Some first issues and some of my grabs from the year’s Free Comic Book Day.
ALL NEW GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION #1. Just in time for the sequel, Marvel drops the preview of the new series. And they get points for this as Gerry Duggan and Aaron Kuder give us an original piece that leads into the new series. Art by Kuder looks great and, for me, that’s a major attraction as I am not a huge fan of Duggan’s writing. The second half of the book is THE DEFENDERS by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez. This feels like a hype piece for the upcoming television series but I will admit that that it flows nicely and looks great.
ALL NEW GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY by Gerry Duggan and Aaron Kuder. The Guardians are back in the form of Star Lord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and Groot. Inside, they do what they do and even have a run in with The Grandmaster, who they do a job for. In return, he promises them delivery of a great secret. The story is fine, especially because I didn’t read the previous series, and the art is great! Recommended for fans of this crew.
THE ARCHIES ONE SHOT by Alex Segura, Matthew Rosenberg and Joe Eisma. Once upon a time, there was a television show that resulted in a bunch of albums and some hit singles. This book takes a modern approach on that, by showing us how the band comes together. Throwing in such iconic supporting characters like Bingo Wilkins, it’s a fun take that fits into the current look and feel of the Archie Universe. Be on the lookout for the multiple covers including the main one by Jaime Hernandez and the variant by David Mack.
BABY TEETH by Donny Cates and Garry Brown. This is the story of Sadie Ritter who might possibly be the mother of the Anti-Christ. The concept is sort of cool but I wasn’t a fan of the dialogue, which just seemed so much like it came from a bad B-movie. And the art was just too sketchy for me to like and failed to draw me into the story. This is the first Aftershock comic I have picked up and might be the only one. I have been looking at their line-up and their creator list is impressive with names like Garth Ennis, Marguerite Bennett, Ray Fawkes and Mark Waid. But this book failed to deliver for me.
BATMAN ELMER FUDD by Tom King, Lee Weeks, and Byron Vaughns. In one of the stranger but coolest of the DC/ WARNER Brother pairings, Elmer Fudd goes to Porkys to hunt “Bugs” The Bunny Woves, who was responsible for killing the love of Fudd’s life. Instead he is convinced to hunt down Bruce Wayne. Batman gets involved and a cast of supporting characters show up. There are wonderful Easter Eggs throughout, King’s story is pure noir and Weeks art is amazing. The back-up is more of a classic Warner Brothers cartoon and features Batman playing the Daffy Duck role. Highly recommended!!!
BETTY AND VERONICA FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION #1 by Adam Hughes. This is an exact reprint of the B&V #1 that came out several months ago. It looked great and read the same and it still does. Plus there is the back-up photo piece that hypes the RIVERDALE series. If you can find one, snag it.
BLACK BOLT #1 by Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward. Blackagar Boltagon finally gets his own series and finds himself in a prison with, among other people, Crusher Creel. We also find he is responsible for putting himself in this prison and that his magical world shaking voice is not what it once was. While the book has a neat painted look to it, there is a serious lack of text, which means the book needs to be carried by the art and it’s just not strong enough to get the job done.
BONGO FREE FOR ALL 2017 FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION by Max Davison, Rex Lindsey, Dean Rankine, Ian Brill, Mike W. Barr, John Delaney, Tony Digerolamo and Jason Ho. A great collection of short stories highlighting a bunch of SIMPSONS characters. This stuff is always fun and don’t expect anything too serious! For me, the highlight was the FUTURAMA back cover by Matt Groening himself.
BRITANNIA: WE WHO ARE ABOUT TO DIE by Peter Milligan and Juan Jose Ryp. In this sequel to Valiant’s first BRITANNIA mini-series, we once again meet Antonius Axia who is Ancient Rome’s only Detectioner. It’s a bloody, messy tale with legendary persons from Rome’s history and gladiators too. Milligan writes a fun story and Ryp’s artwork is amazing. Highly recommended.
BUG! THE ADVENTURES OF FORAGER #1 by Lee Allred and Mike Allred. Well… this is the most unexpected treat of the year for me. Having been a huge Kirby Fourth World fan, seeing this character getting reinvented makes me smile big time! And letting the Family Allred do it makes it that much more impressive to me. Throw in Kirby’s Sandman and his cast of oddball characters into the co-starring role and a bunch of classic characters like Deadman and Black Racer into the mix and you have a quirky winner!
CABLE #1 by James Robinson and Carlos Pacheco. Nathan Summers is back in another Marvel series. From the Old West to Feudal Japan, our time travelling hero battles a whole bunch of people with futuristic weapons while he is trying to track down a mysterious individual. Robinson’s dialogue, as always, is fun but I find that his script is filled with too many plot gaps in an effort to make us keep reading. On the plus side, Pacheco’s art looks great!
DC SUPERHERO GIRLS FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION #1 by Shea Fontana and Yancey Labat. Presented here is a chapter from the SUMMER OLYMPUS graphic novel. If you don’t know, this is an all ages looks at some of our favorite super girls as they face summer vacation from school. It’s fun for all ages, which is the key to this. Fontana is making her jump to mainstream DC superhero books, so this might be a book to jump onto to get a feel for her style.
THE DEFENDERS by Brian Michael Bendis and David Marquez. Diamondback is back, Herows for Hire offices have been bombed, Jessica Jones has been shot and that is just in the first few pages. Obviously trotted out to take advantage of the upcoming Netflix series, Bendis does what he does best-write a fun story. Marquez art is nicely done and the whole book feels fun, although it should just be a HERO FOR HIRE title and go from there.
THE DIVIDED STATES OF HYSTERIA by Howard Chaykin. What can you expect from a Howard Chaykin book? Well, that usually means blood and guts, kinky stuff, and some pretty interesting characters. This one does not fail to deliver. We get terrorist plots, transsexuals and the usual hidden bits that fill every panel. Do NOT expect a PG title here!
GENERATION X by Christina Strain and Amilcar Pinna. Welcome to a new generation of mutants as Kitty Pryde runs this team made up of Eye Boy, Hindsight, Morph, Nature Girl, Kid Omega, Bling and Jubilee with child. The writing is crisp and smarmy and it is a hoot to read. The art is very much in Mike Allfed’s style and I love that. Something to note: issue #2 was AWFUL and almost felt like it was written by someone else. But #3 bounced back to almost the first issue’s feel. So…I’m not sure whether to recommend this title or not, as it has been very uneven in the first three issues.
I HATE IMAGE FREE COMIC BOOK DAY by Skottie Young. Young does a fun and somewhat offensive title in I HATE FAIRYLAND. What happens when you take cute little Gert out of her environment and send her to the Land of Image? You get an ultra-violent trip crossing into THE WALKING DEAD, CHEW, EAST OF WEST, PAPER GIRLS, WICKED & DIVINE, SPAWN and, ultimately, The Creators. It’s a wild ri[ n the 25 year old company.
JIMMY’S BASTARDS by Garth Ennis and Russ Braun. What happens when you let Garyh Ennis run all over his concept of what James Bond would be? You get this: a hard fighting, hard drinking, hard loving spy, doing it all for Queen and Country. You know Ennis is whacked and Braun was his artistic collaborator on THE BOYS and SIXPACK AND DOGWELDER. In other words: this is great stuff!
JONAH HEX YOSEMITE SAM by Jimmy Palmiotti, Bill Matheny, Mark Texeira, and Dave Alvarez. Yosemite Sam says a very real rooster in the form of Foghorn Leghorn, only to discover Sam is being bunted for his gold. Enter hiring Hex to protect him. It’s a fun, slightly bloody tale expertly illustrated by Tex. The backup is a cartoony tale co-starring Bugs and a bear. This is worth getting just for Tex’ art!
LEGION OF SUPERHEROES BUGS BUNNY #1 by Sam Humphries and Tom Grummett. Brainiac 5 sends Computo 2.0 off and it recruits Bugs Bunny instead of Superboy. That forces him to become Super-Bugs to help the Legion fight Validus. Some fun jokes, some cool cover homages and Grummett’s dynamic art make this a winner, even at $5! Also, a back-up tale by Juan Manuel Ortiz that is a slightly different take on our main story. While it makes no sense in the world of the DCU, it is a fun book.
MAGNUS #1 by Kyle Higgins and Jorge Fornes. First off, you need to be aware this isn’t your Magnus, my Magnus or your daddy’s Magnus. This Dynamite version of Magnus has robots in it, but SHE is not a robot fighter. SHE is a robot THERAPIST who helps robots deal with their issues. It’s a trippy little experience as she works with the police to solve a murder. In the TUROK back-up, which continues from THE SOVEREIGNS #00, the legendary warrior, who is also not the Turok any of us grew up with, continues his trek to find a missing child. Chuck Wendig wrote it, Alvaro Sarrasecca drew it and it will eventually lead into TUROK #1, coming in August. Overall, the whole thing works on a level…if you don’t bring any pre-conceived memories with you.
MARTIAN MANHUNTER/MARVIN THE MARTIAN by Steve Orlando, Frank J. Barbiere and Aaron Lopresti. Long time Daffy Duck villain Marvin the Martina has come to the Dc Uiverse intent on blowing Earth up. So, it takes the OTHER last Martian out there, J’onn J’onzz to stand up for Earth and take him on. It’s ridiculous silly fun with great looking art by Lopresti. Jim Fanning and John Loter are responsible for the for their own take on the pair meeting up, done in a very stylish Warner Brothers take.
NICK FURY #1 by James Robinson and Aco. Nick Fury Jr. battles Agents of Hydra in the trippiest tale since the days of Jim Steranko. It is not classic Fury, because that only comes around once in a lifetime. But Robinson has he right feel and Aco does his best Steranko imitation, with the layout, the op art feel and certainly Rachelle Rosenberg’s Dayglo colors. I’ll be the first one to admit I have a problem with Marvel, whose Ultimate version of Nick became a walking talking version in IRON MAN THE MOVIE, leading to the whole “Man on the Wall” story and OUR Nick becoming the NEW Watcher, leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. in the hands of his bastard son. But this book….it might make me forgive them.
RAI: THE HISTORY OF THE VALIANT UIVERSE by Rafer Roberts and Francis Portella. Here is a crash course in the history of THIS Valiant Universe, as opposed to the original Valiant Universe. You get a brief timeline featuring Archer, Armstrong, Ivar, the Harbinger Renegades, Bloodshot, and the rest. A nicely done basic primer that is he perfect jumping on point for anyone curious about this line of books.
SECRET EMPIRE FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION by Nick Spencer and Andrea Sorrentino. As the official lead-in/tie-in to the SECRET EMPIRE mini-series event, we see Steve Rogers leading Hydra, which is his life now considering the living entity that is the Cosmic Cube has rewritten his history. The big shocking moment here is that Captain Amefrica is portrayed as being worthy enough to pick up Thor’s Hammer: something even the Odinson hasn’t been able to do since a certain someone whispered in his ear. The back-up is our first look at Chip Zdarsky and Paulo Siqueira’s PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN. What begins with a lunch between the former Mr. and Mrs. Parker ends with a battle between Spider-Man and The Vulture, along with the appearance of the NEW Trapster. Zdarsky tries to write like Stan Lee but can’t. Trying to make our middle aged hero seem like he is a teen again just feels…awkward.
SECRET EMPIRE BRAVE NEW WORLD by Paul Allor, Jeremy Whitley, Nick Kocher, Brian Level, Diego Olortegui, and Tana Ford. In light of the SECRET EMPIRE mini-series event, we get this anthology series featuring various stories from the Hydra run world. Namor reveals his true intentions when he meets with the original Human Torch, Jim Hammond. Raz Maholtra is the new Giant Man and we meet his friends Grizzly and Machinesmith while fighting Hydra. And what of Peter Pena, who is trying to be the best news reporter he can be in a Hydra run world. Does any of this work? Well…only if you’re going to jump into this whole saga with both feet and feel compelled to buy EVERY crossover title. The only thing worthwhile here is seeing Namor in all his evil glory.
SECRET EMPIRE UNITED by Jim Zub and Ario Anindito. In the latest spin-off title in the SECRET EMPIRE event, we get to see life from the Hydra side of the world…mostly. In the Sovereign Republic of New Tian, the new Mutant Homeland, an juprising is being attempted by Sunfire, Random, Frenzy and others. Luckily the Superior Octopus is there to shut them down. Later, Steve Rogers finds out who the least loyal among his inner circle is and he meets with Emma Frost. Of the crossover titles thus far, this is the one which lends the most light to flesh out the main story.
SECRET EMPIRE UPRISING by Derek Landy and Joshua Cassara. Following the events in SECRET EMPIRE #3, we have this crossover entry. The Champions are involved as they infiltrate Hydra, ending up with an appearance by Viper. That was the highlight.
SECRET WEAPONS #1 by Eric Heisserer, Raul Allen, and Patricia Martin. The name is the same as the classic Valiant team, but the team is definitely different. There’s a whole new bunch of kids who had been held by Harada and his people. But they got away and now Livewire from Unity is trying to help them out. This mini-series is supposed to tie into upcoming events in the Valiant Universe. To that end, this book is essential if you’re a follower of Valiant.
THE SOVEREIGNS #00 by Ray Fawkes, Kyle Higgins, Chuck Wendig, Aubrey Sitterson, Johnny Desjardins, Jorge Fornes, Alvaro Sarrasecca, and Dylan Burnett. What happens when you take the legendary Gold Key heroes (who became legendary Vaiant heroes) of Magnus, Turok, Solar and Doctor Spektor and throw them together as a team? You get this book. The main story begins in 2020 in the Kingdom of the Lost Valley and it goes from there, setting up the world spanning adventure to come in future issues. This Magnus is NOT the same Magnus that appears in the MAGNUS title. This Magnus is a male robot fighter, much like the classic hero, so that makes things a bit weird. Spektor is a trippy mage and Solar is a woman The rest of the book is made up of introductory stories for Magnus, Turok and Spektor. If you want the real background on these characters, seek out Dynamite’s collections and the GOLD KEY ALLIANCE miniseries.
2000 AD FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION by Matt Smith, Pat Mills, Guy Adams, Dan Abnett, Kek-W, K33F, Phil Winslade, Kei Zama, Jimmy Broxton, Dani, Dave Kendall, and Henry Flint. This is a sampler featuring Judge Dredd, Blackblood, Hope, Judge Anderson and Creams of Deadworld in short stories designed to entice the potential reader. Honestly, I loved the Dredd tale and didn’t care for the rest.
UNDERDOG FREE COMIC BOOK DAY EDITION by James Kuhoric, Steve Skeates, Adrian Roop, and Bill Galvan. American Mythology Productions has the license now on Underdog, Commander McBragg, along with The Three Stooges, Rocky and Bullwinkle and the Harvey characters like Casper, Wendy and Hot Stuff. We get a sort Underdog story, a one page McBragg piece, a reprint from an issue of the old Gold Key series and cover previews for Casper and Rocky and Bullwinkle. Wow…Mike Wolfer is involved with these projects? For me, this just brings me back to my childhood.
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