I’ve been pretty busy lately so the ComicShocker actually (GASP!) missed its first week ever last week. Instead, the AudioShocker got an SEO update. I think that’s a fair trade.
Keeping it short and sweet this week, I’m going to pass along a link to more free comics online. Ahhh, free comics how I love you…
This week we’re checking out Gemini #1 for free. I’m a big Dynamo 5 fan, a series by Jay Faerber and Mahmud A Asrar. Since Gemini is written by Faerber as well, I caught a bunch of previews in the back of my Dynamo 5 issues.
Well, I didn’t get to pick up Gemini #1. But now I can read the first issue of Gemini for free over on Newsarama. I’m ashamed to say that at the time of writing this, I still haven’t read the comic. But I’m a busy guy, damn it.
Speaking of which, the AudioShocker (a.k.a. just me) will be at Wizard World Philadelphia this weekend (a.k.a. just Saturday for a few hours). Email me at nick@audioshocker.com if you want to meet up and say hi. Feel free to attach nude photos to your email (ladies only, please).
Wonder Woman #20. I’ve been waiting for this. Aaron Lopresti on THE superheroine. It’s pretty good. Not mind blowing. But decent.
My biggest praises? The art and the character of Etta Candy. My most egregious criticisms? The dialogue that doesn’t flow well (most everything except for Etta) and the seeming disconnect between Wonder Woman’s Beowulf adventure and Diana’s encounter with an unfriendly foe.
On another note, I’m sure it’s been addressed, but Etta Candy is definitely modeled after Wonder Woman writer Gail Simone. At the very least, it’s a physical likeness. I’ve never met Gail so I can’t speak for the personality.
And on a TOTALLY unrelated note, today I just learned that there are approximately 30 free issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vol. 4 on Wowio. I know I’m a little bit late on this but who cares?! We’re talking about free comic books here.
The deal with Wowio is that you have to confirm your location, which can be a bit bizarre. You can do it with a credit card / debit card. You can do it with a non-anonymous email address (whatever the hell that is). Or you can send them a scan of your photo ID.
DAMN! All we want to do is download free books Wowio. Why make it so weird???
So after all this Free Comic Book Day hype, who put out the best book?
Let’s start with a few things that didn’t shine quite as bright as I’d hoped.
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TwoMorrows Publishing easily claimed the prize for Best Free Comic Book Day Offering of 2007, but 2008’s book isn’t so stellar. Comics Go Hollywood is good but it’s aimed more at the novice reader rather than the burgeoning continuity encyclopedia fan. Not that there’s anything wrong with that – it’s just not as rich with information as it could be. |
| Marvel Adventures also fell a bit short. Maybe I was hyping it up too much in my imagination, but this issue isn’t as captivating as some of the better Marvel Adventures offerings. It’s still a strong outing, but it’s no Marvel Adventures Hulk by Paul Benjamin and David Nakayama or Marvel Adventures Avengers by Ty Templeton and Ig Guara. |
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Now for the good stuff!
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The Runner-Up for Best Free Comic Book Day Offering of 2008: Maintenance from Oni Press. This one-and-done tale about two janitors at a corporation run by supervillain scientists is an excellent exercise in fun storytelling. This free comic did what any FCBD offering should do – it convinced me to pick up the actual series the next time I’m in my comic shop. |
| And the Winner for Best Free Comic Book Day Offering of 2008: X-Men by Marvel Comics. This was a shocker, super fans. I did not expect this book to “wow” me like it did. It was on my FCBD wanted list, but towards the bottom. Yet instead of a mediocre read, Mike Carey and Greg Land treated me to an emotional, interesting, and action-packed issue. This bodes well for the future of the post-Messiah CompleX X-Men franchise. |
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All around, it was a great Free Comic Book Day where even the weakest free comics were still excellent reads. I can’t wait for FCBD 2009!
Free Comic Book Day 2008 has arrived. Below you will find a list of the books I’m hoping to snag this May 3rd at my local comics shop (Phantom of the Attic Comics in Oakland, Pittsburgh, PA, USA). This FCBD reading list is in order of awesome to totally awesome (i.e. best for last).
Note how there are no selections from DC Comics, seeing as how they intend to provide two books that have already been published. LAME! You can click on the thumbnail image of the comic cover to download free preview pages (if available).
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Transformers Animated from IDW Publishing. I’m not a huge Transformers fan, let alone really a fan at all. But this is a nice cover image and interesting concept — an adaptation of the first episode of the new Transformers TV relaunch. Consider my curiosity piqued. |
| X-Men from Marvel Comics. I know this should probably be higher on my list, but I always get a bit burned by Marvel’s primary FCBD offering — they rarely deliver. It looks like Marvel is trying something out it did last year in Spider-Man: Swing Shift. This X-Men comic will be the launch point of the new X-Men status quo that hasn’t even debuted yet in the regular series. Worth checking out. |
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Arcana Studio Presents from Arcana Studios. I’m going strictly off the strength of the solicitation here. The book has four different samples in it. Not normally how I like to roll, but they each have an interesting hook to them. I’d like to see more and this is free! |
| Cartoon-Apalooza from Ape Entertainment. Five original short stories including three first appearances of new creative properties. The cover art looks great and the concepts all sound very fun. What’s not to like? |
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Maintenance from Oni Press. I heard an interview with the Maintenance creators a few months back on Around Comics. Basically, these two guys are the janitors at an evil corporation run by mad scientists (think AIM from Marvel). Like my other picks, this has a strong cover and a strong solicitation. |
| Bongo Comics Free-For-All! From Bongo Comics. The Simpsons and Futurama comics crammed into a pocket-sized digest. The preview pages look fun and I tend to like to pick up at least a couple things from Bongo Comics a year. Why not make sure that one of those things costs me $0.00? |
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Marvel Adventures from Marvel Comics. Astute ComicShocker readers already know that I enjoy me some Marvel Adventures comics (particularly Avengers and Hulk). Here we’ve got Hulk, Spidey, and Iron Man (hey, doesn’t he have a HUGE movie out this weekend?) all in one. Last year we got the first appearance of Marvel Adventures Hulk and it was sweet. The free Marvel Adventures Iron Man ashcan from Halloween 2007 was awesome too. Nuff said. |
| Comics Go Hollywood from TwoMorrows Publishing. Last year’s offering from TwoMorrows simply blew my mind. It got me hooked on Write Now! Magazine. It was also jam-packed with content. It took me like three days of riding the bus to-and-from work to read the whole thing. That’s what I call FCBD quality! |
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