Free Comic Book Day Preview

[JessHorsley]

A Look At 10 FREE Comics Available This Saturday, May 4...

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All across America and around the world in participating comic book shops, this Saturday, May 4 is one of the best days of the year. That's right, it's Free Comic Book Day.

So what's Free Comic Book Day?

Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores. That's right, FREE COMICS! And you know what's better than FREE comic books? Yeah, me neither.

So what's on the schedule for great reading this Saturday? Thanks to Diamond Comics Distributing, we got our hands on a few of the comics which are sure to be super popular with readers everywhere.

For fans of superhero comics, there are a number of books which will appeal, including...

Marvel's Infinity preview book written by Jonathan Hickman and drawn by Jim Cheung is a great read for fans who'll no doubt pick up this fall's six-issue event, introducing Thanos as a larger cosmic presence and danger to Earth, the X-Men, the Avengers, and S.H.I.E.L.D. As an added bonus, a short story featuring Thanos from Logan's Run #6 (dated 1977) as is a short 4-page preview of the forthcoming Avengers: Endless Wartime original graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Mike McKone.

DC fans won't want to miss Superman: Last Son of Krypton - Special Edition by Geoff Johns, Richard Donner and Adam Kubert. An engaging first part to an on-going story, this gives fans an idea of what would happen were Clark to have found himself crash-land on Earth as a child.

For those who are looking for a more hardcore superhero books, there's Avatar's Absolution by Christos Gage and Daniel Gete. Available now in both hardcover and trade paperback form, this single issue presents both Chapters 1 and 2 of the first trade. A terrific tale of a superhero police office who realizes some bad guys need killing. Also included is a sneak peak of the new book, Absolution: Rubicon, available this July.

Likewise, Comix Tribe's The Red Team #0 will also be available. Created by Tyler James and Cesar Feliciano and with art by a variety of talent, this book is a preview of a forthcoming 10-issue series based on Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." In this limited series, Oxymoron, a well-known Comix Tribe villain, taking on The Alliance, a corporate super hero team.

For those into sci-fi and fantasy, Saturday's offerings include a great variety as well...

Top Cow's Aphrodite IX, by writer Matt Hawkins and super talented artist Stjepan Sejic, reintroduces fans to the android beauty who first appeared way back in 2000. This new #1 issue provides fans with a new look at the assassin android in a futuristic world where two factions are at war.

Of course, if you're looking for war, you needn't look any further than 2000AD's 48-page 2013 2000AD Special, which is chock-full of awesome. Inside, readers will find six full shorts, including a brand new Judge Dredd story, an Indigo Prime story, a brand new Zombo story, a cool new Future Shocks story (my favorite!), The Visible Man, and Insurrection (Part One). Sci-fi doesn't get any better...

Fantasy fans will appreciate the new Graphic India's Ramayan 3392 AD book, featuring a number of original stories edited by fan-favorite Ron Marz with art by various talents, including Michael Avon Oeming, Jim Starlin, David Peterson and others. These six short stories introduce the five main characters as well as the Ramayan Reborn story, which is an ancient retelling of an old Indian myth. If you've read the original Ramayan 3392 AD book published by Virgin Comics, this is what you want.

Speaking of older comics, if you're a fan of comic publisher Valiant, both classics and the old retold, you're in for a treat. Valiant Masters 2013 Showcase Edition delivers a sneak preview at four different classic stories: Ninjak Vol 1 - Black Water, Shadowman Vol 1 - Spirits Within, Eternal Warrior Vol 1 - The Fist and Steel and Rai Vol 1 - From Honor to Strength. Each of these previews reprints a few pages from the first chapters of these now classic books, originally published in the early 1990s and available now in collectible hardcovers. Likewise, Valiant 2013 provides a sneak preview of a number of new books from the publisher, including Harbinger Wars #1, X-O Manowar #11, Archer & Armstrong #0 and Quantum & Woody #1. Other special features include a Valiant Universe pin-up as well as interviews with Fred Van Lente and Robert Venditti.

Last but certainly not least of the books we previewed is The Walking Dead. This Free Comic Book Day 2013 Special includes four origin stories looking back at the early days of Michoone, Morgan, Tyreese and Brian Blake - The Governor. All four short stories extend the history of each of these four characters a bit and provide some engaging insight into these traumatized, terrified and frightening characters.


If you're a comic collector and fan, this Saturday is one of the best days of the year. It's essentially like Christmas, your birthday and Earth Day all wrapped into one...but with free comics at your local comic shop. So head on over to FreeComicBookDay.com to find a participating local comic shop near you and prepare yourself for a day filled with fun!

- Jess C. Horsley