from the usual offering of Carl Barks classic stories? Say it ain’t so! A bit of a disappointment right out of the gate, but Don Rosa is no slouch either, so I tried not to let it get me too down. Still – Barks is what I have come to expect from Disney Comics on Free Comic Book Day. The three included shorts were all decent, and all featured Donald Duck and Huey, Dewey, and Louie. Each was a preprint of a story that appeared in Walt Disney Comics and Stories previously, but not for the past decade (18 years for the Rosa story).
There wasn’t really any surprises in this issue – it was the exact sort of thing we have come to expect from Gemstone’s Disney line. While there is certainly nothing new stylistically with the Disney Comics, it does continue to be interesting to see them stacked up against other contemporary books, and see how well they fare. And their usual too-high price point isn’t a problem here, this one’s free. The book itself might get a younger reader interested in Disney Comics, unfortunately few would be able to afford them. Still – a good outing, not as good as their Barks features, but passable.
Rating:
G.I. Joe Sigma 6. Written by Andrew Dabb, Art by Chris Lee and Ramanda Kamarga.
Sigma 6 is the newest G.I. Joe cartoon, and this issue, of course, reprints the first in the series based off of that show. It is all ages friendly, and one would presume fairly true to the cartoon.
While this book was probably great for the younger reader, I had some bias to overcome in reading it. Last year’s Devil’s Due contribution featured a Defex preview, as you might remember, a book that has since been totally forgotten along with the rest of the Aftermath line. In the last year, Devil’s Due has gone from being one of the more original publishers to relying almost solely on licenses for comic adaptations of popular lines. As sudden and swift as that change was, it still bugs me – especially considering how much I was enjoying Defex. Add to that that this G.I. Joe is only barely similar to the one I grew up with – the biggest sore thumb was Destro… what did they do to his head?
Maybe all this proves is that I am just a grumpy old man, who don’t get “kids these days.” The issue was ok, and should appeal to the younger crowd. I do with they didn’t need to rip up G.I. Joe to do it though! I am actually surprised they took this approach, honestly, in pushing the all ages book, I expected them to go after the regular comic audience.
Rating:
Impact University Volume 2. By Various.
Just thinking back to the ego-trip that was last year’s introduction to the FCBD Impact University issue makes Colleen Doran’s into all the better.
If you ever wanted to create a comic, though, this might be something you want to look at. Impact produces a series of books that are designed to help you create comics, with industry professionals offering advice and tips on any aspect of the process. This issue was a good sampling of the kind of things you would see in their line. Though I do have to admit, I did get a chuckle out of the Photo reference section – while generally informative, Greg Land’s section basically promoted tracing. Considering the fact that Land is criticized for over-using photo reference, his three page section was an almost comical confirmation of the critique.
If you fancy yourself a comic creator, or a future creator, you might want to check this issue out to see if Impact has anything to offer you.
Rating:
Owly: Breakin’ the Ice. By Andy Runton.
Owly! Yes!
Looks like Top Shelf learned their lesson last year, and decided to stick with Owly as their face for Free Comic Book Day. Like last year, this was a great call. This issue is once again a new Owly story, promoting the line of graphic novels. And geez, just like last year, it was awesome. Runton has achieved the pinnacle of artistic storytelling, the way he conveys emotion in those simple panels is just awesome. The whole range – anger, nervousness, sorrow, desperation – Owly blows me away once again.
It is very all-ages friendly and great for just a simple comic fan that enjoys a powerful story. You wouldn’t think a kids book about a shy little owl could be powerful, but here you are. Top Shelf rises to the top on Free Comic Book Day for the second year in a row with this entry.
Rating:
Bluff & Tales from a Forgotten Planet. By Yoshik Watanabe, Giovanni Masi, and Ben Dunn.
I have seen a lot of press from Narwain Publishing over the past few months, but this was the first chance I really have had to see what they put out. It looks like these are previously published shorts- previews of two of their titles.
The Bluff story was nice – heartwarming, of course, a decent all ages book with a pair of interesting protagonists… Bluff, the bull terrier, and his flea named Flea, who observe the dynamics of the family that adopted Bluff (reluctantly) after almost killing him with their car. That one has the potential to be a good series, though it might not draw the average comic reader looking for something a little more exciting. Tales From a Forgotten Planet was a sci-fi-ish buddy manga deal… a group of spacefarers that acts pretty well exactly like you would expect any group of kids to act in an Anime show. Great if you like the genre, but it was lost on me. There was also a few one page rundowns of some of their titles.
Overall this was a nice introduction to Narwain, and well worth the time for the Bluff story alone. Plan to look for that series here myself.
Rating:
Amelia Rules!: Funny Story. By Jimmy Gownley.
Another Amelia Rules! Contribution from Renaissance Press this year, a publisher that clearly understands that you don’t change something that works. Amelia worked last year, and it sure works again this year. Last year’s issue had Amelia moving to a new town and dealing with that and her parent’s divorce. This year’s had her dealing with her Mom starting to date again.
Some might brand this inappropriate for an all-ages audience for that fact alone, but I do have to disagree there. Children who are victims of divorce are more common than not these days, and though you would like to think that an eight year old wouldn’t be dumped off at a babysitter so that her Mom could go have a social life – it is a fact in this day and age, and a real conflict that kids have to deal with. The “mirror” sequence was priceless – all the things a kid would want to say to a parent embarking on a “date,” but would be afraid to, for fear of punishment.
Once again, Amelia proved to be one of the best FCBD entries this year – nice to know that some things don’t change.
Rating:
Image Comics: Future Shock. By Rick Remender, Jerome Opena, Joe Casey, Tom Scioli, Richard Starkings, Robert Kirkman, and others..
You know, there aren’t many better ways to make me smile on a Free Comic Book Day entry than to start it off with Fear Agent.
This year Image went the preview route, pulling four page samples from future issues of Fear Agent, G0dland, Invinvible, Noble Causes, Savage Dragon, Shadowhawk, Spawn, and Witchblade – a good sampling of their various ongoing books. Unlike the IDW Transformers book, it seems like these preview pages were chosen with much greater care, and actually gives the reader a good idea of the characters and themes of the individual books.
While not entertaining on its own, it is a decent preview of what Image has to offer. They did seem to forget that Free Comic Book Day isn’t about glorified ads for a line, but a free comic. The pages included were often semi-self contained (The Shadowhawk one was nice), and could stand on their own as entertaining, it still wasn’t the same as a more flushed out story. A good entry, but more of an ad than anything, and that isn’t what this day is about.
Rating:
Keenspot Spotlight 2006. By Various..
Another huge entry from KeenSpot, though about 16 pages shorter than last year’s contribution. Still, that leaves 105 pages, so who is complaining?
Much like last year, this year’s KeenSpot is an anthology collection of shorts from their line (everything from webcomics to graphic novels). You know, it wasn’t all that bad. Sure some things stuck out more than others, and some were just plain bad. But that is par for the course for indie productions like this one. There was simply a ton here to see, and through it all there had to be a few things that would appeal to anyone. And that is what an anthology is all about, isn’t it? A lot of this isn’t exactly my thing, but I have to give them credit for another great entry.
Rating:
Arcana Studio Presents 2006. By Various..
Arcana Studio traditionally puts out a great Free Comic Book Day entry – they seem to have gotten the concept right from day one. Yes – promote your work, but made a comic book. Not an ad disguised as a comic book. This year they kept up that standard.
The first thing I noticed was the graphic upgrade on Kade – it looks like they are using some CGI these days. It’s been a while since I read an issue of Kade, so I have no idea how long they have been doing that, but it does look good. The stories in this issue were good. They do look to be new – and generally do stand on their own. The Ezra story does have something of a cliffhanger, but the story itself stands on its own, and it makes sense to put something in there to make the reader want to hunt down the next issue.
Three years – three outstanding Arcana contributions. It is also really nice to see them evolving, really learning their trade. Each passing year the books are sleeker, the dialogue better, and the art and artistic storytelling smoother. They always had a good vision and a decent product, but it really seems like they have come of age. It is gratifying to see.
Rating:
Like every year, there are one or two items that I miss due to availability issues. This year was no different, but it was pretty painful. I missed the Tokyopop contribution, which wasn’t so bad for me, not being a fan, but I did miss out on the Adhouse Books and the Viper issues, both of which I was really looking forward to. I am really disappointed to have missed them – hopefully I’ll be able to track down copies of the issues eventually.
Overall, much like last year, this year was even stronger than the year before. It seems that the publishers are really getting the hang of this event, and are putting more time and effort into making it a success. Marvel coming to the table this year, finally, was a real exciting change: with luck, this will be more than a one time thing, and next year’s entry will be just as brilliant. DC – the gauntlet is down! Let’s see something phenomenal next year!
Until 2007 …
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December 5, 2005
Still on the Shelf #89 – Fear Agent
 |
| Image Comics |
| RickRemender.com |
| Cast of Characters |
 Heath Huston, last of the Fear Agents, currently working as a zeno-exterminator, specializing in the removal of alien pests (below Class D Intellect, of course – in compliance with the Quintala Convention). |
 Mara Esperanza, a warp scientist who was aboard the Glentbin Station when the Feeders attacked. She was the only survivor, hiding in the station’s water source until Heath found her. |
 Annie, probably Heath’s only friend in the universe, is actually the ship he flies in. She has a human-like computer intelligence, and relates to him like any person would another. She is very big on seeing Huston quit drinking these days. |
 Feeders caused the Armageddon of Charmanta. They are a streamlined life form that consumes any flesh, excreting only eggs, perfect breeding machines. Think tribbles with tentacles. |
 The Fear Agents defended Earth from the Dressites during the Annubius Conflict, and seem to have carried their desire to exterminate life on Earth ever since. They are responsible for the sudden reappearance of Feeders. Is Earth in danger once again? |
Who? What? Still on the Shelf? What’s that?
Yeah – it has been a long hiatus, but I decided that it was time to start writing these again. Plan on at least a few more in the upcoming weeks, so there is that to look forward to!
But enough about the future, how about we talk about the title du jour, Fear Agent?
Naturally, the obvious appeal is that this is a sci-fi book. Sci-fi is still a rare genre in comics today, despite the fact that you would think that the “Sci-fi geeks” and “Comic Geeks” are, in fact, the same crowd. Alas, this doesn’t seem to be the case, and a good sci-fi serial comic is hard to come by. There are Star Wars comics, of course, but that is a creature all its own. Beyond that, we have seen some sci-fi books come and go, Negation and the recent Space Ghost mini come to mind. But nothing ongoing that is still around today, nothing that you could say “Sci-fi? Well, you have to check out , that is just outstanding.” Sad state of things, if you ask me. Sci-fi comics these days are really hit and miss, so much so that buying them is a perilous task at best.
Personally, I am a sci-fi geek. I like it in all flavors. I like the down to earth, make you think sci-fi like Eternal Sunrise of the Spotless Mind, the utopian galactic political sci-fi like the kind you find in Star Trek, heck, I even like the picturesque, epic tapestry sci-fi like you find in 2001: A Space Odessey. I like all sorts of Sci-Fi, but there is a shocking lack of it in the comic medium. So every time I hear about a new sci-fi book, I am compelled to give it a shot in hopes that it will fill that void. Fear Agent was no different. I snatched the first issue off the shelf as soon as it came out, and have been hooked ever since.
Rick Remender is certainly no stranger to the genre. He did animation work on Titan A.E., which was a solid sci-fi action film (I swear they ripped that idea off from me, and I have the novella to prove it, but I digress). Comic readers should be familiar with his art more so than his writing, he has worked on books like TMNT, the Avengers, and Ruule: Ganglords of Chinatown. I don’t know if it was intentional, but the Fear Agent “universe” did feel somewhat like the universe we saw in Titan A.E. Fear Agent has the same gritty feel, the same diversity of species that seems lacking in common sci-fi. The lack of available human food is a good example of this. In a galaxy filled with different species, it is only natural that everyone would not eat peanut butter. In such a galaxy, you wouldn’t find human food in every nook and cranny. This was the kind of universe we had in Titan A.E., and it is the same kind of feel that we have in Fear Agents. Humans are not special, they are not looked up to, and galaxy most certainly doesn’t revolve around Earth. Remender does a great job with the book’s setting, which is of crucial importance in sci-fi stories of this nature.
Now not to put down Remender’s art, but the fact that he isn’t responsible for the art on Fear Agent was a draw for me. Tony Moore handles the penciling chores (alternating every five issues with Cory Walker, who will start his first turn on issue 6). Of course, this is the same Tony Moore that drew the first outstanding arc of The Walking Dead (If you didn’t read that, go out and get that trade right now). He lives up to some pretty high expectations artistically in the first two issues, which is a real plus for this title.
Fear Agent is a more old fashioned sci-fi story, the action-packed, “aliens are monsters” brand of sci-fi serial like the kind you would see a half a century ago. Lots of different aliens of varying degrees of intelligence, lots of sludge, tentacles, bulky ray guns and dome-helmeted space suits. Things are dirty, gritty, not pristine and sterile like most of the sci-fi you see these days. Heath’s ship is even a blast from the past, a honest to goodness rocket with a trio of landing struts that lands and takes off vertically. That was a really nice touch. The artistic look of this book is one of its strongest points. So often these days, if something is set in space, everything must be sleek, clean, small, and compact. I liked the tubes, the bulkiness, the classic feel of the ships, weapons and space suits. But it also had modern touches – the monitors on Heath’s ship for example. The two meshed together gave the tech aspect of Fear Agent a real authentic feel.
The protagonist Heath Huston is the last surviving Fear Agent. Who or what the Fear Agents were is still something of a mystery, but Heath, working as a xeno-exterminator, is skilled at killing aliens of all kinds. The series starts with Heath, pretty much at the bottom of the barrel, hoping that his latest job pans out, or else he won’t have enough money to run his ship. Heath is an alcoholic, and views working sober as a handicap that he would avoid if given the choice. He is also more human than your average hero these days. He isn’t indestructible, he succeeds in life with a strange mix of skill, luck, and what could either be called bravery or stupidity. He is running more often than he charges in, and somehow manages to stay alive no matter how bad things are going. The mark of a classic serial hero, the joy isn’t from watching him methodically beat down his opposition, fulfilling a foregone conclusion, it is reading to find out just how he is going to manage to stay alive in ever worsening predicaments. Unlike a lot of heroes in comics today, Heath isn’t untouchable. He isn’t larger than life, he could be your drunk uncle. He’s not quite as pathetic as an Al Bundy, but he is no Han Solo.
I have written a lot about the lack of serial storytelling in comics these days. Thus far Fear Agent is a great example of this lost skill. Each issue has a point, and can be read individually. Granted, it is still only two issues young, but if future issues follow this pattern, Fear Agent has the potential to be one of the best serials on the market. Of course it is always better to read the entire run, but since more often than not people don’t give a good series a shot until more than a dozen issues into it, having a book formatted properly is extremely important to a young property. Solid single issues are nearly impossible to find these days, with the stories overly padded and geared towards the eventual trade release. So far, Remender has demonstrated a sound mastery of the single issue story, the smaller stories that contribute to the larger, ongoing arc. If you ask me, a lot of writers today acclaimed for their mastery of “pacing” could take lessons from this series. Basically, what I am trying to say is, things happen in each issue. Things have happened in the first two issues of this book that more conventional books these days would take ten issues just to set up. It is sad how refreshing that is.
The first two issues of Fear Agent are already available. Issue #3 is due out on December 29th. If you are a fan of sci-fi, I strongly recommend this series. It is a real tribute to the sci-fi of a bygone era, and worthy to stand with the best examples of the genre today. I know I am looking forward to issue #3!
Credit Where Credit is Due
Fear Agent is
Written by Rick Remender, with
Art by Tony Moore (Cory Walker starting issue #6)
Ink by Sean Parsons
Colors by Lee Loughridge
Letters by Rus Wooton, and
Published by Image Comics
Cover Gallery
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May 17, 2005
Still on the Shelf 2005 – Free Comic Book Day Rundown
Been a little while since my last Still on the Shelf here at Comixtreme, but with Free Comic Day having come and gone, I thought I would take this opportunity to make last year’s Free Comic Book Day Rundown a tradition. So, without further ado –
SotS’s Free Comic Book Day Rundown 2005
Once again, thanks to Nuclear Comics, 28985 Golden Lantern # B107 in Laguna Niguel, CA – (949) 363-1263, for making sure these books were available for this article this year. I do appreciate it!
Alternative Comics Presents. By Various.
Alternative Comics contribution was well put together – a bit of a sampling of all of the various types of comics that they put out. Whether you would like the content though, is another matter entirely. This is a classic example of an “alternative” comic company – a few fairly intellectual cartoons, some borderline offensive political cartoons attacking anything to the right of Howard Dean, and several incomprehensible strips with the classic “alternative” comic art style (read: poor). There were some gems to be had; the lead-off story by Gabrielle Bell was excellent. This was the story of a couple arguing constantly over a giant hole in the bathroom, an argument that only ends when one of them is actually swallowed by this seemingly innocent hole. Random would be a good way to describe it, but however you would classify it, it was quite enjoyable. Forbidden Fruit, an all-ages friendly strip by D. Sakai was also interesting; he told a pretty good story without using a single word. Granted, it was a story about birds trying to get fruit from a tree and therefore pretty simple, but it was well done nonetheless.
Overall, this was a good submission to check out if you are a fan of this very formulaic alternative comic style – and it was a well produced introduction to Alternative’s product line.
Amelia Rules! #0. By Jimmy Gownley.
This one surprised me in more ways than one. For starters – it was an outstanding all ages story. The simple concept of a kid in a new neighborhood trying to make friends might seem old-hat, but it was exquisitely pulled off by Gownley in this issue. It had all of the right elements, right down to the mean-spirited kid who spreads rumors about the newcomer only to see the light in the end.
The interesting twist of this story was the divorce angle, something I rarely ever see pulled off very well. Divorce is hard on a kid, and adding that as an aggravating factor in moving to a new neighborhood was an interesting choice. But it seemed natural – it was a source of stress for Amelia, but it felt natural, and didn’t completely take over the story. It was just there – and presented in a way that a lot of kids these days might find familiar. I found it to be a most impressive issue, made all the better by the fact that it was a Free Comic Book Day original. You should check this one out.
Arcana Studio Presents #2. By Various.
Last year’s Arcana Studio Presents #1 was one of the better Free Comic Book Day entries, and this year’s effort proved to be just as good. The Kade and Ezra were solid, as usual, but the 100 Girls and Starkweather stories were the most interesting to me. Unfortunately, I have not had the opportunity to sample either series yet, and for a first taste, these stories were fairly impressive. I look forward to reading more.
In the end, once again, Arcana Studio Presents proves to be an excellent standard to judge all of the FCBD entries by. And outstanding and enjoyable production through and through, and I hope you managed to get a copy. It had a quartet of solid and original stories that were great introductions for the new Arcana reader, but not totally boring for someone familiar with the titles. Granted, the former is way more important, as FCBD is for new readers primarily, but it is still nice to be able to enjoy the story if you are a fan of the title.
Betty & Veronica FCBD #1. By Dan Parent, Jim Amash, and Barry Grossman.
Last year the Archie Comics FCBD effort was among my favorites. This year it was the most forgettable. Not that I have anything against Betty & Veronica as a title – quite the opposite in fact. But this story was less about promoting Betty & Veronica as a comic, and more about re-introducing globetrotting supermodel Katy Keene to the pages of comics. Sure, she is a character with a lot of history (but then, this seems more like an Ultimate Katy Keene), but I am not so sure this was a good move. Last year’s Archie comic had a broad appeal – this issue presented Betty & Veronica as a book about teenage girls with no higher ambition than designing fashion or becoming a model. I know Betty & Veronica is more than that – but would a new reader? I don’t think so. This issue was a big flop.
The Batman Strikes #1. Written by Bill Matheny, Art by Christopher Jones and Terry Beatty.
Another major publisher, another all-ages reprint. I have to hand it to Marvel in this case – at least they reprinted a decent issue. The Batman Strikes is the latest effort by Warner Brothers to appeal to a younger crowd by taking a time honored character (and most recognizable brand name) and stomping all over it, making it “Hip and hot for a new generation.”
Maybe I am being overly harsh – and this story isn’t all that bad. But there is one thing I know for certain – this isn’t Batman. I admit that I might have thought more of this story if the wholly original characters used in this issue were not assigned the names and costumes of a popular comic property, but the fact that they were ruined the whole thing. I was expecting more from DC today – perhaps I shouldn’t have.
Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards. By Jim Ottaviani and Big Time Attic.
This one was certainly a weird one. It was sort of a late 1800s tale centered on high profile antiquities collectors like P.T. Barnum. Paleontology also plays a large role in the story, as dinosaur bones are still considered among the more impressive curiosities. It does read as if there is some basis in fact for the tales – and those usually are the best ones. The story selection for Free Comic Book Day was a good one – after reading this issue, one would have a very clear idea of whether or not they would enjoy the graphic novel due out this fall. It is a little early for a direct promotion, but I can see people investigating the publisher after this most unique and fun effort.
Bongo Comics Gimme Gimme Giveaway, Written by Ian Boothby, Clint Johnson and Chuck Dixon, Art by James Lloyd, Hilary Barta, and Luis Escobar.
A Simpsons and Futurama Comics fan’s delight. But was it worth it? I think it was a pretty good showing for Bongo Comics, but like most Simpsons and Futurama books, they didn’t really capture what made the cartoons themselves so humorous. Sure, they same humor was there, but in the print form it seemed forced and unfunny. Homer being bored at a trip to the museum. Bender deleting his memory because someone told him to “forget you ever saw me.” May have made great gags in the animated show, but in the comic, they just fell flat. The Chuck Dixon penned “The Grotesque Garage Sale of Gargamash” was by far the most interesting story in the whole book. It featured a magician fighting with his mortal enemy at a garage sale over The Baster of Bastur. Quite funny.
Bongo Comics
Buzzboy.By Various.
I have to say that this one was pretty clever. The tagline on this issue read “Who knew comics could be this much fun again?” and they did deliver on that that promise. Three stories could be found in this issue – the first being about the title character, Buzzboy, followed by a Major Damage short (my personal favorite), and one about Roboy Red. All three stories appeared to be excerpts of larger stories, but they were well selected and they gave an excellent insight into who these characters are. This issue was certainly kid friendly, but the stories did not talk down to the reader in any way. In fact, the Major Damage story was almost heart-wrenching. I wouldn’t mind seeing more from this publisher in the future.
Comic Festival. By Various.
It looks like they debuted this comic at the recent Toronto Comicon – logical since it is intended to highlight the work of Canadian cartoonists. I can’t really say I was too impressed, though. The 23 strips and excerpts of comics ranged from flat out strange to potential-filled, but not incredible. I think a lot of the excerpts were poorly selected – giving someone a page or two out of a story when there is nothing particularly interesting about those pages on their own is not going to win over new readers. For this entry, they would have been wise to either go with fewer selections, or put more pages in the book. The strips themselves couldn’t have much been improved by more pages, but the comic excerpts could have been. A great con giveaway, but as a FCBD book, I can’t see this winning over too many new readers.
G.I. Joe, Defex, and Darkstalkers. By Various.
A strong outing from Devil’s Due this year, but not at all why I thought it would be. The issue itself was one of those flip books – one story on one side, then the other upside-down on the other. I don’t love that format, but it isn’t difficult to deal with, so it has never bothered me all that much.
I started with the Darkstalkers story – which was pretty forgettable. I think it was a pretty decent overview of the main character in the series, but I typically find that comics based on video games tend to be weak at best, and this one seems no different. On the flip-side, the Defex story was an exert of a previously printed issue – while decent, I think an original overview would have served much better.
But the real jewel of this issue was the G.I. Joe short. I dropped G.I. Joe a long time ago, but after reading that sample, I am regretting that. If all of the G.I. Joe issues are that good these days, then the series has improved dramatically since I dropped it all that time ago. If you missed it – find a copy of the FCBD book and take a look. Wow is the best word to describe it. What a difference making Cobra an intelligent enemy makes!
Flare Adventures #13. Written by Wilson Hill, Art by Gordon Purcell, J. Adam Walters, and Chris Marrinan.
From the cover of this one, you probably thought the same thing that I did the first time I saw an issue of Flare – a big bosomed blonde beauty who can barely stay in her costume fighting crime. Fanboy’s wet dream, huh? Despite the image that the cover might convey – sexuality really plays a very, very small part of Flare. In fact, she is even aware of it herself, and comments on how much she hates the image that she has (in the story) from time to time.
The Flare story itself is a reprint, but a pretty decent story, and a nice introduction to Flare as a character. The back-up stories featuring Psyche and The Black Enchantress are original though – and very entertaining. One thing you will notice when reading just about anything from Heroic Publishing is the “old school feel” that the comics have. Stories wrap up quickly, and have just as much oomph as the six issue behemoths that are so common these days. I can’t say that this will be to everyone’s tastes, but I think older comic readers who are a little jaded about the all too serious tone that comics take today should enjoy what Heroic has to offer.
Impact University. By Various.
If you have any interest in actually creating comics, this entry most probably caught your eye. It was pretty enjoyable and informative. Granted, you had to power through an overly egotistical introduction that most people probably skipped all together (the smart ones to be sure), but on the artistic side I found it satisfying. Impact includes samples from a wide range of their “instructional manuals,” from Manga Secrets by Lea Hernandez to a taste of Will Eisner’s Comic’s and Sequential Art.
This wasn’t so interesting an entry from a story perspective, but this isn’t really a comic book in the traditional sense. It was an excellent sampling of the products that Impact has to offer. I know there are a lot of people out there who could use a publication like this one – you should check out their site if you missed this one.
Keenspot Spotlight 2005. By Various.
This one was a monster – 120 pages in total. As you might guess from a book this size, there were a lot of different comics to be had here. Unfortunately – nothing really jumped out at me in particular. Not that there wasn’t some serious effort put into the work here 0- it just didn’t appeal to me all that much. You can’t really enjoy them all, I suppose. The original stuff didn’t seem all that interesting or amusing, and the strips inside seemed to rely a great deal on spoofs of mainstream comic properties (Batman breathing in space, or the Incredibles), and even those weren’t terribly funny. Maybe this is an example of something I just don’t get. It isn’t uncommon for me to be the only person who doesn’t enjoy something.
Manga Sampler. By Clamp and Ken Alamatsu
Manga has never been something I have gotten too excited about. Despite that, I have enjoyed certain manga titles from time to time, and picked this one up with an open mind. Unfortunately, in was incomprehensible.
For one, it was in that obnoxious left-to-right printing style. I know that is a popular gimmick among manga fans, as that is how they are actually printed in Japan. Thing is, that is because it is written in Japanese. Trying to read English written properly, but with the pages ordered improperly is more of a headache than it is worth. I am sure Manga purists are ripping their hair out now, but the way I see it – by printing it in English in the first place, it is already not authentic. Ordering the pages top make the story readable in the language it is printed in seems like a small concession. Beyond that, the story is difficult to understand in the first place – making the formatting issue all the worse.
Mangaphiles probably enjoyed this effort. I am pretty sure it didn’t win over too many new readers, however.
Marvel Adventures. Written by Todd Degazo, Art by Michael O’Hare and Derek Fridolfs.
OK, not only is this a reprint – it is a reprint of a title no longer in publication! Marvel Age Spider-Man Team Up #1 was the source of this issue’s story, and that just brings up bitter memories of Marvel’s inexplicable dumping of the Marvel Age line in favor of Marvel Adventures. Sure, it has a similar theme, but why work that hard to establish brand identity only to dump it for no real reason? Outside of a neat little “How to Build a Comic” feature at the end of this issue, there was very little new to be had here. I really would expect that the major publishers would do more on Free Comic Book Day. Granted, their marketing presence is such that people don’t need to push to sample a Spider-Man comic, but with such strong efforts by the small press on this day – well, let’s just say that all things being equal, Marvel wouldn’t be at the top of my “must sample” list if I were a new reader.
Minimate – Free Comic Book Day. From Diamond Select Toys.
This little guy was a trip. When I first saw a picture of it, I wondered how a little Lego-guy wanna-be without even the backing of a well-known comic property behind it was possibly going to get people into the line of toys. Sure, make it a Spider-man minimate, and people will buy it in droves on name association in droves. But to put the product itself up like this – no known superhero, just a plan white mini-mate with the FCBD logo splashed across its chest? Selling the product for what it was, and nothing more? Suicide!
After playing around with this little guy for a few minutes, I found myself glad that my toy collecting days are well behind me. I could easily see myself dropping way too much money on these things. At first, they seem like your typical Lego-man – they even have holes on the bottom of their feet which SUGGESTS that they might stick to Legos. Granted, I was never able to test this theory, but it wouldn’t surprise me. All of the body parts are easily removable and presumably interchangeable with other Minimates – something a kid might enjoy. There is a lot of articulation as well, allowing you to pose your Minimate however you like.
The FCBD Minimate changed my mind about the toy. Heck, if they ever make a Deadpool Minimate, I might end up picking it up. I can see how these things are addiction now.
Owly: Splashing Around. By Andy Runton.
If I were to give an award for most improved Free Comic Book Day entry, Top Shelf would have to take the prize. Last year they submitted a collection of various strips and short comic stories. This year, instead of a potpourri of both the good and the not-so good, Top Shelf submitted a singe Owly story, to outstanding effect. Owly is an all ages title, and another of those comics without actual dialogue. Runton expertly tells the story of Owly and his quest to win first prize in a bird bath contest through art alone. It is a fun and expressive comic story, and I was impressed with the results. Normally I like to see FCBD efforts from smaller publishers focus on the whole of their line-up, but in this case, I think the single story approach worked better. Having this one outstanding comic be the face for all of Top Shelf will have more people curious about what else they have to offer. An excellent approach. This is one of the few solidly kid-friendly books given out this year – one you could pass on to your youngsters without hesitation.
Roninhood of the 47 Samurai. Written by Jeff Amano, Art by Craig Rousseau.
I guess this kind of qualifies as an Image submission as well this year, huh? I know that Beckett will maintain a degree of independence (Image only signing on to actually publish the books), but this was a great piece of news. I have been a fan of Beckett since I first cracked an issue of Ganglords of Chinatown, and this move means I will get so see a lot more from them in the future.
So the FCBD issue – impressive as expected. As the title suggests, it is an adaptation of Robin Hood, only set in feudal Japan. The change works so well, I am surprised it has never been done before. If it has, I have never heard of it. Of course, this was only the first part of the story, but a powerful start. I am sure I am not the only one who will be scrounging to find the remaining issues of this series.
Runners: Remastered #1. By Sean Wang.
There are a few different sort of FCBD comic styles out there – this was the first of the “reprint” variety that I read this year. While I do frown on Marvel’s tendency to simply reprint an old all-ages issue, for these small press companies, this is often a very good idea. Especially in cases like this, where this reprint of the first Runners issue could well spur a boost in sales for the remainder of the series, already available.
The issue itself was a fairly good read. It had a shoot-em-up sci-fi format, with a few fun elements tossed in to lighten the mood. Sci-Fi is still a very under-represented genre in comics, and I think this a pretty solid effort in the Star Wars style action space-opera. Something you should check out if you are in the mood for something action packed and fun.
Star Wars. Written by Miles Lane, Art by Nicola Scott, and Michael Atiyeh.
Star Wars comics have certainly made a resurgence over the past few years, thank in large part to the prequel trilogy that is about to wrap up this month. What was once only enjoyable to the hard-core Star Wars fan is now a solid story accessible to just about anyone who likes the genre. Dark Horse’s entry this year was clearly meant to act as a bridge between fans of the movie and the comic books that bear the Star Wars name, but might be totally unrecognizable to anyone unfamiliar with the Expanded Universe. The story focuses on Anakin and Obi-Wan, hot on the trail of Count Dooku and General Grievous, only to end up falling into an ambush. Some pretty standard banter between Obi-wan and Anakin was the focus of this book – and it has very reminiscent of Episode II’s dialogue between the two. Star Wars comic fans might find it a little dry and basic, but for a new reader, it actually ended up being a pretty solid introduction to Star Wars in comic book form. Solid package and all-ages friendly – Star Wars is an overall good pick by Dark Horse for this event.
Superior Showcase #0. By Various.
Ah, now this is something I have some familiarity with. I picked up Project: Superior several weeks ago, a pretty thick anthology book (287 pages at $19.95, and very worth the cost) filled with various cartoons. And I loved it! I was very happy to see that the Superior Showcase issue was just as good, and very much in the same spirit. Many of the strips have the look of a standard alternative stereotype (bad art), but I am a firm believer that a great imagination can make the worst art work. One work at the introductory cartoon, Onion Jack, will confirm what I am saying. This is a talented group of people, and I highly recommend checking out their work if you weren’t fortunate enough to sample their FCBD submission.
Uncle Scrooge. By Carl Barks.
Ah, if only Gemstone didn’t overprice their Disney books so much. They made an excellent move here in reprinting the very first full-length Uncle Scrooge story by the legendary Cark Barks – a great all ages piece. Even someone whose only exposure to Uncle Scrooge was through the old Duck Tales cartoon will recognize this incarnation – they are very much the same. Even the plot is similar to a standard episode of Duck Tales – Scrooge, worried about the Beagle Boys stealing his money, enlists the help of Donald and his nephews to hide the money from the would-be robbers. A definite oldie-but-goodie here – hopefully if your local comic shop limited the number of books you could pick up, this one was on your list.
Of course, as I am sure was a common occurance in most stores, my local comic shop did not get a copy of every issue that was put out for Free Comic Book Day. This was expected, and I wasn’t surprised to see it happen, but I must admit some real disappointment at missing the Flight sampler and the Mortal Coils Presents issues. The Flight issue especially – I was always curious about Flight, and I saw the Free Comic Book Day issue as a great way too see whether it was worth the cost. I hear it was fantastic too. I am really sorry I missed that one.
Overall, in terms of product quality, I felt this year was much stronger than 2004. I have to hand it to the small press- they have taken this concept and ran with it. While the bog boys at Marvel and DC are doing the minimum required to pass without notice, the smaller publishers are putting it all on the line to give you an example of their best work, and doing everything they can to get you to give their work a shot. I hope you are all rewarding them for their efforts.
A solid year – let’s hope they can get it together once again in 2006 for an even better one! And as always, do remember that these books are free. While it is natural that all of us, as comic fans, showed up to get our copies, this day is for the new comic reader. The more people we bring into comics, the healthier the industry will be. So once you are done with your copies – pass them on. Especially those all-ages books – make sure they get into the hands of kids – any kid. You will be doing the comic industry a service!
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