For those that don't know, this is the comic industries way of trying to pull people in for the year. They give you a little taste of what's going on this year for free in the hopes that later on you'll shell out the money when the rest of the story comes out. Its a great idea and it must work because they keep doing it. It also brings people into local comic stores (rather than buying their comics from Amazon or Barnes and Noble and other big book stores), supporting local businesses. Some have even said it's what helps keep them afloat each year. I wait for it all year.
Seriously, I'm like a 5 year old on Christmas. I literally couldn't wait to get to the shop and grab my comics and see what was up for grabs this year. I didn't quite get as many as last year, but last year I never got through them all anyway (I think I grabbed almost everything that wasn't My Little Pony/Spongebob). Given that, I have 8 promotional comics sitting in front of me. How about quickshot reviews on each?
Marvel Infinity
I wasn't going to pick up the Marvel book this year but then I looked and Thanos was on the cover. For those that don't know, that's the big bad that will be in the next Avengers movie. I read some Marvel Cosmic a while back and Thanos stood out. He's a great character. He's practically a demi-god of Destruction. Yet all he wants is to die. He sees death as a Mistress he can never be with. When written correctly, he's fascinating, terrifying, and human all at the same time. Unfortunately this was my biggest disappointment this year. I read the current story then they reprinted a Thanos story from the 70s. Anyone who's read 70's Marvel will tell you it's a bitch to get through. Meh. However, I will say in the back of the book there was a preview for Avengers: Endless Wartime that's a graphic novel being written by one of my favorites Warren Ellis. Alright Marvel, You've got me interested, don't fuck it up.
The Walking Dead
Everyone's favorite zombie TV show is a fantastic non big 2 black and white indie comic. And it's been great from Issue 1. Any recommended list always tells you to pick up this series and they're not wrong to do so. Zombies and pretty deep and well-written survivors. The author also has no fear to kill or maim anyone at any time. Its makes for an exciting series that is gut-wrenching and wonderful to read. This one is probably going to be the most popular Free Comic this year as the show has absolutely boomed the popularity of this book. The free book includes 4 short little stories and I enjoyed all of them (Michonne, Tyrese, Duane and his dad (can't remember his name), and The Governor.) Some of them even reveals new stuff about the characters (I'm pretty far behind in the current series) so I dug this. Great pickup for free.
Mass Effect/RIPD/The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys
I picked this one up for the Mass Effect story, not realizing there was three series in this book put out by Dark Horse. The Mass Effect one ended up being the least intriguing as it simply is the story of how Joker won the right to pilot the Normandy. I had never heard of the other two but I'm intrigued. R.I.P.D is the Rest In Peace Department, a troop of recently deceased cops keeping the spirit world from fucking with the real world too much. Apparently a movie with Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds releases this summer. Seems like a cool idea. The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys sounded really familiar and then I saw the author was Gerard Way. Yes, the MCR frontman. On their last album before breaking up, the emo-rockers had made an awesome series of music videos of renegades in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. They were fantastic and intriguing and over the top. I was disappointed to find that was all of that world that would ever be made. Thank you Dark Horse for giving Way a book to explore that world in. This one could be really good folks.
Atomic Robo/Bodie Troll
I grabbed Atomic Robo last year and was relatively amused so I picked it up again this year. Think Hellboy if he was a robot. Fighting robot threats. It ends up being entertaining. Bodie Troll is about a not so terrifying but adorably cute troll named Bodie who just wants to scare people but ends up being a go-fer for the local tavern. This one felt like one of my favorites: Bone. Bodie Troll has me interested for sure and I may give it a look later on.
Ramayan 3392 AD.
So apparently there's a company called Graphic India who do comics completely based on Indian culture. The crazy thing is they keep getting big names like Stan Lee and Grant Morrison to help them out. This book is just a collection of 2-3 page stories of Rama. The art is fucking beautiful even when the stories were lacking. I'm definitely intrigued and would like to see this done with a good author who respects mythology like Mignola or Gaiman.
Superman Last Son of Krypton
Written by DC savior Geoff Johns, yet another "last" kryptonian comes to Earth in the form of a little kid and Supes has to figure out what to do. I don't usually like Superman but this one could be good. The more important thing to me in this book is an interview with Scott Snyder, my favorite "current run" author right now as he's making Batman fantastic. Snyder is getting the reins to Superman's book later this year. Let me restate that. One man is so good that DC has handed them their two biggest characters and said "Go for it." This really might be enough to pull me into Superman but we'll see.
MouseGuard/Labyrinth/Cow Boy/Rust/Bolivar
Wow, this Mouseguard book had a ton of stuff in it. Last year's Mouseguard book was hardcover and I've heard good things about the series so I picked this up. Its a collection of cute little 4-5 or less page stories. Mouseguard tells a cute little love story. Labyrinth is a day in the diary of that fox thing from the Bowie Bulging classic. Cow Boy is about a 10 year old bounty hunter that the art style felt like Calvin and Hobbes. Rust looks sorta steampunky and has me intrigued. Bolivar appears to be about a girl and a pet dinosaur.
Chakra the Invincible
The second shop I went to was out of Judge Dredd and others I wanted so I picked this up because I wanted to know why the fuck Stan Lee made an Indian Superhero. Basically, its simple. Chakra harnesses the powers of the...chakras. It's time to put Stan Lee in a home. Thats just too simple. Looks like a good kid friendly hero as he's young and righteous. Seems pretty boring to me but if I was a new-agey or Indian kid maybe I'd dig it.
There ya go folks. Love to hear what you guys thought of any of the FCBD stuff y'all picked up that I didn't. I had wanted Judge Dredd, Red 10, The Tick, and I would've checked out even more had there not been limits. Oh well. Still...today was a good day.
-Oz
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