Free Comic Book Day 2013 Swag

4 + 4 = 8; eight free comic books collected by my son and I.

My son and I arrived at Comic Etc., my local comic book shop of choice for almost 20 (!) years now, almost 30 minutes early to wait in line for yesterday's 2013 Free Comic Book Day. Given the four-comics-per-customer policy (without which crazy comic speculators would have seized with The Walking Dead in five minutes), having my son come with me was key to maximizing our "take."

This is Comics Etc. first FCBD at their new location on Main Street, and the improved access from the parking lot, nice fellow fanboys around us, and the incredible weather, made waiting go by quickly. It was also my first weekend in May without an early morning track meet to coach in many years, so I was able attend.

Using descriptions taken from NPR's Monkey See online article entitled "Which Comics Should I Get? Your Free Comic Book Day Cheat Sheet" by Glen Weldon here's a breakdown of what Jack and I walked away with:

1. Marble Season – An excerpt from the great Gilbert Hernandez's new semiautobiographical graphic novel. When your kids are done with it, read it for yourself.
2. Dragon Ball and Rurouni Kenshen Restoration – The Viz Comics sampler looks to be the only manga represented on FCBD, which makes precisely no sense, but these two series are hugely popular in Japan, having spawned anime series, films, video games, etc. Don't know if these specific stories make for particularly good jumping-on points, but at the very least you and your kids might get a sense of what all the fuss is about.
3. Bongo Free For All Comics – Dependably great Simpsons/Futurama comics.
4. Atomic Robo and Friends – This is your best bet on Free Comic Book Day. Ask for it if you don't see it. It's great. Fun and funny. Both at once.
5. Aphrodite IX – In a post-apocalyptic world, there be dragons. If you need to know more than that before committing, this probably isn't for you.
6. Kellerman/L'Amour Sampler – Two excerpts from upcoming comics adaptations – an Alex Delaware thriller by Joe Kellerman, and a "Louis L'Amour" Western yarn that's actually a new story. The
7. Walking Dead – You've seen the show and wished they'd stop wringing their hands and maybe kill a freaking zombie already. Now read the book.
8. Mass Effect/Killjoys/RIPD – If you go by the cover, this looks like just another adaptation of a video game, which would mean it belongs up with licensed tie-ins. But it also includes two other stories, Killjoys and RIPD, both of which – but especially RIPD, about a police force that enforces supernatural law – show a bit more promise.

After getting back to the car my son supplied the quote of the day, providing provided a telling point about the intentions of my FCBD--exposing veteran collectors and newbies alike to previously unsampled independent(er) titles: "I notice we didn't get anything from Marvel or DC."



The tables at Comics Etc. were set... for excitement and action!