Did I mention free?
May 7, 2016 7:51 AM Subscribe
It's the 15th annual Free Comic Book Day! Today is the day for the comics-curious to visit a comic book store and get their very own free comic book. Over on the Monkey See blog, Glen Wheldon offers a roundup with reviews of all the free comic books available this year.
Here's a handy store locator to find a participating store near you.
Previously. Previouslier. So previously it's basically historical.
Here's a handy store locator to find a participating store near you.
Previously. Previouslier. So previously it's basically historical.
Mooncop! It's like Moon meets Cops! Tom Gauld is a genius.
posted by oulipian at 8:19 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by oulipian at 8:19 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
I listened to Glen Wheldon talk about this on a Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast last night. I don't think I knew about PCHH until it was mentioned on Mefi, so thanks folks, I enjoy a podcast where the presenters chuckle and giggle and talk about what they enjoy.
posted by puddledork at 8:46 AM on May 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by puddledork at 8:46 AM on May 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Did you have to wait until 51 minutes after my local participating store closed? :-)
posted by effbot at 8:53 AM on May 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by effbot at 8:53 AM on May 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Sorry to be European-ist! I just saw it this morning my time!
My local comic book store is totally open, but sadly I have not found the energy to get up off of the couch to go there.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:07 AM on May 7, 2016
My local comic book store is totally open, but sadly I have not found the energy to get up off of the couch to go there.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 9:07 AM on May 7, 2016
My LCS let members call ahead with what free comics they wanted so we wouldn't have to come in today - they are expecting a big crowd and we would just be adding to it.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 9:12 AM on May 7, 2016
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 9:12 AM on May 7, 2016
If there's a self-published cartoonist whose work you especially enjoy, definitely stop by their social media today -- a lot of folks are doing free digital downloads or discounted print purchases of their work!
posted by Narrative Priorities at 9:37 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Narrative Priorities at 9:37 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
This morning, here in London, both Gosh! and Orbital had enormous queues snaking out the door, so I gave up on them and collected one of the ten-comic bags Forbidden Planet was giving out instead. This included the Love & Rockets one so, basically, I'm happy.
Among the other stuff in the FP bag, I discovered the Mix Tape sampler has a new Mike Baron Badger story in it. I have happy memories of The Badger's own book from the 1980s, so that was an unexpected little treat. Good to see Baron's still writing it too.
The DC Superhero Girls book is pretty charming, with a nice cartoony art style and a handful of quite good jokes. The plot involves young Supergirl fretting over her exams in what the book calls a "Finals Crisis" (on Infinite Earths, presumably).
Marvel's Civil War book comprises one long fight scene, followed by a Wasp origin story which veers bizarrely from very Kirbyesque art on its first nine pages to Neal Adams' style for its final splash. Captain America's book plays Hydra as a surrogate for ISIS, and has one scene which strongly suggests Cap has tortured someone to get information. Apparently, he does that now.
I'm sorry to have missed out on Tom Gauld's Mooncop freebie, but otherwise I count that a pretty good haul. Thank you, FCBD.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:57 AM on May 7, 2016
Among the other stuff in the FP bag, I discovered the Mix Tape sampler has a new Mike Baron Badger story in it. I have happy memories of The Badger's own book from the 1980s, so that was an unexpected little treat. Good to see Baron's still writing it too.
The DC Superhero Girls book is pretty charming, with a nice cartoony art style and a handful of quite good jokes. The plot involves young Supergirl fretting over her exams in what the book calls a "Finals Crisis" (on Infinite Earths, presumably).
Marvel's Civil War book comprises one long fight scene, followed by a Wasp origin story which veers bizarrely from very Kirbyesque art on its first nine pages to Neal Adams' style for its final splash. Captain America's book plays Hydra as a surrogate for ISIS, and has one scene which strongly suggests Cap has tortured someone to get information. Apparently, he does that now.
I'm sorry to have missed out on Tom Gauld's Mooncop freebie, but otherwise I count that a pretty good haul. Thank you, FCBD.
posted by Paul Slade at 9:57 AM on May 7, 2016
Well thanks for this, since we saw it we took the kids over to our local comic book store, where we'd never been before, and which was met with wide-eyed amazement by the 6-year-old (the four-year-old was less into it). They browsed the freebie table and picked out a few each that they wanted, and got to meet a Wonder Woman who gave them fist bumps. Six-year-old verdict: "I liked that Wonder Woman girl!" and he started reading DC Superhero Girls as soon as we got in the car because Wonder Woman was in it.
(We don't "do" superheros at our house -- they are in a phase where they re-enact battles and fights from stories, so no, not until they outgrow that -- so they only have the vaguest idea who the DC & Marvel superheros are, mainly from school friends.)
Anyway we didn't buy anything because the buying line was SUPER long, but we promised the six-year-old he could come back with his tooth fairy money some time this week and pick out some paperbacks, they had a big display of kiddie graphic novels that he REALLY wanted to go through.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:03 AM on May 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
(We don't "do" superheros at our house -- they are in a phase where they re-enact battles and fights from stories, so no, not until they outgrow that -- so they only have the vaguest idea who the DC & Marvel superheros are, mainly from school friends.)
Anyway we didn't buy anything because the buying line was SUPER long, but we promised the six-year-old he could come back with his tooth fairy money some time this week and pick out some paperbacks, they had a big display of kiddie graphic novels that he REALLY wanted to go through.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:03 AM on May 7, 2016 [4 favorites]
Ha! I am never not surprised how often people comment on my tendency to call people "buddy," though not always so positively.
But seriously: Glen is the greatest, and he's been so busy writing books (which are ALSO the greatest) that he doesn't write for the blog a lot right now, so please, get your 5K words from him here or whenever you can.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 10:44 AM on May 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
But seriously: Glen is the greatest, and he's been so busy writing books (which are ALSO the greatest) that he doesn't write for the blog a lot right now, so please, get your 5K words from him here or whenever you can.
posted by Linda_Holmes at 10:44 AM on May 7, 2016 [3 favorites]
Gosh! had a big kids' event on too. I didn't mean to imply criticism of either store by saying they had long queues. They've both got relatively limited space and both showed loads of initiative in making the most of today. The queues were a measure of their success, really.
posted by Paul Slade at 11:19 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 11:19 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
I always listen when Glen Weldon makes a recommendation for something, we're pop culture twins.
posted by moons in june at 11:29 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by moons in june at 11:29 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
We just got back from the FCBD events at the two comic shops here in Portland. One had the Ghostbusters, which was cool. The other was much less crowded by had a better selection overall. Can't lie, though - wish I'd seen the guide before we got there. Oh well. Kid is now sitting on the sofa reading a graphic novel.....
posted by anastasiav at 11:38 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by anastasiav at 11:38 AM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
I get where Glenn is coming from, but I think We Can Never Go Home is better than he gives it credit for. It's violent (though Matthew Rosenberg has discussed his use of violence in the book in a mature, respectable way), but the characters and story are heartbreaking. I got it on the basis of these frames, and the book exceeded my expectations.
posted by pxe2000 at 11:54 AM on May 7, 2016
posted by pxe2000 at 11:54 AM on May 7, 2016
got a good stack of free books, bought the jem trade, found ourselves at jc pennys who had superhero shirts at $10 a pop (we got black panther, rocket racoon, harley quinn, and captain america). all in all a great free comic day!
posted by nadawi at 1:10 PM on May 7, 2016
posted by nadawi at 1:10 PM on May 7, 2016
I just want to mention that the Legend of Korra comic is goddamn adorable.
posted by Katemonkey at 1:16 PM on May 7, 2016
posted by Katemonkey at 1:16 PM on May 7, 2016
I've seen a lot of people talking up Love and Rockets, but I've also heard grumblings from my comics friends. I flipped through it today and saw character designs along these lines, although not that actual page, which is especially bad. I didn't take it.
posted by vibratory manner of working at 1:38 PM on May 7, 2016
posted by vibratory manner of working at 1:38 PM on May 7, 2016
The all ages comics were down to two titles by the time I got there. Bam! Pow! Comics are still for kids. I'm looking forward to reading the Serenity and Marvel stuff I got, though. Plus they were selling TPBs of Ostrander's Suicide Squad, which I wasn't aware had continued to be published. Yay!
posted by knuckle tattoos at 1:52 PM on May 7, 2016
posted by knuckle tattoos at 1:52 PM on May 7, 2016
I flipped through it today and saw character designs along these lines,
That's Gilbert. Hope you looked at some Jamie too.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:29 PM on May 7, 2016
That's Gilbert. Hope you looked at some Jamie too.
posted by Paul Slade at 3:29 PM on May 7, 2016
Visited a local comic shop for the first time in years. Nice selection but my almost 4 year old wasn't too interested. Picked up the marvel titles and overpaid on an Iron Man 150 but I'm getting the collecting bug again.
posted by Stynxno at 3:31 PM on May 7, 2016
posted by Stynxno at 3:31 PM on May 7, 2016
i can totally understand someone new to the work in 2016 not being drawn to love & rockets, but it was a pretty big shit deal to me at the time. i keep meaning to reread the old stuff and pick up the new. i was ecstatic to pick up the free book today.
posted by nadawi at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 7:02 PM on May 7, 2016 [2 favorites]
Came for the free comic for the kid, left with $35 in comics for the parents, including the new Black Panther. #2 comes out this Wednesday! My first series since Eightball and Hate in the '90s.
posted by NoMich at 7:21 PM on May 7, 2016
posted by NoMich at 7:21 PM on May 7, 2016
It definitely worked as intended as far as we were concerned; we had never been to the store before and went because of FCBD. My reading-age child was wide-eyed with amazement and wanted All The Things (they had a great kids' section, of not just comics and graphic novels but kids' books in general), and my husband and I were favorably impressed with the inclusive and family-friendly vibe of the place, as well as the diversity of the shoppers. (In this town there still tend to be stores where white people shop and stores where black people shop; FCBD was extremely gender, age, and race-diverse at this store.)
We (the adults in the house) are not really into comics; we used to go to a local gaming store but it just had the creepiest vibe and was so unfriendly to women (and kids) that we quit years ago. So we were vaguely aware this store was there but figured chances were above average it was geek-creepy and since we're not regular comics consumers, never had a reason to go. Now that they got us in the door once and we discovered it has a great atmosphere and a broad selection of kids' reading material (as well as comics and models and whatnot), we'll definitely be there again. (We also posted about it on facebook so that's another 200 local moms-of-6-to-10-year-olds seeing that we went, we liked it, and they have great books for early readers.)
Probably easier on a small-town shop where clientele is naturally limited, though, and drawing more general community customers is important; I can only imagine how crazy popular big-city shops must be on FCBD!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:06 PM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
We (the adults in the house) are not really into comics; we used to go to a local gaming store but it just had the creepiest vibe and was so unfriendly to women (and kids) that we quit years ago. So we were vaguely aware this store was there but figured chances were above average it was geek-creepy and since we're not regular comics consumers, never had a reason to go. Now that they got us in the door once and we discovered it has a great atmosphere and a broad selection of kids' reading material (as well as comics and models and whatnot), we'll definitely be there again. (We also posted about it on facebook so that's another 200 local moms-of-6-to-10-year-olds seeing that we went, we liked it, and they have great books for early readers.)
Probably easier on a small-town shop where clientele is naturally limited, though, and drawing more general community customers is important; I can only imagine how crazy popular big-city shops must be on FCBD!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 10:06 PM on May 7, 2016 [1 favorite]
So we were vaguely aware this store was there but figured chances were above average it was geek-creepy and since we're not regular comics consumers, never had a reason to go
It might just be me, but I have always gotten the vaguely sinister vibe from comics shops, even when I was something of a regular (from age 14 on). They just feel like followed out shells of stores, desolate wastelands of potential. Gaming and SF stores less so.
Comic Book Men confirmed a lot of my biases.
Plus, they're always having loud, assinine arguments, and they're basically wrong (wrong about points of fact, not even the 'who would in in a fight between The Great Gazoo and Bat-Mite). And, yes, the clientele is mostly male (65%/35%) on the times I've been in, recent weeks, but I'm usually in the city at lunch, which will skew the numbers.
And the prices, oy.
I think FCBD is a grand idea, but if you don't have single issue comics at a price point kids can afford them, in easily accessible places like newsagents and such, I'm not sure if the stores proper will survive in the long run.
And bring back Marvel Essentials and DC Showcase too!
posted by Mezentian at 2:17 AM on May 8, 2016
It might just be me, but I have always gotten the vaguely sinister vibe from comics shops, even when I was something of a regular (from age 14 on). They just feel like followed out shells of stores, desolate wastelands of potential. Gaming and SF stores less so.
Comic Book Men confirmed a lot of my biases.
Plus, they're always having loud, assinine arguments, and they're basically wrong (wrong about points of fact, not even the 'who would in in a fight between The Great Gazoo and Bat-Mite). And, yes, the clientele is mostly male (65%/35%) on the times I've been in, recent weeks, but I'm usually in the city at lunch, which will skew the numbers.
And the prices, oy.
I think FCBD is a grand idea, but if you don't have single issue comics at a price point kids can afford them, in easily accessible places like newsagents and such, I'm not sure if the stores proper will survive in the long run.
And bring back Marvel Essentials and DC Showcase too!
posted by Mezentian at 2:17 AM on May 8, 2016
i can totally understand someone new to the work in 2016 not being drawn to love & rockets
Only if you're not much into comics -- Jaime is one of the best artists alive, and they're both magnificent storytellers.
(and if you don't have a least a tiny crush on Maggie, you're no friend of mine)
posted by effbot at 8:04 AM on May 8, 2016
Only if you're not much into comics -- Jaime is one of the best artists alive, and they're both magnificent storytellers.
(and if you don't have a least a tiny crush on Maggie, you're no friend of mine)
posted by effbot at 8:04 AM on May 8, 2016
i obviously agree about the art and the storytelling and the love, but comics are a big tent and i think there are ways that someone can love comics, and even love other work those two have done, and still not connect to love & rockets. purity tests for fandom are dumb no matter how sacred the cow.
posted by nadawi at 9:15 AM on May 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by nadawi at 9:15 AM on May 8, 2016 [2 favorites]
omic Book Men confirmed a lot of my biases.
Ugh. That show.
Comic stores that aren't dank basements do exist, BTW, for instance.
posted by Artw at 9:24 AM on May 8, 2016
Ugh. That show.
Comic stores that aren't dank basements do exist, BTW, for instance.
posted by Artw at 9:24 AM on May 8, 2016
FIENDS OF THE EASTERN FRONT: FODDER BY HANNAH BERRY AND DANI AT FCBD IN ORBITAL
posted by Artw at 9:15 PM on May 9, 2016
posted by Artw at 9:15 PM on May 9, 2016
Gosh! has just posted some pics of people enjoying its own FCBD events.
posted by Paul Slade at 8:05 AM on May 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Paul Slade at 8:05 AM on May 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 7:52 AM on May 7, 2016