Preview // Free Comic Book Day 2014 - "Free Comics Anyone?"
‘It is
better to fail in originality than to succeed in
imitation.’(1)
Herman Melville.
How time flies when comics
flood an already over saturated market… On May 3rd Free Comic Book
Day (FCBD)(2) returns and all around the world ‘paper pamphlets with
pictures of pretend people doing and saying things’ are given out, for free,
hoping that new customers are created and will return to buy more, becoming the
readership of tomorrow. (That is, before the arse falls out of the business and
a comic becomes a fascinating relic of yesteryear - like a Walkman or an Artic
Roll - where children hold the flimsy four colour pages in their hands and stare
intently at it, waiting for said artefact to shoot dancing images from it or at
the very least read out loud to them… or somethin’… #GrumpyOldMan... twitter
feed clogged up with nonsense, who are these people on Facebook?, modern day is
rubbish… blah…blah… IIIIII don’t believe it! ETC ETC)
What’s
on offer then? Really getting to the
Heart of the Matter
(As the above sub-title
explicitly states, here I will be really
getting to the heart of the matter.) Companies
try to distil into one product both an easy ‘in’ to their (usually) monthly
serials as well as something (hopefully) palatable for a wide reading audience-
taking in age, gender, race and cultural background- and for those coming to
the comics who are not overly familiar with the characters, concepts and story
set ups within said pages. (However, maybe someone should have mentioned this
to DC Comics (3).)
DC
and
Marvel are known as the Big Two in
the comic book world with their superhero characters and comics being world
famous (this year for FCBD- DC offers
Futures End and Marvel has Guardians of the
Galaxy(4) available) but I will be casting an ever beadying eye -
there is not one day that passes where it doesn’t become even more beady - over
‘hidden treats’, ‘buried treasures’ and the more unique and original comics
that probably won’t be getting the promotion they deserve (and need). So with
only the commonplace blurb and a five page preview per issue to help me, let’s
check out what looks good:
And a thoroughly good time
was had by all:
When it comes to comics
all that’s wanted is an enjoyable, easy read with, hopefully, fresh and
original ideas- yeah? Something without a complicated back story (see ‘Endnotes’
below) and not based on already existing
characters from another medium? With
that said there’s only a few comics that fit that criteria and bizarrely- and
extremely heartening- they’re kids comics.
First up there’s Top Shelf Kids Club with a preview of
the upcoming Maddy Kettle: The Adventure
of the Thimblewitch by Eric Orchard that looks to be a
treat no matter your age. The other half of the comic is dedicated to a strip
by Rob Harrel, cartoonist creator of Monster
on the Hill (which was given a glowing review in our Comix Column last
year). Check out the preview here:
http://www.freecomicbookday.com/catalogimages/STK_IMAGES_PDF/STK620001-640000/STK633795.pdf And for more information on their kids’ comics
line, that includes characters such as Johnny
Boo, Owly and Dragon Puncher, well lookie here: http://www.topshelfcomix.com/contact/join-kids-club
Better
than this year’s RoboCop remake – I promise!
Atomic
Robo
has been quietly amassing fans, awards and plaudits since first being published
in 2007 by Red 5 Comics. Always
involved in FCBD this year is no exception with the publication of Atomic Robo and Friends. The character
is a sentient robot, created by a fictionalised Nikola Tesla, who has many an adventure
over the decades, functioning very much like the popular comics and movie character
Hellboy. Atomic Robo’s main adversary is Baron Von Helsingard- an immortal Nazi
scientist- but no fear, the robot hero is helped out along the way by Jenkins- an
Action Scientist no less- and a superspy named The Sparrow.
Atomic Robo’s adventures can be enjoyed by fans
of the aforementioned Hellboy, and for those who are wistful for the simple and
straightforward fun of European classics such as Tintin, Asterix and The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle
Blanc-Sec. For an example of pages from this year’s FCBD freebie,
check out:
http://www.freecomicbookday.com/catalogimages/STK_IMAGES_PDF/STK620001-640000/STK634426.pdf
For past years FCBD comics, as well as other free to read issues, take a look
at http://www.atomic-robo.com/free-comics/
Have
we met before?
Come FCBD a fantastic 48 page preview collection of the
comics published by Boom- under their child friendly sub-imprint of Kaboom Comics-titled KaBOOM Summer Blast is released featuring comics based on Cartoon Networks’ Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors(5);
these comics are superbly executed with real gusto, by the creators, and are
pure entertainment for anyone of any age.
Other strips include: perennial favourites Peanuts and Garfield; the
new and wilfully weird Steven Universe and
Regular Show; the continuing
adventures of the characters from the Ice
Age films, and Mike Kunkel’s comic book original Herobear and the Kid. The quality is high and these award winning
comics are beautifully put together: this is comics at its best! For a preview
go to:
As always this year FCBD
is about finding something NEW to read, regardless of whether you’re
a long-time fan or new to the medium. So, when you pick up your freebies(6)
don’t go for the obvious (superheroes, known characters, or simply, whatever
everyone else seems to be picking up) and stay in the shop for a while, have a
look around and take a chance on something you know nothing about; for every 100
comics that are uninspired, unoriginal and embarrassingly generic, there’s one
or two titles that have been crafted with love, bursting with new, fresh and
daring ideas, and just begging to be discovered.
Endnotes
(1) The loud subtext and not-so -hidden meaning of this
essay/article/reportage could easily- and cynically- have been titled ‘The Continuing Conundrum of
Questionable Creativity in Mainstream Comics’ or ‘D.C and Marvel’s Creative Decline: The End Discussed (Briefly)
Through Endnotes.’ But I would never be that presumptuous or pretentious (?)
(3)
(Beware
of spoilers in second link): http://www.freecomicbookday.com/Home/1/1/27/1041?stockItemID=STK634618
DC Comics’ The New 52:
Futures End is set in a possible future where the DC Universe is in great
jeopardy so Batman comes from 25 years in the future, to just 5 years in the
future, hoping to save the day. The Batman featured, though, isn’t Bruce Wayne
but Terry McGinnis from the cartoon series Batman Beyond where Bruce passed the
mantle to him but still helps out... oh screw it I’ll just send you to Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_Beyond
. The New 52 in the title relates to the fact that in 2011 DC Comics restarted
all of its comic book line and… ah fuhgettaboutit-
off to Wiki you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_New_52
(4)
It
looks like Marvel has thought a little more clearly about their FCBD offering
as it is a comic book introduction to the next big Marvel Movie ‘Guardians of
the Galaxy.’ (With a preview of the next big Spider-man story in the back of
the comic [ALSO starring in his own film this summer.])That seems to make more
sense as the stories, as described in promotional text for FCBD, are
straightforward introductions to the characters.*
(5) My rule is mine to
break:
After heavily criticising
(Marvel and D.C.) comics’ habit of unoriginality as well as too much
cross-pollination between mediums, I’m now going to (seemingly) contradict
myself by suggesting you pick up this title. The difference here is that
originality is the number one priority when it comes to the kids cult cartoons Adventure Time and Bravest Warriors** and that
translates to the comic titles (the shows and comics share creators who work on
both). Not only that but both series’- TV and comic-have won a slew of awards
for their consistent quality.
(6)Because-to
(really, really) paraphrase (and/or misquote) Bill Hicks-‘Remember, you are
free to pick up for free what we tell you to pick up for free because that’s
all that’s available.’***
*HOWEVER, the movie isn’t
out till August so wouldn’t it make more sense if the GOTG movie was to come
out BEFORE the GOTG comic on May 4th, so anyone interested in a comic with the
same characters from the film they’ve just watched, can toddle off to the local
comic book shop (LCBD) and pick one up for free, leading them to (hopefully
enjoying it and) buying more. As a huge movie studio probably won’t work around
FCBD maybe Marvel should’ve brought out a Captain America comic instead, as
that movie has already been released and everyone and their Aunt Fanny Craddock
seems to love it, therefore there being an actual demand (for a CAP A comic) in
which Marvel can supply to, instead of using a comic- the GOTG one - as an
advert or pre-promotion for a future movie. Mainstream comics seem to have
become nothing more than colourful printed adverts to movies, merchandise and
children’s toys and, IMHO, this is an ongoing problem. (But at least I’ve not
had to put any links to Wiki to explain Marvel’s output: so they’re ahead of
the game there.)
**And for more free fun
from Bravest Warriors, check out its internet home at https://www.youtube.com/user/CartoonHangover
as well as Adventure Time/ Bravest Warriors creator Pendleton ‘Pen’ Ward’s home
on the web http://pwcartoons.frederator.com/
***Remember it’s not free
until you can stop asking the question:
‘Is this free?’ Just like you are not free until you stop asking: ‘Am I
free?’ (Interestingly [or not] the parallels between freedom within the
creative field- what is, and isn’t, expected/ acceptable for creators to
produce and how that correlates to what’s actually available to buy [i.e. the
facade of choice; only being able to buy what is offered] - and the way a free
democracy works (or doesn’t) within a capitalist market place run by
corporations, is an essay/article in, and of, itself.)
