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My Picks from Free Comic Book Day

By Allison Eckel

Royden Lepp's "Rust" is among my top picks from Archaia Entertainment

If you visited All Things Fun! or another Local Comic Shop on May 5, you likely grabbed three free comic books. That was a small percentage of the goodness available on that Free Comic Book Day (FCBD). I was fortunate enough to gain access to a complete stack of the free comics available. Although not all of them fit with my reading taste, a whopping 25 titles out of 76 are stories I would continue to read. That is one-third of the titles pushed by publishers at this year’s event. Remember, many free comics contained at least two stories – some as many as six – so these numbers are based on titles promoted with at least a few pages of story, not the ones treated to a single-page ad.

First, a disclaimer to explain what I look for in comics. If you read my posts, you may have an idea of what attracts me to a book. I like smart storytelling with well-crafted characters. I don’t like gratuitous violence. I like pretty pictures of pretty people, and the artists get a bonus if they use their space in creative ways. Since we are all attracted to different aspects of comics, your list would look different from mine. Following is a list of the highlights, sorted by publisher. These are all stand-out stories currently outside the mainstream of comics (read: not DC or Marvel). Follow the links for any of these that sound interesting and contact your Local Comic Shop (ahem, for All Things Fun! subs or one-time orders, stop in or call) to ask about availability.

"Homecoming" from Aspen Press gives alien abilities to teenagers in time for the dance (art by Emilio Laiso and Stefani Rennee).

Antarctic Press: Zombie Kid is not just a snarky spoof of the popular Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (although it started out that way and got into trouble for it; details here). It is similar in concept in that each story centers on an awkward middle-grade boy experiencing physical and social changes. For Zombie Kid's Bill Stokes, however, those changes are not due to puberty but to a zombie virus. Hilarity ensues. Actually, I root for Bill more than his successful mainstream predecessor because he is not a lazy underachiever. Rather than a wimp hoping to go unnoticed by the world, Bill has big dreams of video game championships and keeps a diary as a training tactic. I am not a fan of Wimpy, but I do like Zombie.

Archaia Entertainment: Consider everything they publish. For FCBD this year, they offered a beautiful hardcover anthology of six titles they are bringing to comic shops now or imminently. Every one is worth consideration: Mouse Guard, Labrynth: Hoggle and the Worm, Steps of the Dapper Men (a prelude to Time of the Dapper Men), Rust, Cursed Pirate Girl, and Cow Boy. Visit the publisher's site and click "titles" for a full list, including age ratings, which I much appreciate.

Aspen: Homecoming and Idolized. I am not familiar with the worlds of Aspen Comics, but they look to be populated with pretty young people with super-powers or guns, or both. There's nothing wrong with that, but I expected the stories to be as vapid as the characters looked. As a suburban mom who reads comic books, I should know better than to make such snap judgments. Homecoming centers around a group of high school friends endowed with alien abilities when a long-lost girl appears in someone's pool (naked, natch). The title links several events together, including the return of this lost girl, the aliens who may have taken her, and the eponymous high school dance. The openning pages sucked me in and I didn't want them to let go.

Cover A to "Hypernaturals" #1(artists Andres Guinaldo, Brad Walker, Mark Irwin), written by Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning

Idolized is teased with fewer pages, but just enough to give us a glimpse of a world rife with possibility. What if the world were full of super-powered people? Stands to reason that realtiy tv would eventually feature a few. Supers on reality TV is now officially a trend, with Image Comic's America's Got Powers in full swing (I recommend this one too, by the way). The sample of Idolized introduces us to Leslie, a quiet girl who wants to be the first "superhero idol" out of a need for redemption. Cut to the flash back and remember to breathe...

Boom! Studios: The Hypernaturals. What if a world-renowned super-hero group similar to JLA or Avengers called itself the Hypernaturals and rotated its roster every few years to keep the members in their youthful prime? Then, what if the latest team disappeared on their first mission in a scary, mysterious way? The older heroes would have to dust off that spandex to find them. New concepts in super-hero comics are difficult to find, and The Hypernaturals manages to stay fresh and compelling.

Image Comics: Waiting for G-Man and It Girl and the Atomics. I already mentioned Image Comics' new limited series America's Got Powers, which you should all check out. From their FCBD issue, I also recommend Waiting for G-Man and It-Girl and the Atomics. I don't actually know a lot about G-Man, but it seems funny, all-ages goodness with a smart mind at the helm (will the title actually refer to the Beckett play? I can't wait to find out).

G-Man is the creation of Chris Giarrusso. Look for G-Man, Vol. 3 from Image Comics.

It Girl takes on the physical properties of anything she touches. Touch concrete, become solid and immovable. Touch a plastic shopping bag, and float with the wind off of a high building. I think that's a pretty cool concept. Plus, the supposedly reformed villain she meets is called the Skunk, complete with bushy tail. I like the way this starts; whether I stay with it will depend on the quality and depth of the stories that unfold.

Trend Alert: Dinosaurs!

Dinosaurs seem to be an ongoing trend in comics. Four titles feature them, which may be the biggest trend outside of “superheroes.” Atomic Robo (Red 5 Comics) has a comical dino adversary; Dinosaurs v. Aliens (Liquid Comics) is dramatic and written by Grant Morrison; Jurassic Strike Force 5 (Zenescope) comes off like an after-school cartoon full of cool/macho soldiers that happen to be dinosaurs (well, it is from Zenescope); and Neozoic (Red 5 Comics) blends mysterious monster dinos with swords and female leads in a way that evokes Ring of Fire. I already enjoy the all-ages, super-cool Super Dinosaur (Kirkman’s SkyBound). Atomic Robo has a similar tone, though its brainy scientist is an actual robot instead of a kid. There may be room for both in my list, but I will definitely check out Neozoic – it seems the freshest of the bunch.

Although many of the above titles are considered "all ages," I have a selection of kid-specific comics to tell you all about next time. Until then, give a few of these new titles a try, and tell me what you think.