I don't know what genius came with Free Comic Book Day but it makes perfect sense. Any quick survey of any comic book fans would surely reveal almost none of them started reading comics because they bought one. (Except for the few rich bastards out there). Most people got a comic from some random person (cousin, uncle, friends, etc.) and got hooked like that. I know I did (thanks pop!).
So since we all agree giving comics away for free is the best thing since slice bread, I guess the question then becomes are the free books any good, or rather are they good enough to bring somebody back and grow the industry. There were a few that were completely worth it.
#5-Savage Dragon #148
I know Rebel Zero is thinking "Savage Dragon? WTF?" I haven't read a single issue of Savage Dragon since god knows when. For me the idea of the Dragon was always more appealing than the execution. A mutant half dragon man is found in a fire and becomes a Chicago cop fighting hilariously over the top villains. It existed on the "don't take it too serious" plane of comics. Straight up super hero fun. Eric Larsen always had this loose, distorted very fun art style and his writing style followed suit. Compared to everything else I was reading it lacked the edge and intrigue I grew accustomed too. That said this issue had a 4 page recap of all the history I overlooked that last 140 plus issues of SD. I had no idea some of that stuff happened. Dragon had a little dragon kid, whose mother was murdered, got married, adopted another kid, that chick got murdered, he killed some villain, left the force, came back. That's some heavy duty stuff.
This issue was about Dragon hunting some people that kidnapped his kids. As he's looking he ends up teaming with the image version of DareDevil (it looks like the same version from Project Superpowers). Superhero fun ensues. The story ties into the history of Savage Dragon in a very complex soap opera type of way. It was a fun read and changed my mind about Dragon from what I knew. That's a big win for Eric Larsen in my book. I might even get a trade from him at HeroesCon.
#4- CyberForce/Hunter Killer
The word "Cyber" is cool all by itself. CyberForce is automatically a cool idea. A team of cybernetically enhanced soldiers fighting...stuff? What did they fight back in the day? Who knows. I'm not familiar at all with Hunter Killer. After a quick introduction to the Hunter Killer team and the concept (Enhanced people called ultra-sapiens hunting other ultra-sapiens) it zips right the the confrontation. The story is faced paced and leaves you waiting anxiously for the action to start.
What really sold it for me was the art. Ken Rocafort has an amazing art style. I loved it in Madame Mirage, I'll love it in the Marvel Astonishing Tales when it comes out in the trade (I can't bring myself to pick up the single issues). His character designs are super stylish. The CyberForce team look better than they ever have. I can't remember ever seeing Hunter Killer before, but they look good. The coloring is pretty decent too. (Notice on the cover how bits of color are in the pants of Ellis). I'll be following Rocafort for a while. Also I think this Mark Waid guy might make something of himself. It was a good teaser for the series.
#3- Buck Rogers #0
A man in space fighting an army of giant single cell organisms that want to ingest everything on Earth. He has a space suit and a .45 pistol. What more do you want? Scott Beatty toned down considerably on the festival of campiness that was Buck Rogers but the adventure and futuristic goodness of it is all right here. I've read a little about this on CBR and Newsarama. Its interesting how this book is coming together. Alex Ross did the redesigns but Carlos Rafael is making it work in on art. Ever since Star Wars I've been a sucker for a good space odyssey. I get the impression from Beatty that that's exactly what he's trying to do. This issue gave me a glimpses into the series and I like it.
#2- Blackest night #0
As full disclosure I must say that Geoff Johns Green Lantern series is my favorite ongoing right now. Johns has been building his Green Lantern/Hal Jordan epic since Rebirth and has not disappointed me yet. Everything from the Sinestro Corp War, to Secret Origin, to the latest Agent Orange story has been absolutely great.
I'm taking a few points off for the Hal Jordan/Barry Allen "welcome back" talk. I feel like I just read that scene in Flash Rebirth #1. The content of the conversation was different though. This was all about death in the DC and what it means to these 2 men who have died themselves and came back. As Barry and Hal leave the Bruce's grave we get our first look at the Black Hand since Brave New World issue DC put out before Infinite Crisis. The conversation was a good mirror to this guy who is bringing back the dead heroes of the DCU to be in his Black Lantern Corp. Who exactly is this guy? What is he going to do? Who will be in the Black Lantern Corp? What is the Blackest Night? These are exciting questions left by this issue. Ivan Reis kills the art like he does every month in Green Lantern and will do in the Blackest Night Series.
After the story you get full splash pages detailing the different color Corps. The designs are incredible. Seeing all the Corps displayed in almost side by side gives me the same feeling I had looking at the Xmen for the first time. Pure comic book joy. Give this issue to any imaginative kid and you will make him a comic book fan for life.
#1- Avengers
I hate Dark Reign. Ask Rebel Zero. He's had to listen to my tirades more than anybody. I hate Dark Reign. I hated the ending of Secret Invasion. It made me feel robbed. I don't get the logic of Dark Reign. I don't understand the appeal of it. The Green Goblin is the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. or whatever he calls it and doing whatever he wants because he was taped shooting the skrull queen, which didn't even win the war (Thor did that). The Cabal makes no sense. I hate the Dark Avengers. I don't understand the appeal of it. This entire storyline irks me to no end. Though I don't often rail against creative choices or obsess about editorial decisions, I want them to ret con everything all the way back to before civil war. I mean a huge Patrick Duffy moment, in the shower with Sharon opening the curtain on Steve Rogers like it was all on big stupid dream. Erase all of it as blatantly and disrespectfully as they did with Brand New f&%*ing Day.
I should say I didn't understand Dark Reign or its appeal until I read this comic. With Bendis' complete grasp of Spiderman's voice (expertly learned from his run on Ultimate Spiderman), I was finally given a story that shows the upside of Dark Reign. Spiderman's quips kept me laughing (Thor saying he couldn't win, he responds "I'm sure you're just being Modest" or "Worst avengers snow fight ever"). Its Bendis so of course the dialogue is top notch. The verbal exchanges between the teams are full of tension. Thor verbally lashing Osborn was classic. The art was another great show of talent from Jim Cheung. He has a very clear, clean style that rarely confuses the action. Even with the smaller page sizes I think he did a damn good job on the art.
This issue is number one on my list simply for the fact that they had such a steep hill to climb with my bias against Dark Reign as a whole. With this issue i finally understand the appeal of this "villains running things" Marvel. Doesn't mean I like it.
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