FCBD Offerings Part 3

Savage Dragon: Legacy FCBD #1 (Image, cover date May, 2015)

I have never been a huge fan of Erik Larsen, as I've always dismissed him as a wannabe Todd McFarlane. This would be because he followed him on Amazing Spider-Man and his style was so similar that he seemed too derivative for me to ever take seriously. I never bothered to check this series out but for free I figured what the heck. Worst comes to worst I will throw it in the recycle bin.

I couldn't believe that I found this to be enjoyable. It was actually entertaining, for crying out loud! I don't think that I will be plunking down any money for it but would happily review it if someone wants to send me a box of trade paperbacks.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day 2015 (Dark Horse, cover date May, 2015)

This features three short stories, one from Fight Club, one from The Goon, and one from The Strain. I didn't care for Fight Club at all while I found The Goon to be fun and readable. The Strain has always seemed interesting and I've always wanted to check it out but something about it has always kept my money in my wallet.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

Legendary Comics 2015 Preview (Legendary, cover date, 2015)

Little more than a showcase for their various “IP”, this “comic” from a film company is a waste of time.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 0 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day 2015: Ice: Bayou Blackout, and The Ride (12-Gauge Comics, cover date, May, 2015)

This is a split book, with a preview of two concepts. Ice: Bayou Blackout is okay. I really, really enjoyed The Ride, and I would buy a trade of it if one existed. Solid stuff overall and worth a look if you are bored with whatever you are reading.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Mercury Heat Debut FCBD (Avatar Press, cover date May, 2015)

Avatar Press has never been one to pull their punches, and this offering is no different. While I didn't much care for this you could do worse.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.75 out of 5.

Drawn & Quarterly FCBD 2015: SuperMutant Magic Academy/Step Aside Pops Combo (Drawn & Quarterly, cover date 2015)

The number of different concepts in comic books are incalculable. Comics come in all shapes, sizes, and flavors, and not everything has to be for everyone. Case in point, this comic book. It's not really what I would ever look for in a comic, and yet there were a handful of gags in this collection of gag strips that made me chuckle or brought a slight smile to my face. This was okay for what it is even if it is not what I am interested in.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.25 out of 5. 

Review- Free Comic Book Day 2014 offerings, Episode III

Free Comic Book Day 2014 offerings, Episode III

Epic #0 Pilot- Free Comic Book Day 2014 (Comix Tribe, cover date 2014)

I always try to consider the mythical “new kid” who might pick up comics and be turned off by inbred, self referencing fanboy pandering. Then again, are there really any new readers these days?

While some of the jokes seemed adolescent, the writing and artwork are decent enough that I would be willing to read more if someone gave it to me to review.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day: 2000 AD (2000 AD, cover date 2014)

2000 AD is a weekly UK anthology magazine, and this FCBD issue is more of a greatest hits affair with a smattering of new material thrown in.

You get a brand new Judge Dredd story, a classic Slaine story, an early Rogue Trooper* story, a vintage Anderson, Psi-Division tale, two more reprints, two more original stories, and a few classic Judge Dredd newspaper strips. I recently tracked down the old Judge Dredd strips UK hardcover, and was dismayed/delighted to learn from them on Twitter that 2000 AD is going to issuing the complete run in hardcover later this year! Watch your local solicits, kiddies.

*I am knee deep into Rogue Trooper: Tales Of Nu-Earth Vol. 1 trade paperback and am loving it.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Skyward/ Midnight Tiger- FCBD 2014 (Action Lab, cover date 2014)

All ages friendly it's not, but this is some decent stuff. The artwork reminds me of Todd Nauck for some reason. I would consider buying a trade paperback of Midnight Tiger, as it was a lot of fun.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.25 out of 5.

Transformers Vs. G.I. Joe #0 (IDW, cover date May, 2014)

I am almost 41, which means that I was the prime age for both of these concepts in the 1980s. I had a bunch of G.I. Joe toys and a handful of Transformers (as well as their precursors,The Gobots), watched the cartoons after school, and bought the comic books. I knew these properties inside out as a kid, both their comic book and nearly identical animated counterparts. I have tried reading modern stuff, both the Dreamwave and Devil's Due's take, and found them lacking. I am content with my Marvel nostalgia, and own complete runs in trade paperbacks as well as many of the original comics.

This was complete crap. It flew in the face of established continuity while trying to show the early days of both properties. When you can't create, you ret-con or reboot. It's a lame copout. Worse still is the crappy faux-vintage look to the color and paper. I had heard that IDW had done some great things with these properties. Judging by this comic book, this is patently false.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 0 out of 5.

Uber FCBD 2014 (Avatar Press, cover date February, 2014)

Wow, talk about a wasted opportunity. I am a fan of pretty much anything that Avatar Press puts out, and I was looking forward to dipping my toe into this title. Instead of an appetizer we get a boring, text heavy summary of sorts that I honestly couldn't be bothered to read. Am I intrigued by this title or concept? I couldn't tell you, since this was too boring a read for me to get past the first page.

Junk Food For Thought rating: N/A out of 5.

Anti/ Ride: FCBD Edition #0 flip book (12-Gauge, cover date May, 2012)

Dealers turn leftover stock into the ghost of Free Comic Book Day past. I went to seven shops this year, so I grabbed anything that I hadn't grabbed before. Anti is mediocre while Ride is interesting if disturbing. I wouldn't buy these but would review them if someone gave me free trades. I refuse to review digital comics, even though I get PDFs and download links all the time.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

Review- FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2014 offerings, Episode I

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2014 offerings, Episode I

I get emails with links to review PDFs all the time, but to be honest with you, if it is not a dead tree edition I will likely not review it. I have read a few comics on my computer but nothing compares to holding a comic in my hand and reading it. It is one of life's simpler pleasures. I don't own a tablet and have no desire to read comics on my phone. In short, if someone wants me to review something for them, give me a physical copy...like publishers do on Free Comic Book Day every single year!

Mouse Guard, Labrynth And Other Stories: A Free Comic Book Day 2014 Hardcover Anthology (Archaia, cover date May, 2014)

The winner for the fanciest Free Comic Book Day offering once again goes to Archaia with their beautiful hardcover with sewn binding (Smyth sewn binding with 5 stitches per signature for you OCD types out there). This features samplings of six different Archaia titles: Mouse Guard, Rust, Labrinyth, Bolivar, Will O' The Wisp, and Farscape. My wife and kids enjoyed them all, especially Mouse Guard. She has talked about dipping her toe into the collected editions of that title. These titles were all tolerable to me but I won't be picking any of them up.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.75 out of 5.

Red Giant Entertainment Free Comic Book Day four pack (Red Giant Entertainment, cover date May, 2014)

The winner for the most bang for your FCBD buck goes to Red Giant. I thought that this comic which was shrinkwrapped to a piece of cardboard maybe had explicit content or something, but once I set out to crack it open I soon realized the truth: It had four split/flip comic books in it! So you get introduced to eight new titles all for the same low low price.

Giant-Size Action #0 features Tesla on one side and Wayward Sons on the other. Tesla features the heroic exploits of Nikolai Tesla. While well done, it was not my cup of tea. Wayward Sons is highly entertaining and might bear further investigation when the eventual collected edition is released.

Giant-Size Adventure #0 features The First Daughter on one side and Magika on the other. The First Daughter is comic book amateur hour and a complete waste of time. Magika has that highly polished, all ages, aimed at Scholastic Book Fair “graphic novel” vibe to it. Go where the cash is, I suppose. It's not horrible but it's not something that I would ever pay for.

Giant-Size Fantasy #0 features Pandora's Blogs on one side and Duel Identity on the other. Both of these are well written and well drawn ready for prime time concepts.

Giant-Size Thrills #0 features Darchon on one side and Shadow Children on the other. Darchon is the winner out of all eight of these concepts. A marriage of Doctor Strange, Doctor Spektor, Nightmask, and The Phantom Stranger, this has stuck with me a week or so after I read it. I will definitely pick up a trade paperback of this if it ever surfaces. Shadow Children has that all ages vibe and, like most of these Red Giant concepts presented here, has good production values.

I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of this line of comics. Now I have one, possibly two more books to pick up in the future. Dear publishers: Stop making appealing new comic books! You are killing me (and my wallet)!

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The Intrinsic: Singularity Zero Free Comic Book Day (Arcana, cover date 2014)

Hey, it's The X-Men featuring Hellboy! Fail.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 1 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day 2014: Sherwood, Texas & Boondock Saints (12-Gauge Comics, cover date May, 2014)

Another split book. Sherwood, TX was forgettable while Boondock Saints was enjoyable enough that I might check out a trade paperback if one ever surfaces.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Ipso Facto Free Comic Book Day Issue One (Automatic Press, cover date 2014)

Interesting well polished and entertaining stuff.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

Fubar Free Comic Book Day MMXIV (Fubar Press, 2014)

This comic features two comics: The Ace Of Spades by Chuck Dixon and Zero Dead Thirty. While mildly entertaining and most certainly readable, there is nothing here that would make me buy either one of these black and white zombie mash-ups. Quite frankly, all of these zombie themes are getting tired.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.75 out of 5.

I will have plenty more FBCD reviews in the weeks and months ahead. Stay tuned!