Diamond Comics Distributors were kind enough to send me their Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) offerings before the day in question. I read them all except the five that I didn’t receive (Fight Club/The Goon/The Strain, Doctor Who Special, 2000 AD Special, Ice Bayou Blackout and Teen Titans GO!/Scooby-Doo Team Up #6). Below are my choices for the FCBD comics that you should definitely pick up, and it’s quite the diverse list. We’ve got horror, manga, specials, previews, and comics for kids, so there’s something for everyone.
Go to your local comic shop on Saturday, May 2nd and bring the whole family. Newbies and veterans of comics are all welcome!
Now onwards to the list!
Top Picks:
SuperMutant Magic Academy/Step Aside, Pops (Drawn and Quarterly)
This is my number one pick. I chuckled, laughed out loud and even spit out some delicious tea at one point because of how funny this issue was. It features This One Summer‘s Jillian Tamaki who gives us a preview of her new book, SuperMutant Magic Academy, and it also features a preview of Kate Beaton’s Step Aside, Pops which is a follow up to Hark! A Vagrant. If you’re going to get ONE thing this Saturday, I highly recommend this.
Motorcycle Samurai (Top Shelf)
You get a full issue’s worth of story from Chris Sheridan and it’s a story worth reading. It’s a western with awesome female characters as well as some humour and lots of action. I definitely want to check out the graphic novel after reading it.
Also…
- Bob’s Burgers (Dynamite)
- And Then Emily Was Gone/Oxymoron (Comix Tribe)
2015 Previews & Specials
Comics Festival 2015 (Toronto Comics Arts Festival)
Man, I loved all of the comics featured in this from creators like Kate Beaton, Mariko Tamaki, Gillianm Goerz, Cory Doctorow, Jen Wang, Svetlana Chmakova, Faith Erin Hicks, Zac Gorman, and Dave Roman. I laughed so hard. Pick this up if you can. The Toronto Comics Arts Festival is a week away so this is a great taste of the talent featured there as well.
Also…
- Ten Year Celebration: 2015 Free Comic Book Day Special (Boom! Studios)
- Help The CBLDF…Defend Comics (Comic Book Legal Defence Fund)
Kids
Cleopatra In Space (Scholastic’s Graphix)
When I was really into Tumblr in 2012, one of the things I discovered there was Mike Maihack’s art (gorgeous) and his Batgirl/Supergirl mini comics. This FCBD issue has a preview of the first book in his Cleopatra In Space series. It’s a great length for a preview and it whets the appetite enough that you’d want to invest in the first book. I’m a big fan of space Cleo.
Gronk: A Monster’s Story/Hero Cats of Stellar City (Action Lab)
Oh man, I loved this issue a lot. The first half had Katie Cook and Heather Breckel’s GRONK: A Monster’s Story which was incredibly funny and enjoyable, not just for kids, but adults as well. The second half had Hero Cats of Stellar City which was also really fun. I’d pick this one up for any kid in your life.
Also…
- Spongebob: Freestyle Funnies (United Plankton Pictures)
- Stan Lee’s Chakra The Invincible (Graphic India)
- March Grand Pix (Capstone)
Manga
I’m not really a manga reader but I do want to draw some attention to what’s being offered during FCBD for those who are:
- Attack On Titan/Attack On Titan: Before The Fall/Noragami: Stray God/Vinland Saga/Inuyashiki/Your Lie in April (Kodansha Comics)
- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure/Yu-Gi-Oh (Viz Media)
- Pokémon (Perfect Square/Viz Media)
Honorable Mentions:
Captain Canuck (Chapter House Comics)
I’m Canadian so I have to mention Captain Canuck. I liked the little preview and it also gives you a little history of the character’s adventures to prepare you for the new comics series. It’s also incredibly diverse which is a plus!
All-New, All-Different Avengers/The Uncanny Inhumans (Marvel Comics)
I was less interested in The Uncanny Inhumans but I wanted to draw people’s attention to All-New, All-Different Avengers which has a really diverse line up of Avengers including fan favourites like Kamala Khan and Miles Morales. That alone makes it worth checking out.
While you’re out at your local FCBD event, or even if you can’t make it, check out our instagram pics of the FCBD comics, and tag us at @womenwriteaboutcomics with all of your FCBD swag. On Twitter? It’s @womenoncomics.
