Review- Free Comic Book Day 2018

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2018

I was suffering from seasonal allergies on this year's Free Comic Book Day. The pollen kicked my butt and I felt like I was dying from the bird flu. I don't know what the bird flu actually feels like, but it couldn't be any worse than seasonal allergies. Spring was late and came on with a vengeance, with every pollen known to man killing my sinuses. I took very few pictures this year because of this.

My kids and I hit five shops this year:

Time Travelers in Berkley, MI

Warp 9 in Clawson, MI- They had a line wrapped around the building before they opened due to their offering 10 free comics per person.

Abbas Discount in Sterling Heights, MI

Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, MI

Big Ben's Comix Oasis in Allen Park, MI

A huge thank you to all of the shops who participate in this event. I tend to buy something at each shop that I stop at, as the comics are not free to retailers and nobody likes a vulture. I'm bummed that I was not feeling good this year. 

On to the reviews. None of the stores listed above endorse these reviews. All opinions on these comics are my own. I am doing this one in a pellet review style.

Barrier #1 Free Comic Book Day Edition (Image, cover date May, 2018)

Brian K. Vaughn and Marcos Martin bring us this intriguing landscape-format comic with 50+ pages of story. This is timely, dealing with a Mexican drug cartel and aliens, both illegal and extraterrestrial, and it poses many interesting questions.

While this is extremely well done, my major gripe is that much of the issue is written in Spanish. Why Vaughn couldn't write the dialogue between <brackets> like this and have a * with a box stating Translated from the Spanish is beyond me. This is standard operating procedure in comics for translation in scenes. It soured me on wanting to read more of this series. I guess that my not being bilingual makes me not educated enough to read BKV's work. That's okay, my money is just as green as anyone else and I'll be keeping it in my wallet.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3 out of 5.

Relay #0 (AfterShock, cover date May, 2018)

Wow, this is absolutely brilliant. I am 100% in for the inevitable trade paperback.

Junk Food For Thought rating 5 out of 5.

World Of Aspen 2018 #1 (Aspen, cover date May, 2018)

Split book, with Dissension: War Eternal being enjoyable and Nuway being kind of blah. There's nothing here that is going to make me open my wallet.

Junk Food For Thought rating 2.75 out of 5.

Silver #1 (Dark Planet, cover date, 2018)

Black and white comics live and die by mood. Silver is a Crime/Noir series, but the cartoony artwork does the story a bit of a disservice. It's not bad but it's not great, either.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3 out of 5.

Scout Comics Presents: The Mall #0 Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Scout Comics, cover date May, 2018)

A highly entertaining coming of age period piece, The Mall has a strong enough hook for me to read if I came across it at the library or if I had a free copy to review.

Junk Food For Thought rating 4 out of 5.

Die Kitty Die! FCBD 2018 #1(Chapterhouse, cover date May, 2018)

An Archie/Harvey character spoof riff done with enough gusto that I can dig it. Entertaining and fun.

Junk Food For Thought rating 4 out of 5.

There were no true cover scans available online so I made one. 

Ann Arbor Comics Art Festival (Fifth Avenue Press, cover date May, 2018)

Local artists doing a FCBD tie-in to help promote the former Kids Read Comics Festival (now the A2CAF) which takes place every June. This comic wasn't my cup of tea but it wasn't awful, either.

Junk Food For Thought rating 2 out of 5.

Valiant Icons Sneak Preview (Valiant, cover date September, 2017)

Valiant has a lot of passionate fans. While the stuff certainly is readable enough I don't have any ties to due to the fact that I was on sabbatical from the hobby their first time around. Solid stuff that doesn't click with me for whatever reason.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3 out of 5.

There were no true cover scans of the Green Brain Comics variant anywhere online, so I made one. 

DC Nation #0 (DC, cover date July, 2018)

Since the FCBD powers that be blackballed DC due to DC's lazy efforts over the last few years which comprised of reprints, DC instead flooded retailers with this bargain priced comic which ties into three upcoming events. From what I've read, the wholesale cost of this .25 comic was less than the wholesale cost of any FCBD comic, making it a favorite of retailers to stock up on weeks ahead of time and hand out en masse. Well played, DC.

Your Big Day is possibly the best Joker story that I've ever read. The two other stories aren't my cup of tea but your mileage may vary.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3.5 out of 5.

Marvel Rising #0 (Marvel, cover date July, 2018)

The Squirrel Girl and Ms. Marvel team up wasn't too bad. My daughter might like it.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3.5 out of 5.

Bob's Burgers Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Dynamite, cover date 2018)

The cartoon series always left me cold, but this was a terrific read. I especially enjoyed Where The Fried Things Are, a stylized spoof of my childhood favorite Where The Wild Things Are. I would read more of this if the library had them.

Junk Food For Thought rating 5 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day 2018: General (Dark Horse, cover date May, 2018)

This split comic features an Overwatch story, which I was indifferent to. My son likes that game, I think. I don't let him play it at my house but I've heard him talk about it. The second half of the comic is The Quantam League, an interesting timeslip superhero riff. Might be worth a second look if the library has it or if someone wants to slide me a review copy.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3 out of 5.

Doctor Who: Free Comic Book Day 2018 #1 (Titan, cover date June, 2018)

Slick and polished stuff, but I am not a Doctor Who fan and it left me cold.

Junk Food For Thought rating 2.75 out of 5.

Papercutz Free Comic Book Day #12 (Papercutz, cover date 2018)

There are times when I feel old and cynical, like maybe I've been reading comic books for too long. That tends to come into play when I read stuff like this, which is such a retread and so regurgitated that it blends so many established concepts together that it's almost indiscernible. This is the comic book equivalent of white noise to me. If I were a kid and didn't know all of the reference points I might have liked it better.

Junk Food For Thought rating 2.5 out of 5.

The Metabaron (Humanoids, cover date 2018)

Great stuff from Humanoids. I was on quite a Humanoids kick years ago but had to cut some stuff out to stay in the game. This is a great read and if you are able to walk away from your core superhero stuff this will tickle your fancy.

Junk Food For Thought rating 5 out of 5.

2000 AD Free Comic Book Day Prog 2018 (Rebellion/2000 AD, cover date 2018)

What happened??? 2000 AD usually has pretty high standards, but this is all abysmal dreck.

Junk Food For Thought rating 1.5 out of 5.

Invasion: Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Chapterhouse, cover date 2018)

This left me cold.

Junk Food For Thought rating 0.75 out of 5.

Strangers In Paradise XXV: Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Abstract, cover date 2018)

This was incredible. I am a big Terry Moore fan, and this reminds me that I need to finish reading Rachel Rising. I want to pick this series up as well now. Crap.

Junk Food For Thought rating 5 out of 5.

P.S. The Omnibus is way out of print and is very expensive. It must be spectacular.

James Bond- Vargr: Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Dynamite, cover date 2018)

Outstanding stuff by Warren Ellis with fantastic artwork by Jason Masters and Guy Major. There are several of these books out if the advertisements are any indication. I will gladly accept review copies and/or gifts if anyone wants to send some my way.

Junk Food For Thought rating 5 out of 5.

Berlin: Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Drawn And Quarterly, cover date 2018)

Berlin was an unknown quantity to me until now. This fantastic historical fiction is set in 1928 with the echoes of World War I still present and the beginnings of what would become the Nazi Party bubbling up under the surface. There have been 19 issues published in the past 22 years, with a projected 22 issues needed to complete the story. It's been three years since the last issue was released. Crazy. This ranks up there with Age Of Bronze for timeliness in publication.

Junk Food For Thought rating 5 out of 5.

Shadowman: FCBDay 2018 Special (Valiant, cover date May, 2018)

I was on sabbatical from the hobby when Valiant had their first go 'round. Their relaunched universe has a lot of fans. I don't have any emotional attachment or nostalgia unlike people 5-10 years younger than me, so I am not in. This all seems well done and entertaining but I can't buy everything. Lord knows I've tried.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3 out of 5.

Shadow Roads Free Comic Book Day 2018 (Oni Press, cover date May, 2018)

This is one of those things that scream “muh IP!”, something that is solely done to get a movie option. It was readable but unremarkable.

Junk Food For Thought rating 2.5 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day 2018: Avengers/ Captain America #1 (Marvel, cover date May, 2018)

I feel guilty because I can't get into a lot of what Marvel is doing today. I read this comic, I liked it well enough, but I can't let go of my '60s-'80s versions of these characters. My guilt comes in because my 11 year old son really enjoys modern comics, and I wished that I still enjoyed Marvel with him. There are too many major changes to these characters for them to still feel like they are “mine”. Times change and torches get passed. My son is the future, not me. I can live with that, and it pleases me in many ways. I read them with him sometimes still, and I see it through his eyes and remember what it was like to be 11.

Junk Food For Thought rating 3 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day 2018: Amazing Spider-Man/ Guardians Of The Galaxy #1 (Marvel, cover date May, 2018)

Oof. This was rough. Nick Spenser sucks and so does the art. This was downright painful for me to read.

Junk Food For Thought rating 1.75 out of 5.

Actionverse Featuring The First Hero #1 (Action Lab, cover date March, 2015)

Every year some store slips dead stock into the FCBD offerings. Since I do multiple shops every year I won't grab doubles of anything but will pick up stuff like this. This is kind of readable I guess. It's not bad but it doesn't make me want to throw my money at it either

Junk Food For Thought rating 2 out of 5.

That's all, folks! 25 comic reviews in one post. If any of you are still here, thanks for reading this far. I'll try to post my FCBD 2019 review in a more timely manner. This one fell between the sofa cushions.

Reviews- LEONARD STARR'S MARY PERKINS ON STAGE VOL. 3 and SHADOWS OF SALAMANCA

LEONARD STARR'S MARY PERKINS ON STAGE VOL. 3 (Classic Comics Press, 2007; Softcover)

Collects Mary Perkins On Stage strips originally published on April 20, 1959- June 12, 1960

Writer and Artist: Leonard Starr

So great! How can people not scream their love for this strip from the rooftops? This is some of the best stuff that I have ever read, and if you read it you would say the same. Mary Perkins kinda sorta almost finds happiness this time out, but it is the journey and not the destination that is the charm of this strip. You actually care about every character and every scenario...even the dog. I have volumes 4-13 aging to perfection in my backlog, content in the knowledge that whenever I crack them open that they will be as satisfying as popping the cork on a vintage bottle of wine.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Like most strip books, this is presented in landscape format. It takes some getting used to reading a book this wide, but the material more than makes up for it. Plus the artwork is much larger than it would be if they released it in a standard format book.

Linework restoration: Excellent work compiled from many sources, such as original art, proofs, etc. The nipple line is removed and many of these strips are more complete than they were at the time of original publication.

Paper stock: Uncoated stock paper.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback.

Cardstock cover notes: Cardstock coating has a fair thickness.

SHADOWS OF SALAMANCA (Humanoids, 2014; Hardcover)

Collects Sarah #1-3 (cover dates May- October, 2013)

Writer: Christophe Bec

Artist: Stefano Raffaele

Colorist: Bertrand Denoulet (#1) and Christian Favrelle (#2, 3)

I was on a huge Humanoids kick for a while there and then just stopped. No real reason other than I just stopped buying and reading their stuff. This book caught my eye as it is by the creative team which brought us Pandemonium, which was the book that brought me into the world of Humanoids Publishing to begin with. It all seemed fitting, so here we are again. Ancient Native American superstitions made real and a serial killer from Sarah's past resurfacing equal a disturbing yet beautifully illustrated read. I would be in for anything that this creative team does.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- Humanoids books are top shelf affairs, with high end features like a built-in ribbon bookmark being standard issue.

Paper stock: Thick semi-glossy coated stock.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding, lays perfectly flat.

Hardback cover notes: No dustjacket, image part of the paper on the casewrap. Has sufficiently thick coating to ensure a lifetime of enjoyment.

Review- THE HOUNDS OF HELL

THE HOUNDS OF HELL (Humanoids, 2011; Softcover)

Collects La Meute De L'enfer Nos. 1-4 (cover dates January, 2004- May, 2010), originally published in French by Les Humanoides Associes

Writer: Philippe Thirault

Artists: Christian Hojgaard (Nos. 1, 2), Drazen Kovacevic (No. 3), and Roma Surzhenko (No. 4)

The Hounds of Hell are a group of mercenaries who have gone their separate ways after their previous mission ended with the death of a teammate. They are all older seasoned warriors who have battle scars, be they physical, mental, or emotional. They are tricked into reforming by Empress Augusta and her underling, Delenius, who want to send them on a quest in the service of the old Gods which are all but dead with the onset of Christianity.

The team is comprised of Epidamnos the Avian, your prerequisite sorcerer and team leader; Camarina the Panther, a deposed Princess who is blind and uses a spear-like weapon; Triada the Archeress; Khorsabad, a/k/a Three Hands, a swordsman with a missing hand who uses his feet in a sword fight; and finally, Harane of Tyr, a man who wears a helmet which grants him invincibility but scars the face of the wearer.

The Hounds fight all sorts of monstrosities in their quest, with each step in their journey becoming more perilous than the last. It is difficult to go further into the story than this, because anything else that I say will reveal a plot twist, which is something that I tend to avoid in this blog. Suffice it to say that this is great stuff.

The artwork is handled by three different artists, with Christian Hojgaard doing the bulk of the book. The other two artists divide the remaining 70 or so pages, and I prefer their artwork to Hojgaard. I am not slighting Hojgaard's work, as it is good, merely stating my preference for Kovacevic and especially Surzhenko. It's all good stuff though.

The Hounds of Hell is high-flying sword and sorcery, Sixth century A.D. adventure. I'm not much of a Dungeons & Dragons kind of guy but can appreciate well done stuff in that vein, and that's exactly what this is. Well written and well drawn, this was difficult to put down. I recommend reading this when you can set aside two or so hours. Think of it as a feature length film in 196 page comic book form.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- These Humanoids books are heavy duty affairs. Even their trade paperbacks are taller and wider than normal comics.

Paper rating: 5 out of 5. Beautiful thick coated stock with a slight sheen. Is it wrong to admit that I like huffing these toxic Chinese made books?

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. Sewn binding in a softcover? Humanoids, I think I love you...

Cardstock cover coating rating: 5 out of 5. Thick durable coating on an extra thick cardstock cover. It's like Humanoids reached right into my anal-retentive obsessive compulsive mind and picked out all of the right ingredients to make their books beautiful.

Buy THE HOUNDS OF HELL at InStockTrades!