Free Comic Book Day 2016: Where You Should Go and What You Should Read

So, I've done this every year, and I'm going to again this year. Tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day, the annual day when you can go to your local comic book shop and pick up any number of 40 special free comics. This year, as most other years, I will be working up at my old stomping grounds, Dewey's Comic City, where there will be an artists alley, a cosplay contest, drawings, and reps from Valiant Comics. If you're in the South Jersey or Philadelphia area, I also want to recommend heading over to my current store, Stormwatch Comics, for an artist, a sale, and more surprises. No matter where you go, it's gonna be a great time, but I can tell you for a fact these stores do it up right.

Now, as I do every year, here's my little PSA. While these comics are free to you, they aren't free for retailers. They are sold to retailers at a steep discount compared to normal comics, but at the volume they're buying, it's still a lot of money, and that's not counting anything they're paying for advertising and their events. So, it might be nice for you to buy a little something. And while you're at it and getting the free stuff, try something that you normally wouldn't. If you read Marvel and/or DC mostly, try something from Fantagraphics. If Manga is your thing, maybe it's time to sample a superhero comic. The price is right to give something different a shot. I've discovered a couple of my favorite comics, Atomic Robo and The Sixth Gun, thanks to their Free Comic Book Day offerings.

Now, as I also have done each yeah, here are a handful of comics that I think are worth your attention tomorrow.

Legend of Korra/How to Train Your Dragon/Plants Vs. Zombies

One of Dark Horse Comics two offerings this year, this issue features three popular all ages properties, two of which are new to Dark Horse's stable (pun intended). While Avatar: The Last Airbender has been a fixture of Dark Horse's FCBD offerings, this is the first year featuring its spin-off/sequel. The Legend of Korra. The story is set before the time of the series, and is the story of how Korra, the avatar, met her animal guide, Naga, the polar bear dog. It's a short, sweet story, and good for readers not familiar with the world of Korra. While I'm not familiar with the Plants Vs. Zombies games, its story is also accessible. But the highlight of this issue is the How to Train Your Dragon story. The story starts in media res, with the young dragon trainers trapped inside a makeshift shelter with wild dragons attacking them. The story is actually a series of shorts, as each person tells a story of the late chief of the tribe, Stoic the Vast, many of them effecting. What really makes the story is the art by Doug Wheatley, best known for his work on Star Wars comics, whose hyper-detailed characters and especially dragons are a visual treat. This is an all ages book.

Love and Rockets

Love and Rockets is the legendary, long running series from the Hernandez Brothers. Each issue features two unrelated stories, one by each brother. Gilbert Hernandez's stories follow a woman named Luba and her family, from their time in Central America to their time in California. Jaime Hernandez chronicles the lives of Hopey, a former punk rocker, her sometimes girlfriend Maggie, and their extended circle of friends. Love and Rockets is one of those epic pieces of continuing graphic literature that I have always found daunting to dig into, but this issue gives you a good sampling of what the series is like and a good way to judge if it's something you would appreciate and enjoy. This comic is appropriate fro readers seventeen and up.

March

There are few comics being published that I can say are unquestioningly important, but one of them is definitely March, the graphic memoir of Congressman John Lewis and his time with the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s. Two of the three volumes have been released, with the third due out this August. The FCBD issue from Top Shelf/IDW features brief excerpts from each of the three, and they are astounding, with beautiful art and important historical context that feels important in the times we live in. This is appropriate for any age, but I would suggest anyone under a teen read it with parents to answer questions.

Serenity/Hellboy/Aliens

Yes, both of Dark Horse's FCBD issues made this list. Of the three stories, the Aliens one is the one I was least invested in, and was fine for what it is, a bunch of people fighting aliens, which is about what I expect. The Hellboy story is a Mike Mignola written, Richard Corben tale of a younger Hellboy investigating a magic mirror that is said to have demons trapped in it. Mignola knows exactly how to write into Corben's wheelhouse, giving some true, cringe inducing horror. But it's the Serenity story that's an A-plus here. There's still little enough in the ways of stories from the Serenity 'verse that each one is something to be treasured, and this one is a real emotional roller coaster. Left to babysit Zoe and Wash's baby, River tells a story of how the crew gathered and their travails as a fairy tale to the baby; picture a Firefly version of the classic "Kitty's Fairy Tale" issue of Uncanny X-Men and you'll get the idea. Told from River's point of view, the story is as telling of what River thinks about the others on the crew and herself as it is of the story itself. If you've heard how great Firefly/Serenity is and you've wanted to dip your toe in, this isn't a bad place to start. This book is good for teens on up.

Valiant: 4001 A.D. Special

Valiant put together a sampler of many of their recent high profile releases for FCBD this year, along with a prequel to their new event series, 4001 A.D., which launched this week. This issue is strong because of the sum of its parts; no one story really carries the books, but if you've been curious about trying Valiant's output, or expanding what you're reading, this is a good place to start. The 4001 A.D. story does a good job of setting up the stakes of the new event, and the four previews include three books that have been well reviewed on this very blog: Archer & Armstrong, Divinity II, Faith, as well as a fourth preivew for an upcoming arc from Bloodshot Reborn. I am constantly impressed at how well Valiant holds together a coherent universe while not making it feel like you have to read any more than the titles you want, and the samples here stand on their own and are all of slightly different flavors, so you should be able to find something for anyone in here. This is a book I'd recommend for teens and up.

Free Comic Book Day 2015: Matt's Picks of this Year's Free Comics

Comics are great. Free stuff is great. So any day where you can get free comics has to be super great right? Right! Yes, this Saturday, May 2nd, is Free Comic Book Day, the day where most retailers give out select books to their loving customers. My shop, Dewey's Comic City in Madison, NJ, does it to the nines, and if you click the link, you'll see the list of all that stuff, including a costume contest, artist's alley, face painting, and goody bags. Plus, you know, the free comics you expect. I would also be remiss to not mention that if you are more southerly in Jersey, and have enjoyed the writing of Matt Signal contributor Dan Grote, he'll be at Level Up Entertainment selling and signing copies of his new novel, Magic Pier, as part of their festivities. I will be travelling to a wedding that day, and so am going to be investigating new and different shops along the way on the busiest comic book shop day of the year, so I can only imagine what an adventure that will be.

Now for my annual plea. FCBD takes a lot of time, effort, and money from retailers (Yes, the books are free to you, and they're cheap to retailers, but they're still spending a lot of money when you think of the volume of books they're buying and all the various marketing and publicity, staffing, and the like). So be nice to your retailer on this day. Maybe buy something else. Or just be patient and courteous. And try something new! If you love Avengers, sure pick up All New, All Different Avengers, but also maybe try the Dark Circle book from Archie. And if you're into Kodansha Comics Sampler of manga titles, maybe you want to try something from one of the big American publishers. The price is right to try something new and different.

Now, it's time to pick some of my favorites of the year. Check out what I think you should be reading this Free Comic Book Day. I'll give you a rundown of the contents and then the recommended age group for the book along the way.

All Ages: Avatar/Plants Vs. Zombies/Bandette

Dark Horse Comics has usually done antholgies for their two free comics, each containing stories from their popular franchises. With the loss of Star Wars from their stable, this has opened up spots for some different properties. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a FCBD staple for Dark Horse, and this year's story is a fun tale of Toph and Ty Lee, two characters who didn't share a lot of screen time, teaming up at the circus and getting a better idea of Ty Lee's family, something mentioned only briefly on the show. I've never played the game or read the comic Plants Vs. Zombies, but this story gives you everything you need to know and if funny. Bandette is Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover's series about the world's greatest thief, a costumed teen who in this story is planning to break into an exclusive movie showing where a legendary emerald once owned by the documentary's subject on display for a caper that has an unexpected result. It introduces you to Bandette and her supporting cast, and is one of the most smile inducing stories in any of this year's books; this has moved the two volumes of Bandette I recently purchased to the top of my read pile. This is an all ages comic

Fight Club 2/ The Goon/ The Strain

The headline of the other book from Dark Horse this year is what I think is a preview of the first few pages of Chuck Palahniuk and Cameron Stewart's graphic novel sequel to Palahniuk's famous novel, Fight Club. If you're only familiar with David Fincher's admittedly phenomenal adaptation of the book, this is a good place to start, as it is clearly a sequel to the book, not the film, as it adapts the ending of the novel. Cameron Stewart does an impressive job making the characters recognizable if you know the film but not making them photorealisitic versions of their movie counterparts; these are similar characters but not the same, and so they won't be Edward Norton and Brad Pitt. The Strain story is a horror short involving a vampire hunting a lost book; solid storytelling and art, but as I have little frame of reference for the characters, I can only comment on it technically. The story from Eric Powell's monster/gangster/comedy mash-up, The Goon, is a perfect introduction to the particularly bizarre world of the Goon and his pal, Frankie. It's both laugh out loud funny and filled with vampires and peril. If you've ever enjoyed Shaun of the Dead, John Dies at the End, or similar horror-comedies, you'd love The Goon, and this is a great place to check it out. This is a book geared towards adults.

Comics Festival 2015!

The comic produced by the people behind the Toronto Comics Festival, this is an anthology of short strips by Canadian and international creators. It's got some shorts from some big name cartoonists and creators, and they're all interesting and not what most of the mainstream think of when comics jump to mind. There's comedy, like Mariko Tamaki & Gillian Goerz's "The Boss" about what it's like to work for a unicorn and Kate Beaton's "Lady's Favor." There's "IRL: CON/GAME: You can't cheat an honest man," from Cory Doctorow & Jen Wang, a classic con story, but set around and inside an MMORPG. "Once Upon a Pony," from Svetlana Chmkova is a story about art and friendship. And "Superhero Girl: The Death of Kevin," by Faith Erin Hicks, takes her character Superhero Girl, and plays with a classic comic book trope in a real world setting. These stories and other are in here, and at the back of the comic you can find recommendations for each creator if you liked a particular story. I'd recommend this book to any age, but I'd say you might want to go with a ten and up crowd.

Gronk/ Hero Cats

Action Lab is a company that has spent the past few years publishing some of the best all ages comics on the market. While this year's FCBD issue doesn't feature the flagship of that line, Princeless, it features two other charming all ages titles. The story from Katie Cook's Gronk: A Monster's Story has Gronk telling the story of her time out in the woods living with the other monsters, so it's sort of an origin story for the adorable green monster. The Hero Cats piece are excerpts from two different issues of the series that give new readers a good sense of the different cats who populate the book and the world around them. This is an all ages book.

Help the CBLDF Defend Comics!

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, the first amendment charity that helps defend free speech, is a favorite non-profit of mine, and this year's anthology from them features some strong pieces all with the theme of freedom of expression. "The Green Turtle Fights for Free Speech," from Gene Luen Yang and Sonny Liew, spins out of their excellent graphic novel, The Shadow Hero, and features golden age hero Green Turtle in a story about a kid and a mob who wants to take and burn comics; it's nowhere near as didactic as that description makes it sound and is both fun and puts forth it's message well. Archie Comics provides "Read Between the Lines," by Dan Parent, a story of Kevin Keller, Riverdale's most recent favored son, an out gay teen, and his attempt, with the help of the CBLDF, to keep a graphic novel that features his story from being banned from the library. I consider this an all ages book, and frankly, anyone who is going to support an organization like the CBLDF would probably think along the same lines.

The Phantom

This one made the list for an unexpected reason for me. This is a collection of vintage Phantom stories from Hermes Press, and while I like the Phantom well enough as a character, it wasn't on my radar. But one of the stories is a fourteen page story drawn by Jim Aparo. If you don't know who Aparo is, he is one of the greatest Batman artists of all time, in my top three easily, and to see him drawing one of Batman's great forebears is a treat. This is appropriate for readers 10 and up.

Divergence

Instead of going the one story route as they have in previous years, DC Comics went with the short story path this year, featuring three teasers for their big May soft relaunch. The three books that have shorts here are probably DC's three highest profiles comics: Batman, Superman, and Justice League. And despite these changes being spoiled in various places on the internet, I'm not going to do that. I will say that the Batman story introduces the man under the new Bat Armor, who may or may not be a familiar face, as well as taking an aspect of Batman Beyond and making it DCU continuity. The Superman story drops you into a world where a major change has happened to Superman. And the Justice League story pays off a long dangling plot thread from earlier in the new DC Comics continuity. The stories are new reader friendly, and feature many of DC's A-List creators, including Geoff Johns, John Romita Jr., and the Batman team of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, and rising stars like Gene Luen Yang (who wrote three of this year's recommendations, between Superman here, Avatar for Dark Horse, and Green Turtle for the CBLDF). This book is a teen and up.

Secret Wars #0

While DC previews the future, Marvel goes the other way and recaps the recent past. Narrated by Reed Richards and Sue Storm's super genius daughter Valeria, readers get a rundown of all the events that have led up to Marvels' new Secret Wars, which debuts this coming Wednesday.It's big, splashy fun, with every hero in the Marvel Universe somewhere in there, and we get to see writer Jonathan Hickman write the kids of the Future Foundation again, many of whom he created in his run on Fantastic Four. It's a great way to get new readers up to speed for the new event. The second story in this issue is a "Attack on Avengers" an eight page crossover featuring the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy fighting the giant Titans from the hit anime Attack on Titan. It works if you're familiar with one or both franchises. This book is teen and up.

Bodie Troll and Friends

Ok, I'm going to be up front here: I haven't read this issue. Due to the workings of Diamond (the distributor for all comic shops), if your FCBD shipments are short anything, you won't receive them in time for the actual day, so usually you just get credited for those books and don't receive them. And we were missing a few BOXES this year, meaning not only were we short some quantities of some books, we were completely shorted three titles, including this one. Red 5 has historically been home to the annual Atomic Robo Free Comic Book Day Story, but now that Robo is digital first, this issue instead headlines Bodie Troll, the troll who is too cute to be scary. I love this comic, and with a new mini-series starting on Wednesday, this is a great way to meet Bodie. And if any of you Matt Signal faithful happen to come across a copy of this at your local shop on FCBD, and would be able to grab one for a fan, contact me at mattsignalblog@gmail.com. I would happily pay to ship a copy, or trade you something. Save me from the ravages of e-Bay, my friends! This is an all ages title.


Atomic Robo

But wait, I just said there would be no Atomic Robo comic on FCBD, didn't I? Well. I said there would be no print one. Atomic Robo is a FCBD staple, with a new issue each year, many featuring the delightfully deranged Dr. Dinosaur. Well, I'm part of the Tesladyne Patreon, helping support more Robo, and I have it on good authority if you head over to Atomic Robo.com tomorrow, you might be pleasantly surprised in some new content. And if the preview is any indication, this is going to be amazing!

Free Comic Book Day 2014: Where You Should Go and What You Should Read

So, another year has come and gone, and we are once again back at that most amazing day! Yes, it's International Werewolf Day! What is that you say? I'm mistaken and there's no such thing? Oh, well, I guess I just have to talk about Free Comic Book Day instead. I wrote a similar post to this last year, but what's good to do once is good to do again, so here we go.

Free Comic Book Day is an industry wide holiday of sorts, held the first Saturday in May every year, where comic retailers buy special comics available at a tremendous discount to give out to you, the comic reading public, for free. That's right, FREE. I can't speak for every retailer, but my store, Dewey's Comic City, really tries to do it up right. Other than having one of the widest selections of free comics, we also have goody bags for the first hundred or so customers, raffles, cosplayers from the local chapter of the 501st Legion (the Star Wars costume guild), face painting for the kids, and our biggest Artist's Alley yet, including Dewey's favorite Fernando Ruiz (Life With Archie and the lead story in this year's FCBD Archie digest), Charles Paul Wilson III (Wraith: Welcome to Christmasland), and Keith Giffen (More credits to count, including the current Justice League 3000 and this year's upcoming New 52: Futures' End, the 0 issue of which is one of this year's FCBD selections from DC). My boss likes to say that nobody gives you more on FCDB than Dewey's, and while I can't say that quantifiably, I know it sure feels that way. So you should come on by. Check out the details HERE; we'd love to see you.

Now, I know you love free stuff. I love free stuff too. But Free Comic Book Day is about a lot more than just free comics. For retailers, this is a huge investment of time and money (just 'cause they're free for the customers, it doesn't mean it's free to the retailers), but it's worth it to bring people who might not usually come in to a shop to come by and pick up some comics. And it's important to the industry because it allows publishers and creators to get their books into the largest possible number of hands, hands that might not normally try that kind of comics. I personally discovered one of my favorite series of all time, Atomic Robo, on its first FCBD outing. So what I'm saying is, if you're a DC/Marvel sort of reader, pick up an indy. If you usually would never touch a super hero comic, pick up something from the Big 2. It's not costing you anything, and you might discover something you really like.

So, below find my recommendation for eleven books I think you should try. I haven't gotten around to reading all of them, I admit, but this is a decent cross section of the books I enjoyed so far.

2000 AD

2000 AD is the long running British anthology series that is probably most famous in the US for spawning Judge Dredd. Every year, there's a great collection of classic 2000 AD stories as part of the FCBD selections, and this year is no different. Headlined by a story featuring Dredd, there are also stories about the barbarian Slaine, Dredd's sometimes partner, psychic Judge Anderson, supernatural copper Absalom, and more. If you've never tried these, gritty UK comics, you should. It's not like anything we have here in the States. This one is very much for grown ups only.

Atomic Robo

As I said above, I discovered Atomic Robo on his first FCBD appearance, where he first fought his archnemesis, the deranged Dr. Dinosaur, and has been the free comic I look forward to most every year since then. Usually, FCBD Robo stories feature the mad raptor, but since this year's mini-series for Robo was a Dr. Dinosaur story, we instead see Robo once again confront the cryptid called the Yonkers Devil. Action and comedy ensue. The issue also features pages from Red 5 Comics series Haunted (the first issue hit this past Wednesday) and a very funny story of Bodie Troll, the troll too adorable to scare anyone. The issue is appropriate for readers 12 and up, mostly because the preview of Haunted is creepy; both Robo and Bodie can be read by all ages.

Avatar/ Itty Bitty Hellboy/ Juice Squeezers

I'm recommending this one not for the main story (which is good, but Avatar isn't one of my core fandoms), but for the two back ups. The first is a fun two page Itty Bitty Hellboy story where Hellboy tries to get the ghost of Rasputin to act a bit more ghostly, and then a new short tale of the Juice Squeezers, the kids who protect the town of Weeville from giant bugs. Here, we see exactly what happens to a bully when he picks on one of the Squeezers. As a high school nerd, there's some wonderful wish fulfillment there. This is a all ages book.

The Dumbest Idea Ever!

This issue is an excerpt from the recent graphic bio by cartoonist Jimmy Gownley, best known for creating one of my favorite all ages books of all time, Amelia Rules!. I'm ashamed to say I have this book on my shelf of to be read books, and have since it's publication a few months back, waiting to be read when I have time. After reading this charming excerpt, I am unsurprised that this has moved right to the top of my read pile. A perfect slice of life for anyone who remembers being in their teens, no matter how distantly. This is an all ages book.

Giant Size 4 Comic Bundle

This is one of the two "most bang for your non-existent buck" books this year, since it's technically four comics in one pack! Red Giant Entertainment is looking to start releasing weekly, ad supported free comics, and this pack has one issue of each of the four. The four individual books (with two stories each) are Giant Size Action, Giant Size Adventure, Giant Size Adventure, and Giant Size Thrills. They vary in quality from book to book from just ok to pretty darn great, and my favorite was Giant Size Action, since one of its features is Tesla, a Nicola Tesla action story, and I love me some Tesla. Other highlights were the crime/superhero/conspiracy mash up Duel Identity in Giant Size Fantasy, and the all ages fantasy story Magika in Giant Size Adventure. The ratings on these range from a teen and up to an all ages. Probably best to look each one over before you hand them to the little ones.

Mouse Guard, The Labyrinth, and Other Stories

And the next big value is Archaia's free hardcover, featuring a headline story from David Petersen's Mouse Guard. The story is a beautiful place to start if you've never read Mouse Guard before, a perfect microcosm of the series beautiful art and poetic language. Other stories include one set in the world of Farscape, Jim Henson's Labyrinth, a tale of a boy and his friend a dinosaur called Bolivar: The Golden Door, and others. I'd place the age recommendation here to be ten and up, but if you feel you seven or older year old can handle a little bit of scary, go for it.

Project: Black Sky

Project: Black Sky is the name of mysterious organization and the event that is tying together Dark Horse Comics various superhero titles this year, and this issue serves as a sort of primer, giving you an idea of what the project is up to, and who some of the heroes who will be facing them. The heroes here are Captain Midnight, the time displaced World War II era flyer, and Brain Boy, the psychic secret service agent. Written by Fred Van Lente, who has been writing the mini-series that chronicle Brain Boy's adventures, it's a light, fun super hero adventure featuring heroes fighting genetically altered apes. And we all know comics are better with apes and monkeys. I'd go with a ten and up on the reading age here.

Rocket Raccoon

The sure to be star of this summer's Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Rocket Raccoon gets to star in Marvel's all ages offering this year. It's a breezy little story of Rocket, along with his fellow Guardian, Groot (I AM GROOT!), and his fellow anthropomorphic animal Wall Russ (I Am The... oh, I get it!), rescuing a princess from captivity by a group of mercenary rabbits. The story fits better into the pre-Marvel Now! continuity, but is completely not dependent on any continuity for your enjoyment, and is a great introduction to Rocky and Groot. The issue also features a fun back-up from the world of the animated Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon with some excellent Ty Templeton art. This is an all ages book.

Scratch 9

I wrote an advance review of the new Scratch 9 series a couple of weeks back, and now's your chance to get your own sneak peek. The first half of this issue is some pages from that issue, while the second half of the Scratch segment features Scratch teaming up with First Pet Bo Obama to help save the president from an evil robot. The other side of the flipbook features a new story by Scratch creator Rob Worley, Run & Amuk, featuring a young boy nicknamed Run and his giant friendly monster companion called Amuk travelling through time. It's as fun and crazy as it sound. This is an all ages book.

Sherwood, Texas

The beginning of a series that is resetting the classic Robin Hood story in modern times, this is sort of Robin and the 7 Hoods (which if you've never seen, look it up on Netflix. It's the Rat Pack as prohibition era Chicago Robin Hood and his Merry Men) meets Sons of Anarchy. It's got that neo-western vibe that I like, and it's playing just fast and loose enough with the classic Robin Hood story that I'm not exactly cure where it will go when it becomes a regularly published comic. This is a book geared for adults.

Skyward/Midnight Tiger

Action Lab's ongoing Skyward gets a FCBD issue that, like last year's, gives us a glimpse into the future of the series. If you've never read Skyward before, it's a fantasy series, and this issue features new characters that I assume will play a part in the next arc of the series, so this issue is a fantasy adventure history of a tribe of barbarians. It's a good backstory, and I'm excited to see where this goes in the ongoing. Midnight Tiger is the origin of a new superhero who will be getting his own title from Action Lab this summer. It's a very Peter Parker/teen hero sort of origin, but there are some interesting aspects that will be fun to watch play out if I choose to pick up the mini-series. If not? It's a good self contained origin that does a lot of world building. This is all ages, unless you're one of those people who wants to ban Bone, in which case it's not all ages and what are you doing reading my blog?

Special Advanced Review: Scratch 9: Cat of Nine Worlds #1

It's been a while since we've gotten a new adventure of Scratch, the cat who can summon his past and future lives to his side. I wrote about Scratch 9 in recommended reading for last year's Free Comic Book Day, and with a new series set to debut in June with a preview on FCBD this year, it's time to revisit Scratch and his friends. I got a preview of the first issue of the new mini-series, Cat of Nine Worlds, and I'm happy to say it's right up there with the previous series in terms of quality, meaning it's one of the best all ages books I've read this year.

This new series opens with Garogga, the first of Scratch's incarnations, a sabretoothed cat, investigating a bad feeling. And his investigation tins up... Scratch? Wait, Scratch calls his other incarnations to him, not goes to visit them. So, right at the beginning, we have a mystery, and we start to get the answers right off. We flashback (or is it forward?) to the present, where we see Penelope, Scratch's girl, getting ready to go to camp, and looking for Scratch to say goodbye. It's a sweet scene, and reinforces one of the central themes of Scratch 9: friendship. Penelope has to leave without saying goodbye to Scratch, and shortly arrives at camp Robo (not to be related to Atomic Robo, although wouldn't that be a great crossover).

Pretty soon, the action of the series starts, as Penelope and Scratch (who winds up at camp with Penelope. How? Read the comic!) once again run afoul of Dr. Schrodinger, the evil scientist whose fascination with sending his consciousness into other bodies and responsible for Scratch's powers, who is out for revenge for Scratch and Penelope stumbling across his plans. And by issue's end, Scratch has gone back in time as a result of Schrodinger's plot, and we're back at the beginning.

One of the real strengths of Scratch 9 is it's characters. Not only is Scratch clever, but his relationship with Penelope is endearing; if you've ever had a cat who really loves you, you can see that relationship in Penelope and Scratch. Penelope shows just how smart she is in her time at Robot Camp, an aspect of her character that gets more play this time around. While we don't get a lot of time spent with Scratch's friends from the previous series, we do get to see some of Garogga's cast from his short in the Cat Tails mini-series. Schrodinger isn't exactly a villain of great depth; he has no tragedy in his background as far as we know. He's just a jerk. And frankly, I'm fine with that. Not every villain needs to be Magneto, who you can sympathize with. Sometimes a villain who is a mustache twirling bad guy is fine.

The art for this new series is provided by a new artist to the series. Joshua Buchanan takes over for original series artist Jason T. Kruse, and the hand off is seamless. Buchanan's art is fun, light and expressive. Penelope's facial expressions are well rendered and full of emotion, and Scratch is feline while still being more expressive than a cat's face could be if rendered "realistically." The designs for Schrodinger and his robots are very cool, and the new villainous character, who I don't want to talk about and ruin the surprise, has a similar design to another character, but the coloring and the facial expressions make for a smart design and an excellent addition to the cast.

There are more good all ages comics out there now then there have been in a long time, but still, finding on this smart and fun is a rarity. Scratch 9 is smart and fun; it doesn't talk down to it's audience. I'm a cat person, and Scratch is the kind of cat I want, and would be even if he didn't have superpowers.If you're looking for a book to share with your family, this is definitely a book to look at. Scratch 9 is back, and there's nothing that could make me happier.

There will be a new Scratch 9 issue for Free Comic Book Day, and Scratch 9: Cat of Nine Worlds is going to be released in June. Issue 1 is solicited in the current issue of Previews, so if you're interested, head to your comic shop now and place your order.

Free Comic Book Day 2013: Where You Should Go and What You Should Read

So, yes indeed, it's the most wonderful time of the year again! No, not Christmas; it's Geek Christmas, better known as Free Comic Book Day! Just in case you've been living under a rock, or are new to this whole comic book thing, once a year, this year being tomorrow, May 4th, the various comic company's provide special comics to retailers at a drastically reduced price to give out to the reading public for free. Most put their best foot forward and give out some very cool new product. An international promotion, just about every good comic book retailer takes part in the event. It's usually a really festive day, with all sorts of promotions, costumes, and just a sense of the community that I've talked about before and is the hallmark of a good comic shop.

I will, as I am most years, be spending my Free Comic Book Day at my comic shop, Dewey's Comic City, in Madison, NJ, where we'll not only be giving out tons of free comics, but having a bunch of great events, including an artist's alley with free sketches, additional giveaways, and an appearance by the 501st Legion, the Star Wars costume guild (because remember, it's also international Star Wars day, May the Fourth be with you!). I'd love to see everyone there, so go to THIS LINK to get some details about what we're doing.

But as cool as the artists, costumes, and other giveaways are, what this day really is about is the comics. And so I now provide you with the books I am most excited about in:

MATT'S GUIDE TO FREE COMICS 2013

Atomic Robo
The highlight of pretty much every FCBD for me since the inception of this series has been the new offering from Brian Clevenger and Scott Wegener's awesomely incredible Atomic Robo. Usually FCBD means a new confrontation between Robo and his archnemesis, the confused and firearms loving Dr. Dinosaur. But since this year's Robo mini is Dr. Dinosaur centric, we instead get Robo fighting a big robot. And if you know Robo, you know how well all that is going to go. If you've never read Robo before, this is a great one shot to give you the flavor of the series, so why not try out one of the best comics on the rack?

Molly Danger/Princeless

I've written a lot about Princeless, especially lately, since the second mini-series has begun, so you know I'm excited for a new short featuring Adrienne, Bedelia, and Sparky. But just as exciting is the debut of Molly Danger, a new comic with a similar flavor as Princeless, but this time about a young woman superhero. From Jamal Igle, a great talent and one of the nicest guys I've ever met in the comic book industry, the first Molly Danger graphic novel will be coming out in July, but this will give you a great feel for what kind of fun action Igle has planned for us.

Star Wars/Captain Midnight/Avatar

A Star Wars inclusion for FCBD has been an annual tradition since the first year, sometimes with new material, sometimes with reprint. This year, I'm happy to say we get an original short from Brian Wood, who has been doing great work on the monthly title, set right in the heart of the Classic Trilogy, featuring Boba Fett and Darth Vader. Also, get a short with classic pulp hero Captain Midnight, whose Dark Horse Presents serial was one of my favorite in recent issues and who will be getting his own series shortly. And on the flip side of the flip book, check out a new story from the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I have to admit to not being familiar with Avatar very well, so I might have to read this to get a little more in the know.

The Strangers

For the past few years, Oni Press has debuted a series on FCBD. The most successful of these is the excellent weird western, The Sixth Gun, and I was a big fan of last year's offering, Bad Medicine, as well. This year we get The Strangers, a conspiracy, spy book with a great sixties feel. Pitching new projects to the widest audience possible is one of the great benefits of FCBD, and I love how Oni embraces it, so I'll always try out their new issue ones.

Scratch 9

I wrote this book up as today's recommended reading, but I figured I'd just toss it on here too. It's a reprint of the first issue of a fun all ages series about a cat named Scratch who can some his other eight lives to help him. It's cute, action packed, and a lot of fun.

The Walking Dead

If you're a fan of either the phenomenon that is the TV show, or a fan of the comic, you should definitely check out this year's Walking Dead free comic. Featuring short stories that have rarely if ever been reprinted, there's a story about Michonne (originally published in Playboy and then in the Michonne Special), The Governor (from a CBLDF benefit book and then the Governor Special), Morgan (from an Image Comics holiday special and then only in the giant Walking Dead Omnibus Vol.1) and a brand new Tyrese story that writer Robert Kirkman says he has no plans to reprint. A great way to get a little backstory on some of The Walking Dead's best characters.



There are plenty of other comics, of course. Two each from Marvel and DC (One all ages, one regular), a couple from Valiant and Dynamite, and pretty much any other company you can imagine. I implore you to try something new and different, even if it's not one of the ones I talked about above.
 With a price point like this, there's no better time to see if a new and different comic is something you might love.