Free Comic Book Day Review Part Two

Free Comic Book Day Review Part Two

I have been lackadaisical in my reviews lately and did not do a Free Comic Book Day overview this year. Rather than do one at this late date, I'm just going to list two stores with each batch of Free Comic Book Day comic reviews. Please note that the comics reviewed did not necessarily come from the shop listed in this review, nor does the shop endorse these reviews.

Not all of the comics that I'll be reviewing over the three parts of my Free Comic Book Day reviews will be FCBD editions. Some are singles that I paid for on FCBD while others were offered for free as part of the FCBD festivities. 

My hatchlings.

In part two of three of my overview and review of this year's FCBD festivities, I'll go over the next two stores that we hit on our journey across two counties as well as review for another eight comic books.

Warp 9 Comics in Clawson, MI had a huge line wrapped around the building even though they had been open an hour by the time that we arrived. They once again offered their incredible ten free comics per person. There was a guy in a Spider-Man costume who actually knew some character history. He was friendly and my kids loved him. I told him that he hasn't gained a pound since I met him (along with the Hulk and Firestar) at Wonderland Mall in Livonia, MI in October of 1983.

Free Comic Book Day 2017- Secret Empire #1 (Marvel, cover date, July, 2017)

My son is ten and thinks that all of these comics are great, whereas my vibe on Secret Empire is that it is lame. Maybe I am an old dinosaur, or maybe this just plain ol' sucks. You can't even tell what this so-called event is supposed to even be about judging by this preview alone. The sneak preview of Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man is good and I can see me picking it up...for free from my local library. Everything is slick and professional but I can't buy everything. Lord knows I've tried.

Wonder Woman #1: Free Comic Book Day 2017 Special Edition (DC, cover date May, 2017)

Christ on a stick, how many times is DC going to retell and reinterpret Wonder Woman's origin??? Each time there are elements which contradict all previous versions. This time out it also flies in the face of the origin that civilians who only know the new movie continuity would understand to be true. Not syncing up your stuff across all platforms seems inefficient as well as a wasted opportunity.

This wasn't a bad read by any stretch, but endless reboots and retellings only muddies the water. This reprints #2 of the 2016 DC Universe Rebirth relaunch of the title. As a comic it reads well enough, but the point of these FCBD titles is to lure in new readers. On that count it might not work.

Free Comic Book Day 2017: All-New Guardians Of The Galaxy #1 (Marvel, cover date, July, 2017)

Not a huge GOTG fan but this was fun and reads close enough to the characters as the mainstream moviegoers and kids know and love them. It's not for me but it does what it's supposed to do. My son loved it.

And then the train goes right off of the rails and into the ravine with the wretched Brian Michael Bendis' Defenders, which has been rebooted for the thousandth time. It's your usual steaming pile of Bendis, and, like the rest of his work, stinks to high heaven. Go away, Bendis. Nobody likes you and you couldn't write a coherent superhero comic book to save your life.

Steam Wars: Strike Leader FCBD Edition (Antarctic Press, cover date April, 2017)

Next we have this...this...I don't know what this even supposed to be. Loving homage to Star Wars filtered through steam punk and WWII sensibilities? Calculated but poorly executed “IP” done in hopes to get “optioned”? Derivative, inbred drivel done only to kill trees and hopefully make some money? I suspect it's a bit of all three. The only purpose this comic serves is a recycle bin liner or to be used to prop up comics that are actually good in your boxes, protecting the ones by the finger holes in your boxes by taking the brunt of the wear.

The fourth out of the five shops that I hit this year on FCBD was Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, MI. I got there a bit late, as we stopped off for lunch with friends and it wound up taking a while. Green Brain has now expanded across the entire store. Dan and Katie are like the Captain and Tennille of comic shop owners, so stop in and say hi.

FCBD 2017 Catalyst Prime: The Event (Lion Forge, cover date, 2017)

This was well done on all levels (writing, art, and color) and has a solid concept that is intriguing enough. It is certainly worth a read.

Attack On Titan (Kodansha Comics, cover date, 2017)

I'm not the world's biggest Manga fan, but this was good stuff with an interesting message. It's probably worth a read if your library has it or if you are into Manga.

Free Comic Book Day 2017: The Looking Glass Wars- Crossfire (Automatic Pictures, 2017)

Wow. There are comic companies who over promote, and then there's this one. So modest are the publishers of this comic that not only is there no indicia indicating copyright or cover date, there is no name of the publisher found anywhere in the entire comic book. It wasn't very good, so maybe the publisher didn't want to sign it's name to it.

Malika- Warrior Queen: Chapter One (Youne3k Studios, cover date, 2017)

Polished and professional stuff. Production values on par with any of the larger publishers. I can see school age kids buying graphic novels of this at those Scholastic Book Fairs if they could get this book in front of them. It's good, but it's not my cup of tea. 

Review- Free Comic Book Day Offerings Part Four

Free Comic Book Day Offerings Part Four

Fantastic Four #600 (Marvel, cover date January, 2012)

I love it when stores give away dead stock to bolster their Free Comic Book Day selection. I never bothered reading Hickman's run on this title, as I simply have too many irons in the fire when it comes to comic books. I can neither afford to buy, nor do I have the time to read, everything that is being published today.

I thought that this was excellent, a solid and entertaining read that I unfortunately missed as it came out. I am a sucker for Annihilus and the Supreme Intelligence, and while killing and resurrecting superheroes like the Human Torch is lame it was handled very well here.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

Superman Unchained #1 (DC, cover date August, 2013)

Another FCBD dead stock giveaway. Scott Snyder is a decent writer but I was never much of a Jim Lee fan. I found the foldout poster to be super annoying, since it was glued to a piece of cardstock and you had to remove it in order to read a part of the story, as both sides of the poster were a part of the story. Interesting gimmick but I ended up bending the page trying to remove it. The story is readable but I won't be going any further with it. Besides, it doesn't matter anymore, since this was The New 52 and we are now living in a post-New 52 society. Continuity has never been the Distinguished Competition's strongest point, and this most recent reboot, while attempting to streamline and set things right, will undoubtedly also go off of the rails.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children (Yen/ Hachette, 2013)

More deadstock dumped off on FCBD, this one is from the 2013 Halloween ComicFest, which is like a junior Free Comic Book Day. The hook of this is enough to make me want to read more. I put in a hold for the book at my local library and look forward to reading it.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

This is the only true cover image on the Internet. I searched everywhere and even comicbookdb and the publisher's website has an incorrect image, so I scanned this myself. 

Spectrum #0 (Automatic Publishing, cover date 2016)

I had never heard of Automatic Publishing prior to this comic book. They offer a slick if familiar feeling title about alien invasions and sparkly princess types. There is a generational divide in comics right now that is different than any one that came before. The artwork in this comic will appeal to the younger generation of comic fans. This is readable but is ultimately not my cup of tea.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.5 out of 5.

Bongo Comics Free-For-All! 2016 (Bongo, cover sate 2016)

I was a huge fan of The Simpsons going all the way back to when they were on The Tracy Ullman Show. In the prehistoric days of VCRs I used to record each week's episode and watch it with my friends repeatedly, up until the fall of 1995 when the Who Shot Mr. Burns episode signaled a steep decline in quality. I have tried watching it since then but the series has never grabbed me like it once did. I did enjoy the movie and the ride at Universal Studios though.

This comic book is a fantastic read. The art is polished and drawn to model, looking like stills from the animated series. The main story is a joyful stab at the gluten crowd, with a pair of robbers known as Glutenus Maximus and his sidekick Gluten Tag. They employ all manner of baked goods to commit crimes with. It's silly but it works and made me chuckle, ditto the back-up features. I may have to give these comics a second look at some point if they are all of this high of quality.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.75 out of 5.

Free Comic Book Day: Howard Lovecraft And The Frozen Kingdom (Arcana, no cover date or copyright, 2016)

Arcana generally does interesting stuff, and this follows suit. This is an attempt to make H.P. Lovecraft and Chthulu family fare, and I give it kudos for the subversive factor alone. It's basically a sneak preview of the forthcoming adaptation of the graphic novel and reads well enough. The other story featured here is The Unknowns, which Stan Lee has attached his name to. I wonder what his actual involvement in the creation of this is, as it is lame.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 2.5 out of 5.