Free Comic Book Day picks

Did I mention Free Comic Book Day was on May 5th? Okay then.

Well, their site also has summaries and artwork of the various comics. So I gotta look through it and figure out what I think I want to pick up.

Gold level sponsors:

Well, there's Bongo. Can one go wrong with Matt Groening? Perhaps, but I do own a couple Life in Hell collections.

Umbrella Academy/Zero Killer/Pantheon City: Interesting cover art. Sure, it's free.

Other than that, Disney stuff leaves me thinking "blah". I picked up the transformers a couple years back, boring. Tokyopop has always known how to make even stuff I already like sound uninteresting. Maybe the Legion of Super-heros in the 31st Century #1 can trump my dislike for these groups with my like for all things time travel. Besides, not all groups are bad.

Silver level sponsors:

There's no AdHouse offering, so no Priddy this year. I can continue to kick myself for not picking up that book three years ago with the stick figures on it, though.

Although the promise of "FCBD-only" stuff in Pirates vs. Ninjas doesn't sound the least bit attractive, Ape Entertainment's promise of "six new, all-original short stories" does. Why? Self containment. But that doesn't get you hooked on buying the next book like the first is trying to get you to do. If one or two of them is half as good as Priddy (and has a book out!) that won't mater, though. Arcana Studio's offering is also somewhat interesting, but somehow I start to wonder if there's a lot of women drawn for ogling older teen boys with the way they talk about it.

Something about Hunter's Moon/Salvador makes me want to pick it up in spite of the copy on it.

Family Guy/ Hack/Slash? Sure, maybe.

Lynda Berry Extravaganza... I used to read these in the Independent each week in high school and I remember quite liking some of them and kind of liking most. For a few years of college, I didn't flip through the Independent at all so didn't get her thing (or Life in Hell). Then I looked at it again and didn't like it at all.

Unseen Peanuts also leads to mixed feelings. I remember reading this comic first of the ones in the paper. I was five at the time and I also remember slowly learning letters at something like one a week so I'm not sure how I would have read it, but the memory does get hazy that long back. But since then I moved on from Peanuts. Not because it was so important to an English teacher I had in 5th and 6th grade (and couldn't stand) that he'd have a regular "radio show" for class that included reading out the day's Peanuts, although that couldn't have helped, I had already moved on even then. There was Outland to read.

First Second is offering The Train was Bang On Time and I've been hearing so much about how they're such a great publisher that I'm willing to try it out. Even though it's a preview of something bigger and not self contained.

The blurb for Comics Festival! is dropping some names that should be looked at if you haven't and I haven't yet.

Whiteout has been getting a lot of hype but none of it has triggered any of my interest yet.

Amelia Rules, Owly, and Buzzboy have all been around before and I've seen them and they were "blah". Which doesn't keep people from raving about the first two.

Now, Virgin Comics is a rather unique publisher, so their sampler might be quite interesting. And everyone loves Alex Ross cover art, even if he is a self admitted Superman fan.

I would definitely leave off the "how to draw" things. And there's what looks like a dreadful vampire thing. Viper Comics might have something interesting, but I'm not feeling it. Something called Wahoo Morris lists off some good company they'd like to keep, but who knows if they do. And there's various samplers of a page or two from a seemingly endless number of creators that one thinks could be interesting but never are. And still more things... too many.