Free Comic Book Day round-up

Sooooo, this was what was on offer at my local store:
It seems churlish to kick things that were free, but here we go!

Nancy/Melvin Monster: old comedy reprints from Drawn and Quaterly. Always nice to see old material being revived, though this is not for me. Kids might love it though.

Resurrection (Omni): Aliens invaded Earth, they left. Intrigue ensues. Decent premise but in execution feels like a fan comic with clunky dialogue but has a certain something. Unexpected ending though. It does advertise a trade at $6 for 184 pages. May check it out.

Love and Rockets (Fantagraphics): I had no idea what the fuck was going on. Pretentious.

Worlds of Aspen (Aspen): Ahahahhahahahahhahahahhaha. No.

Shonen Jump Special: This has to be seen to be believed. It features a manga from Stan 'The Man' Lee and a pull-out glossy poster featuring Stan drawn in 'the manga style'.

Dabel Brothers Showcase: Hohohohohohohohohoho. Nay. Includes an excert from a Star Wars novel featuring the line: "She felt a tickle in the Force, warning of imminent attack."

Warhammer Online: Prelude to War (Boom!): Screamingly funny sword and sorcery bollocks. Not sure it's meant to be funny though. Choice line: "I am matter and meat. Flesh and bone. Meat I need, to swell and grow large, grow and breed. I live to pass the blessings of Grandfather Nurgle, to build a world of decay. But you will not harm me!"

Archie presents The Mighty Archie Art Players: Pain. Paiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin.

Hot Lists (Wizard): So the Twisted Toyfare Theatre feat Transformers is raising a few chuckles when it stops suddenly: 'Find out what happens next in Volume 10 of 'Twisted Toyfare Theatre, due out in July.' No, Wizard, that's not how you do it. By July, I will have forgotten.

Dark Horse 'Free Comic Book Day': Featuring Star Wars, Usagi Yojimbo, Emily the Strange, Beanworld and Indiana Jones. Decent variety of complete stories, accessable to younger readers. That's how you do a sampler.

Aliens/Predator (Dark Horse): Trailer for the relaunches of these two dormant franchises. The Aliens strip has a decent premise. May check out the title.

Savage Dragon #148 (Image): Full regular issue, no ads, the premise of the book clearly explained in an intro and a text piece re: the Golden Age origins of a featured character. That's how you do it, Image. Well played.

Cyber Force/Hunter Killer (Top Cow): Nnnnnnnnghhhhh.

William Shatner Presents (Bluewater Productions): The cover features Shatner gurning in the skies above a city on fire, as a hot chick is struck by lightning and things explode. There are also some comic strips inside.

Owly and Friends! (Top Shelf Productions): Absolutely wonderful. Heartwarming. I'll pick up some Owly off the back of this.

Transformers Animated/GI Joe (IDW): Couple of readable trailers for Joe minis, but the TF strip cuts off with: 'To be continued in the trade paperback Transformers Animated: The Arrival'. Um, bugger off I say.

Eastman and Laird's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Mirage): Highlight of the FCBD selection. Excellent reproduction of the original Turtles comic from 1984. Nice paper stock, surprisingly enjoyable comic tale (hadn't read it before) and intros from the creators. Worth paying money for.

DC Kids Mega Sampler (DC): Promos for younger reader titles. Shazam is decent, Brave and the Bold lacks the flair of the cartoon and Tiny Titans is fine.

Wolverine: Origin of an X-Men (Marvel): Inexplicable younger readers version of Wolverine. Very bland.

The Avengers (Marvel): New Avengers meet Dark Avengers. Mostly played for laughs, quite fun. Enjoyed it.

Blackest Night #0 (DC): Readable, accessable, but I can't say it particularly excited me or makes me want me to read more.

And that's your lot. Decent amount of variety this year. Couple of gems.

-Ralph