On Free Comic Book Day, Something For Everyone

by L.A. Mood Comics and Games

I don’t know what kind of comics you like.

But I can say this much with certainty: When you visit your favourite comic store on Free Comic Book Day (which lands on May 4) you will find a veritable horn o’plenty to pick from.

That’s right. There’s something for everyone. It’s an old-fashioned cornucopia. Or maybe a comicopia?

What I mean is, whatever publisher, fandom, character, creator, title you favour, you will find something to scratch that particular itch.

I say this after getting a sneak peak of the bulk of the freebies that await you at stores like my preferred comics haunt, L.A. Mood Comics & Games.

Fandoms like Star Wars, Stranger Things, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Planet of the Apes are represented by offerings from publishing houses such as Marvel, Dark Horse, Titan, Fantagraphics, and IDW.

Here are a few highlights from my reading to help inform your FCBD excursion:
*For a sentimental old fool like me, the title that jumps out is Snoopy: Beagle Scout Adventures, a sampler with strips pulled from the collection of the same name landing in bookstores at the end of April. What ‘s better than Snoopy and Woodstock camping in the woods? Snoopy and a whole troop of little Woodstocks camping in the woods!

*Marvel is putting on a big push on a couple fronts. One is this year’s companywide crossover, called Blood Hunt. The premise is that perpetual night has fallen on the Marvel Universe, which means it’s feasting time for vampires, including the hungriest bloodsucker of them all, Dracula. The other front is Marvel’s Voices line, which features characters and creators aimed at the queer, Indigenous and Latino communities.

*The best cover may be the one on Tons of Strange, a child-friendly homage to the EC horror titles of the 1950s. Inside, you’ll find Jawas playing dice in the sands of Tatooine!

*Speaking of the 1950s, Stories from the Atlas Comics Library includes a Stan Lee-penned piece in which the then-unknown creator took aim at Fredric Wertham. He’s the crank psychiatrist who provided the anti-comics crowd with pseudo-scientific cover for their crusade to ban comics, which included comic burnings, back in the day!

*Also in the running for best cover is the one for Conan: Battle of the Black Stone, which features everyone’s favourite barbarian hefting a bloody axe. It comes from Heroic Signatures and Titan Comics. Is there a comics company out there that hasn’t published his adventures? The difference this time is the current licence holders are trying to situate Conan within a larger Robert E. Howard universe of characters.

*Perhaps the broadest sampler pamphlet is the one featuring Asterix and Obelix, which includes episodes culled from seemingly every one of their books. Oh those wacky Gauls!

*The Kill Shakespeare universe makes a return with Romeo Vs. Juliet, which imagines the star-crossed lovers crossing swords! How is this possible? It turns out Juliet faked her own death. No word in this promo pamphlet on how Romeo managed to shuffle back onto this mortal coil.

*The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle handout includes a slice-of-life tale in which Master Splinter has a rare evening of quiet away from his adopted mutant sons. All I will say is that the rodent sensei doesn’t spend all his free time meditating!
*The Cursed Library Prelude takes place in the Archie Horror world, so for those who prefer the dark side of Riverdale, prepare to meet Jinx, the daughter of Satan himself! It also features a snippet of a ghost story starring Archie’s favourite blond, Betty Cooper!

So if you’re a fan of Venom, Flash Gordon, Johnny Quest, ThunderCats, Hellboy, Frankenstein’s wife or Mei-Mei the red panda, there’s something for you this FCBD.

And that’s just the free comics . . .

I hope you’ve been saving your shekels because the annual event is also a great excuse for London’s comic retailers to offer customers some outrageous deals!
I love FCBD, dubbed Geek Christmas by some, for the feeling that’s in the air around town.

It’s kind of like a moving fan convention as Forest City comic enthusiasts, cosplayers and pop-culture followers travel around our community, checking in at all the different stores.

There’s a rare convergence this time as FCBD and May the Fourth (the day unofficially set aside to celebrate all things Star Wars) coincide, so there’s bound to be the waft of bantha steaks in the air.

Don’t miss it!

Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 31 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly graphic-novel group.

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