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.

Review- TALES FROM THE CRYPT (VOL. 1: THE STALKING DEAD)

TALES FROM THE CRYPT (VOL. 1: THE STALKING DEAD) (Super Genius, First Printing, 2017; Hardcover)

Collects Tales From The Crypt #1, 2, plus one new story, “Leather Or Not” (cover dates November, 2016- March, 2017)

Writers: Christina Blanch, Danica Davidson, David Anthony Kraft, Onrie Kompan, Scott Lobdell, Stefan Petrucha, and Bernie Wrightson

Artists: Kyle Baker, Bob Camp, Dean Haspel, Russ Heath, Miran Kim, Steve Mannion, John McCrea, Jolyon Yates, and Bernie Wrightson

Colorists: Laurie E. Smith, JayJay Jackson, Miran Kim, and Dee Cunniffe

Papercutz has mismanaged the Tales From The Crypt property for over a decade now. Their previous attempt at tween-friendly, Scholastic Book Fair level Horror was a disservice to the legacy of EC. This new series, released under their Super Genius “adult” imprint, is a step in the right direction but still comes up a day late and a dollar short.

The two Bernie Wrightson stories are from the early '70s and are reprinted here with modern computer coloring. The rest of the artwork is a mixed bag, with some of it good and some of it Bluewater Comics level bad. The writing is solid, with Undertow being the best example of how to incorporate the old school EC ironic twist ending with a modern day concept.

This is a quick read with a low MSRP. You could certainly do worse. This series is far from being a worthy successor to those legendary EC Comics. It's a shame that they can't get Stephen King, John Carpenter, and other legendary writers and artists to do these comics to give the series the high profile that it deserves. There are a few “names” attached to this series but it deserves better. I'm not giving up on this new series just yet. I'll hang around for the next book before making up my mind.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

The volume number and title are found nowhere on this book. Not on the cover, the spine, the title page, the indicia...nowhere. I listed it for ease of reference and web searches, but aside from Diamond's Previews and Amazon, this book is simply titled Tales From The Crypt.

Paper stock: Thick glossy coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Hardback cover notes: Thick boards with a thick laminated casewrap. No dustjacket required.

Free Comic Book Day Offerings Part 1

 Free Comic Book Day 2015 Avengers #1 (Marvel, cover date June, 2015)

Affirmative Action Avengers assemble! Marvel has become the latest victim in a politically correct mad gone world, chasing focus group numbers and listening to the vocal minority, namely the “outrage culture” championed by the Social Justice Warrior. Their pandering has alienated many longtime fans. The question remains: Will this influx of new readers stick around long-term? Will the gamble pay off? The culture war rages on...

There was one Avengers team for over 20 years. Then we got the West Coast Avengers. A few years ago Marvel launched several Avengers titles, diluting what was once an honor into something meaningless. Marvel has also gone DC over the past decade, having multiple incarnations of every hero. Take this group of doppelgangers for example.

The story in and of itself wasn't horrible, but Marvel is too DC for my tastes anymore. Having multiple versions of every hero to try and appease every person dilutes the brand for me. The Affirmative Action Avengers will be dispensing social justice to an offended person near you!

There is an Inhumans story, as I guess that Marvel is hyping them up for a future film. Then there is a Max Ride: First Flight three page preview in the back. None of these things made me wretch, but then again none of them are going to make me part with one thin dime, either.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2 out of 5. 

Hatter M: Love Of Wonder (Automatic Press, 2015)

Regurgitated public domain concept (Alice In Wonderland) meets a rebranding to score some “IP” for a hopeful film or television option. The writing and artwork were decent enough to hold my interest until I saw...this.

Sorry, but this writer sucks ass. If you use text speak or acronyms like this in actual writing then you blow.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 0.5 out of 5. 

Free Comic Book Day: Dark Circle Comics #1 (Archie, cover date June/July, 2015)

Archie Comics have been doing a bang-up job reinventing their brand and shaking things up. Once the squarest square that no self-respecting comic book fan would look at, they have done things to make people look seriously upon them for the first time in 40 years. Younger fans don't realize this, but Archie had a superhero line going back to their MLJ days in the 1940s into their Mighty Comics Group in the 1960s and a Horror line in the 1970s under their Red Circle imprint.

This is a split book introducing two reinvented characters, The Black Hood and The Fox. Both of these are terrific reads and I would even consider buying them. I know that I would be all over a collection of vintage material, especially 1940s Black Hood stuff. As it stands, these reinventions are well done and are worth a look.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day 2015 Secret Wars #0 (Marvel, cover date June, 2015)

Marvel has two FCBD offerings this year, this one for the reboot that's supposedly not a reboot (but we all know it'll be a reboot), Secret Wars. Marvel has crapped up their continuity so bad over the past decade that they have no choice but to burn it all down and start over. This is page after page of talking heads doing a long-winded explanation about what is going on, and is enough to make me keep my money in my wallet. There is also a reprint of a Manga Avengers crossover from Japan which is published in English for the first time. Manga sucks and so does this.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2 out of 5.

Captain Canuck FCBD Edition #0 (Chapter House, cover date May, 2015)

I have heard of Captain Canuck but have never read anything with him in it. Everything is competently done but I won't be buying it. I have too many irons in the fire.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

Neil Gaman's Lady Justice (Papercutz, cover date 2015)

I was reading this and enjoying it but couldn't get over the fact that this comic felt very throwback, almost too much so. This was confirmed on the inside cover (which I read afterward), as this was a reprint of a 20 year old comic by the defunct Tekno Comics and will be collected in a trade paperback.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.