STILL ON THE SHELF #63 - FREE COMIC BOOK DAY RUNDOWN
Still on the Shelf #63
Craig Reade
In my “real world,” my nine-to-five life, the fact that I am a comic book fan makes me something out of the ordinary. As most of you probably do not know, I am a licensed realtor, and I have been working most all aspects of real estate for the last few years (as well as a few wildly unrelated jobs thrown in the mix). As such, the type of people I see most often would have nothing at all to do with a comic book. As such, my little hobby has become something of a “dirty little secret” that only a chosen few know about.
Oh, I don’t really go out of my way to hide it, by any means. There are times when I do my small part to “spread the word.” There is my undying struggle to get my girlfriend to read just one comic (beyond Strangers in Paradise, which she seems to be able to separate from “comics” all together). There is my boss at work, who is the type of person who will never, ever read comic, but does happen to have two small boys who simply adore the occasional Marvel Age book I bring to the office for them every month or so.
Then there is Free Comic Book Day. The one time a year I will tell just about anyone about. And believe it or not, amongst the non-comic fans of the world, FCBD is something that they can hardly believe.
“You mean you get free comics?” Yup.
“Any comic you want?” Now this is where it gets tricky - No, not really – there are special ‘FCBD’ comics they put out that are made for the occasion.
“Oh, so you get a couple of cheap, crappy little comics…”
I can’t tell you how nice it is to be able to tell them that it is not the case – that for the most part, the comics that are given out are decent quality, full-sized comics. Especially this year, on top of the quality, there is a real variety of comics, making certain that there will be something that would appeal to everyone. You would be surprised to hear how many people actually said they might “check it out.” Not that I think they would go out of their way to do it, but if they happened by a comic shop this past Saturday, I know that they would be curious enough to stroll in and see what the fuss was about.
This year I have also come to realize that I go to one damned fine comic shop. I have heard tell of comic stores that only give out the FCBD books “with purchase.” To me, that is missing the point entirely. There are also those out there that limit the number of titles you can take – and while I can sort of appreciate that rule (have to make sure there is enough for everyone, after all), it is still something of a downer. That was not a problem I had this year – any and all of the comics were there for the taking – no limits, and no purchase required.
This Free Comic Book Day I made the drive to my usual haunt (Nuclear Comics, 28985 Golden Lantern # B107 in Laguna Niguel, (949) 363-1263, for those in the area who want a good shop), and was greeted by a large sign in the front proclaiming “Free Comic Book Day” for all to see. It was very welcoming to start with, and the smaller print invited those who were curious to come in and see what it was all about. And damned if people didn’t. We all can tell when someone walks into a comic store who has never been there before, and I saw two groups wander in my local shop in the short time I was there. The owner (unlike many I have encountered over the years) was very welcoming and was right there with any questions they might have. Even if they end up never reading a comic again, it is nice to see that FCBD is helping to improve the image of a medium that has something of a taboo, “for geeks only” reputation.
So what kind of comics did we have this year? It really wouldn’t be a “Still on the Shelf” if I didn’t describe a comic to you, and tell you what I thought, so that is exactly what I will do!
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The Adventures of Barry Ween, Boy Genius: Secret Crisis Orgin Files, by Judd Winick.
In the first of two Oni Press releases this year, Winick shows off his range to anyone who is only familiar with his work on titles like Batman. As with most Oni books, this is a great story through and through. It can be deliberately crude at times, hard to avoid when your protagonist is a foul-mouthed, horny, genius of a child. This books provided good insight into not only Barry as a character, but also how and why he and Jeremy are friends. A fun little read, but hairstyle similarities aside, this is no Gus Beezer. In other words – not for the kiddies.
www.onipress.com
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Arcana Studio Presents – Free Comic Book Day, Written by Sean O’Reilly, Mario and Tina Gully, Art by Allan Otero, Mario Gully, and Alfonso Ruiz.
I have to admit that this was the first comic I actually looked for this FCBD – it is no secret that I am a huge fan of the Ant series, and with the promise of an original story here, I couldn’t help but be interested.
In the end, Arcana put out a nice, solid book here. Three original stories featuring Kade, Ezra, and Ant, a tough task at a mere ten pages a piece. But they did a great job – we got a real good look at who Kade is and what he is all about in a single fight scene, Ant, well, we finally got a look at how exactly Hanna will become Ant, and what her suit is made of, and Ezra – well, Ezra is still a little new yet, so to be honest, her story, while entertaining, didn’t really reveal much of her character to me. Perhaps I just missed something there. It was an entertaining few pages nonetheless.
Arcana clearly put a lot of effort into this year’s FCBD submission, and it turned out to be among the best of the books this year. Hopefully this will translate into some new readers for them – as a fan of Ant, I certainly hope so.
www.arcanastudio.com
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Archie, FCBD Edition #2, Written by Craig Boldman, Art by Jeff Shultz, Rich Koslowski, and Barry Grossman, Letters by Vickie Williams.
Believe it or not, this was probably one of my favorites this year. This comic stars Chuck Clayton, perhaps one of the more “minor” characters in Riverdale. He is an aspiring cartoonist, and he is very passionate about his hobby. So much so that Capp, the owner of Archie’s comic shop, can barely stand to talk to him. Until a couple of comic shop owners, Buddy Saunders and Bill Liebowitz, as it happens, are in his shop talking about all of the comic creators who visit their comic shops. Not to be outdone, Capp proclaims his store plays host to a wealth of “up and coming talent,” and how he plans to print and sell the next comic Chuck puts together. Well, who is going to write it? Archie of course! In the end, Chuck proves that Archie’s life is far more interesting a comic than anything they could come up with on their own, and the comic is a big hit. A great, easy read through and through, and a perfect story for free comic book day. There is indeed a reason that in this world of superheroes and dark, uber-serious stories that Archie still stands strong…
Interested in another Archie mainstay, Betty and Veronica? Check out Still on the Shelf #5 - http://www.stillontheshelf.com/sots...es/sots005.html for more info!
www.archiecomics.com
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The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty #1, Written by Gabriel Benson, Art by Mike Hawthorne and Mike Atiyeh.
Beckett has surprised me a great deal of late with the quality of the comics they are putting out. Some of you might remember the column I did on another Beckett title, Ruule. It is safe to say that The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty does indeed live up to that high standard. It is basically the fable of Sleeping Beauty with more of an old-west twist. The presentation is pretty original as well – and even though most all of us know what to expect from Sleeping Beauty, there is plenty here to surprise you. The pencils by Mike Hawthorne are just as solid as those on “Ganglords of China” which really goes a long way to giving this title a good look. Once upon I time I used to talk about the individual artistic style that CrossGen comics had – well Beckett seems to be carving an equally solid look of its own. I can’t wait to see what they come out with next.
Want to know more about another Beckett comic, Ruule? Check out Still on the Shelf #61 - http://www.stillontheshelf.com/sots...es/sots061.html !
www.beckettcomics.com
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Back in Black:Brian Pulido Unleashed at Avatar, Written by Brian Pulido, Art by Clint Hilinski, Paulo Sequeira, Datty, Di Amorim, Wddy Barrows, and Walter Geovani.
Well, it is nice to see that Brian Pulido is getting work after the CrossGen ship has seemingly sunk. On the bad side, it seems that all of the legitimacy he has earned from changing Lady Death from a mostly naked fan-boy drool-fest to a respectable character in a solid story has been chucked out the window.
Avatar is gearing up to release five new Brian Pulido projects, all of which so far seem to fall into the mold that the original incarnation of Lady Death fit into. In other words, naked girls. I am sorry, no matter how good the story is, am I supposed to believe that in the British Isles of all places that a woman could wear something like that and NOT die of frostbite? Please! To top things off, three of the five comics previewed in this title only displayed the art pages – no hint of Pulido’s story whatsoever. So you got to read half of this one, and then flip through the last half, going – “nada nada nada, naked chick, nada nada…” A real shame.
I have tried on many occasions to give Avatar a chance. They are constantly coming out with great ideas (I was more than excited about the Stargate comic, and look at that mess), but they always seem to drop the ball. Just like they did here. So why turn back the clock on Pulido’s career and pervert his stories with over endowed, under clothed heroines? I can see why he would go for it – work is work. Shame on Avatar nonetheless.
Curious about Brian Pulido’s respectable work? Check out Still on the Shelf #31 - http://www.stillontheshelf.com/sots...es/sots031.html !
www.avatarpress.com
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Duel Masters #1, Written by Brian Augustyen, Art by Jeremy Tiongson.
A good selection by Dreamwave. Yes, it is a reprint, but it certainly has some wide appeal to the “kids” these days who are all about but Manga, and those battle card games. Dreamwave’s bread and butter these days is Transformers, true, but it is nice to see them using this day to try and broaden their fan base.
Now Duel Masters is not really the kind of comic I go for, because I neither enjoy most typical manga books, nor do I really enjoy those “battle” card games. But the issue was well put together, and should be enjoyable to those that fit in the target demographic.
www.dreamwaveprod.ca
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Dungeons and Dragons, Crisis in Raimiton, Written by Matt Clarke, Art by Scott Roller and Matt Phillips.
This one had me somewhat confused – it does seem that instead of an ongoing comic, this is more an ad for the D&D role-playing game. I am not sure how I feel about this. First off, the comic was pretty terrible. I remember when I was younger there was a D&D cartoon which I enjoyed a great deal, and I was kind of hoping that this comic would be along those lines. Instead it is more of a “how-to” guide, walking you through the process of creating and playing a character in D&D. Sadly, unless you have actually played an RPG in the past, most probably their easy guide would go right over your head.
But that is off topic. The comic was poor on its own merits, and there seems to be no indication that there is going to be a D&D comic of any kind. From Wizards of the Coast’s own website, this comic was intended to “teach those new to the game what role-playing and adventuring is all about.” Look, I am not going to berate a company for attempting to use FCBD as an advertising vehicle – heck, that really is what the day is all about. But if it is a company which doesn’t even make comics, and is going to attempt to do so only to sell a slightly related product, at least make certain the comic is of decent quality, and you can read it without falling asleep. The team here failed on all counts. Count this one as a dud.
www.playdnd.com
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IDW FCBD Sampler, by various.
Sorry to say it, but this one was a real disappointment to me.
First there was the whole “alternate cover” thing. A total waste, if you ask me. The only thing that alternate covers have ever been good for is to add to the collectibility of an issue, and that is something that has no place whatsoever in Free Comic Book Day. Yes, there were four previews in this issue, but there was no cause to go and make a cover for each. I am sure there was some way to incorporate all four stories on the cover, somehow.
Then there was the selection of the stories – well, more previews of issues than anything. 3 of the four were comic adaptations of TV shows. Yes, CSI, 24, and The Shield all have mainstream name recognition, but in my experience, almost all comics based upon TV shows end up being far weaker than the show itself. Plus, I can’t see non-comic fans picking up a comic just because it adapts their favorite TV show. Why buy a comic of CSI when you can watch it on TV for free?
IDW is slowly making a name for itself right now, and it isn’t 24 or CSI that is doing it – it is the Steve Niles-type horror works that they are coming out with that is giving them the most acclaim. Why then devote a mere quarter of this book to 30 Days of Night? IDW is coming out with some of the most original horror products on the market today – show it off, darn it!
Through and through, a real dud here. Hopefully they will do better next year.
www.idwpublishing.com
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Image Comics Summer Special, Written by Robert Place Napton, Robert Kirkman, and Erik Larsen, Art by Francis Manapul, Brian Buccellato, Ryan Ottley, and Bill Crabtree.
Mixed feelings about this one. Probably one of the best things about Image’s contribution this year was the nice run-down on Spawn in the front of the book. I have never been the biggest fan of Spawn, mostly because the character never appealed to me. Well, the character still doesn’t appeal to me, but it is nice to know about the wheres and whys of his back-story. The summation was fantastic – and it read like a mini “Secret Files” for Spawn – an excellent way to introduce new readers to the character.
The second story was fairly confusing – and I am not at all sure if Image intended for it to be an introduction to a future story/crossover idea, or if it was just a simple, easy way to introduce a whole bunch of titles. Witchblade, Tomb Raider, and Strykeforce all get page time in these short 8 pages. Image certainly writes it as a teaser for a larger crossover – but it is really impossible to tell. More self-promotion would have been helpful here, Image!
The third story was another original, Invincible – a character I know nothing at all about. The general theme of the series, from what I gathered, was a young man who takes over as a hero after his father is killed in action. The story did have something of a Spider-Man type feel – the kid who sacrifices almost everything in his real life for the job of being a hero. A decent story on the whole.
Finally we are treated to a Savage Dragon story – a little crisis moment for Jennifer, soon after she loses her powers, in true Savage Dragon style. It isn’t every comic these days that a villain crashes into the hero’s house while he is watching a movie! Savage Dragon has always been a fun title mixed with some pretty serious moments, and this short really captured that.
In the end you get four pretty decent original stories, all of which (save the Witchblade, et al story), did a pretty good job of establishing for the new reader what each title was all about.
Want to know more about Savage Dragon? Check out Still on the Shelf #8 - http://www.stillontheshelf.com/sots...es/sots008.html !
www.imagecomics.com
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Love Fights #1, by Andi Watson.
Wow – a pair of books by Oni Press this year? That might be a LITTLE overkill, but to their credit, they put out to wildly different titles. One thing I have found about Oni Press books over time is that a lot of their books seem fairly uninteresting on the cover actually turn out to be great reads. The first issue of Love Fights turned out to be no different. This is, of course, a reprint, but it was a great way to introduce people to the style of Oni, and I rather enjoyed the issue. The back side of this comic also featured a preview (pencils only) of Greg Rucka and Scott Morse’s upcoming Everest, Facing the Goddess. The art is still in a pretty rough state, but it is finished enough to get a pretty good idea of the theme of the story.
Love Fights turned out to be my favorite of the two Oni releases – I am certainly going to look into picking up more of this series.
www.onipress.com
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Marvel Age: Spider-Man #1, Plot by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Written by Daniel Quantz, Art by Mark Brooks, Danimation, and Simon Yeng.
Obviously a reprint of the original Marvel Age: Spider-Man #1, which was, in turn, a re-make of the old Amazing Spider-Man #2. I have praised the whole concept of Marvel Age a great deal over the last few months, but I have to admit that I think this series started off on a bad foot. Why start a new series which re-tells the classic Spider-Man tales, and not start with Amazing Fantasy #15? Regardless, it was a good choice for FCBD. A lot of publishers were putting out some original material, but for the big comic houses, I think that would have been an impractical way to go. If they were to put out an original Spider-Man story, there would be loads of Spidey-fans that would get upset if they couldn’t get a copy. Since this day is primarily supposed to be for the potential new reader, it is far better to put out an issue that all of the existing fans have already read. A great choice for FCBD, but certainly nothing new here for anyone.
Interested in reading more about Marvel Age? Check out Still on the Shelf #58 - http://www.stillontheshelf.com/sots...es/sots058.html !
www.marvel.com
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NBM Free Sampler, by Richard Moore, Patrick Atangan, Joann Sfar and Lewis Trondheim
Now this was another one that really surprised me, particularly the first two of the three stories – Boneyard and Silk Tapestry. The latter especially – Silk Tapestry is a collection of comics adapting some traditional asian tales. The look and feel of the strips perfectly matches the subject matter, I was quite impressed. Boneyard was just plain silly, but on the whole fantastically done. This sampler was one that many of you might have missed or just plain left at the shop, and if so, I think that was a mistake. I am sure someday something from NBM is going to find its way into one of my columns at some point – they really were that good.
www.nbmpublishing.com
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Slave Labor Stories #2, by various.
Yeow – this thing was a train wreck through and through. While an extra-big 40 pages, they cram 13 stories into this monstrosity. While there were a few gems in the rough, most of the stories found within were pretty poor. Either the theme of the story on the whole was bad (Milk and Cheese was pathetic), or the art/lettering style was so difficult to look at that it made the story impossible to follow. Man, I hate that.
As I said, however, there were a few decent stories in this one. If you picked it up and were unable to make it past the first story (which I suspect may be most of you who got this), you might want to flip back through it and read the second story, Legend of the Bat, which was fairly silly, but in a very good way. Also Street Angel, Bear, and Little Gloomy were all decent reads, and worth taking a look at. The rest? Well, unless you want a headache trying to follow them (and it really isn’t worth it), give them a miss. I have already done the footwork for you!
www.slavelabor.com
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Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Written by Welles Hartley, Art by The Fillback Brothers and Sno Cone Studios.
I could be mistaken, but it looks as if this was a completely original story for FCBD as well. And a pretty darned good one too – very worthy of the normal cover price of this comic, if you ask me! Those who are not familiar, Clone Wars Adventures is a comic series in the style of the five minute micro-series that was done on Cartoon Network. Now what I saw of that was pretty good, sadly, my life is a little too busy to set aside TV time for a 5 minute show. Nonetheless, this comic was pretty darned good, especially for Star Wars fans out there. The Star Wars titles that Dark Horse puts out are probably their most universally known franchise, so putting this out there for potential new comic readers was a great idea.
www.darkhorse.com
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Teen Titans: Go! #1, Written by J. Torres, Art by Todd Nauck , Lary Stucker, and Brad Anderson.
Another excellent choice this year. Marvel put out its all-ages friendly title, and DC does the same with this. Personally, I think if you are going to do this, you really should release books that are kid-friendly, if you make them. I am sure parents wandering into a comic shop on this day would be mortified to see what is inside some of the more popular books these days, and it is really important to show them that there are some kid-friendly alternatives.
Teen Titans: Go is, of course, based on the Cartoon Network series, and this reprint of the first issue features the brand-spanking new Johnny DC icon on the cover (DC’s new all-ages imprint). I had never read this title before (preferring to stick to the regular Titans series), but I was rather impressed with how similar to the cartoon this comic really was. Aside from the art style, the overall feel of the story was very true to the series. Anyone who watches the cartoon should have no trouble at all picking this series up.
www.dccomics.com
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Top Shelf Tales, by various
This one was format quite similar to the Slave Labor book, but it was a much better production. At first, it felt pretty thick, but it turned out to be a standard 32 Pages on much thicker paper. Quite surprising.
Top Shelf does specialize in cartoon strips, which made this anthology much easier to read. Instead of a couple pages of story introducing characters, we were treated to a few pages of “strips,” and the occasional short story. Much easier to follow. And though not all of the strips were that great, they were drawn in a much simpler style that made them much easier to read. I didn’t get frustrated reading through this one like I did with the Slave Labor book – already a real plus.
I got the sense from reading this one that Top Shelf is really only about the fun little stories, and that they really pay little heed to quality art. In strips, sometimes that is ok. Some of the funniest cartoon strips I have read have totally horrid art, and they are still worth it for the laugh. I get the impression that Top Shelf is really willing to give anyone with a somewhat decent idea a chance, and I have to respect that.
www.topshelfcomix.com
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Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Uncle Scrooge, Written by Carl Barks and Eleanor Packer, Art by Carl Barks, Color by Susan Daigle-Leach.
This one being a mostly Carl Barks special should make one columnist/editor here pretty happy. First there is the Mickey Mouse story – “Riddle of the Red Hat,” which has the distinction of being the only Mickey Mouse story that Carl Barks ever drew. Though the story was decent, it was far surpassed by the Uncle Scrooge story in the back called “The Second-Richest Duck.” This was the story that introduced Flintheart Glomgold, the South African (sometimes Scottish) multiplujillionaine that often serves as an adversary for Scrooge McDuck. The build for this story is fantastic – it starts with Scrooge lecturing Donald about wasting money on ice cream sodas, and ends with Scrooge traveling to South Africa to pit his fortune against Glomgold’s, just to see who really is the world’s richest duck. The very fact that Barks can make you excited to see which duck has the biggest ball of string really shows just how much of a genius he was. Walt Disney Comics tend to carry a hefty price tag, but sometimes you have to suck it up and pay the price for quality stuff.
Interested in learning more about Disney comics? (Namely Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories?) – Check out Still on the Shelf #0 - http://www.stillontheshelf.com/sots...es/sots000.html , by our very own Blake Petit!
www.gemstonepub.com
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I am sure there were a few that I missed – one that I was sad to see not at my comic shop was Astonish Comics #1 – I make no secret about being an unabashed Herobear and the Kid fan. But, I am certain that it was a rare comic shop that carried all 22 titles this year – and please, if anyone caught the ones I missed, feel free to share your thoughts about them here! And if someone is feeling really nice, they can send me their copy of Astonish #1! Pretty please!
So was this year’s FCBD a success? Impossible to say, yet. Some publishers struck out swinging, while a good many of the hit it out of the park. The only real way to see if this year’s event was a success is to wait and see if sales figures climb over the next few months. That means our job is far from complete.
We are all comic fans already. It has been said before, but Free Comic Book Day is not for us. It is for those who are not reading now. Even though that is the case, almost all of us went to our local shops this weekend and got a few freebies. Well, now that you have read them, it is time to pass them on. You heard me!
I challenge all of you to find people who don’t read comics, and pass on your copy of one of the many great books we got this year. I plan to do it. It costs you nothing – the books were free anyway. We all know that otherwise these comics are just going to suffocate needlessly in their bags and boards in your box, or on a shelf, or wherever you keep your comics. What a waste.
My column has been, for the most part, dedicated to bringing to your attention comics whose sales are not where they should be. We all hate to see the Captain Marvel’s of the comic industry cancelled due to low sales. We hate seeing Spider-Girl on the cusp. We hate seeing our favorite book, that might not be the best written but we like it all the same, cancelled because not enough people are buying it. We ALL hate seeing the cost of comics rise to cover the costs of lower print runs.
And this is how Free Comic Book Day ties into Still on the Shelf – the more new readers we all bring into comics, the better the chances a future Captain Marvel will have. More readers means more income for publishers – which means not only more titles, but also more diversity in the kinds of comics that are available. So do your part, and pass those books on. Every little bit helps the cause, and makes all of our comic reading experiences that much better.
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