Tag Archive for 'Free Comic Book Day'

Free Comic Book Day 2008 - A Humble Marvel Adventures Confession

Published
by
nick marino
on May 12, 2008
in Comics
. 1 Comment

Marvel Adventures FCBD 2008A little over one week ago, I came to this forum — known among savvy readers as the awesome AudioShocker — and talked smack on the Marvel Adventures Free Comic Book Day offering from Marvel Comics.

Truth be told, talking smack is a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like expressing disappointment. And I was disappointed at the time — I had read the issue and it just didn’t live up to my standards.

Truth be told, saying I read the issue is a bit of an exaggeration. It was more like I read the first two-thirds of the story, and then I made assumptions about the rest of the issue.

I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I reviewed the issue without finishing it. I broke the unbreakable rule of reviewing — don’t review something that you have read, seen, watched, or listened to from start to finish.

It just so happens that I finished reading the Marvel Adventures FCBD 2008 issue on Saturday, and DAMN! what an ending! Once the Mandarin shows up for a second time, the story really hits a groove and finishes in fine form.

Elephant SteveI apologize for giving an opinion half-cocked. It was wrong. And I’m grateful for finishing this excellent comic book by Jeff Parker, Paul Tobin, Alvin Lee, Terry Pallot, Wil Quintana, and Nate Piekos.

To make matters even better, the issue finished off with a Mini Marvels comic strip by Chris Giarrusso featuring none other than Elephant Steve! I love Elephant Steve. And I love this comic book.

Podcast Episode 030

Published
by
nick marino
on May 6, 2008
in Podcast Episodes
. 0 Comments

Talking about Sifu Kisu, rosin vs. resin, Michael Turner art, Iron Man, Tony Stark, Obadiah Stane, School Daze, Horton Hears a Who, Captain America as a Communist, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead, Dummy, One Missed Call, Free Comic Book Day 2008, Cyclops in The Castro with no shirt on, fancy cheeses, funny nipple stories, creepy Miley Cyrus pictures, South Park WGA episode, how hookers got the name hookers, The Riches, Mighty Avengers #13, Avengers / Invaders #1, Invincible Iron Man #1, Young X-Men #2, and of course we got more.

 
 AudioShocker #30 [63:47m]: Play Now | Download

Free Comic Book Day 2008 - And the Winner Is?

Published
by
nick marino
on May 5, 2008
in Comics
. 1 Comment

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.

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.

Now for the good stuff!

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.

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 - My National, Religious, and Cultural Holiday

Published
by
nick marino
on May 3, 2008
in Comics
. 1 Comment

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).

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.
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?
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?
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!