AMELIA RULES HANGIN OUT 2007 FCBD ED…Jim Gownley. Remember that name. That name is going to put in the same pantheon with the other great authors of children’s literature. Mark my words. I’ve reviewed Amelia Rules in the past. As a matter of fact, just last week I reviewed the just released issue #17. Every year for Free Comic Day I look forward to one book; Amelia Rules. This year does not disappoint nor does it change my opinion. This is one of the finest all-ages books ever. Get this onto your child’s hands. Immediately. Get it into your own hands. Don’t believe me? Just read it. Very highly recommended.

ARCHIE COMICS LITTLE ARCHIE 2007 FCBD ED…Some things are a constant. Sure you can say death and taxes, but I was thinking more along the lines of the smell of toast at breakfast time, or the sound of a cheering crowd at a baseball game. And I’m also referring to Archie. For 65 years now Archie and his pals have not changed a lick. They look the same, talk the same and have the same problems and fun they’ve always had. Sure, every once in awhile they’ll try and update the look of the characters for a modern audience, but it never sticks. They always go back to the tried and true. From where I’m sitting, I hope they never change these characters. They are what they are. This is an unassuming fun book. It has been for 65 years. Don’t ever change a hair, Arch. Recommended.

ARCHIE'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2007 FCBD ED…I’ve reviewed my fair share of these Sonic books since I began doing kid’s book reviews here and each time I’m just as confused. I really don’t see the attraction. Unimaginative characters and storylines abound in these books. Yet, like the Energizer bunny, they keep going and going and going. Sonic has been around for some 15 years and the tedium continues. It has to be the video games driving the sales of the comics because it sure isn’t the quality. Don’t get me wrong, they’re not terrible. Just spectacularly mediocre. The best thing I can say about this issue is that it’s free. For fans only.

BONGOS FREE FOR ALL 2007 FCBD ED…I stopped being a Simpsons fan about 6 years ago. Right about the time the TV series starting feeling tired. I recently tuned in to a new episode and found it to be a dreary affair. This series has been around far too long. It has long since used up its good will. Imagine my surprise when I actually laughed out loud at the first story in this comic. Written by the terrific Evan Dorkin, this short comic piece contains enough nerd pop-culture references to last a lifetime. And whenever the comic book store guy is around, there’s always some painfully truthful laughs to be had about the nature of the comic book fan. Unfortunately, once you get past the that first piece, the remaining 4 are bland. It’s too bad. For awhile there, I thought there might be some gas left in the Simpsons tank. Somewhat recommended.

BUZZBOY ROBOY RED THE BUZZ 2007 FCBD ED…This book snuck up on me. What a blast this was to read. John Gallagher’s Buzzboy and Roboy are rooted in the sensibilities of the long lost movie serials as well as classic comics. There are even some references to classic television as well. As a media junkie and nerd, I found this very appealing. But without a doubt, my favorite story here is one involving a young lad who is reading some vintage classic comics. These are represented at the bottom of each page by a small thumbnail image of some great comic covers. After finishing the comics the boy says to his mom that he’s read them a thousand times and wants more. The mom hands him a pad of paper and a pencil and tells him that the stories don’t have to end. He can create his own stories himself. That, in my opinion, is a priceless message. Highly Recommended.

GUMBY 2007 FCBD ED…To start with this is a kids’ book but some of the things included here may be over the heads of very young readers. The art should keep them entertained but they might have trouble with the stories. There is also a problem with the interior page because the Dark Horse book advertised by Too Much Coffee Man’s Shannon Wheeler appears to be a kids’ book but has the title ‘Screw Heaven’. The story inside has Gumby and Pokey coming out of a book of pirates then going to a museum and experiencing weird adventures. It’s pretty entertaining.

LEGION OF SUPER HEROES IN THE 31ST CENTURY 2007 FCBD ED…Any book that uses Rashamon for inspiration can’t be all bad but this one comes really close. This is yet another re-imagined superhero book using an anime style and frankly it’s getting tiring. So much so, that after reading it, I’m not the least bit interested in seeing the animated series that it is based on. The story, such as it is, revolves around all the members of the team recalling how Clark Kent/Superman first joined them. Everyone’s recollection is different and not one of them is the least bit original or interesting. Since there are pending legal problems with the creator of Superboy, the series and comic have to refer to him as Superman. This is a bit distracting as the character is depicted as being somewhere in the vicinity of junior high school age. This is a flat, uninspired book with generic anime art and a completely lackluster story. Just leave it on the shelf. Use the money to get some gum. The act of chewing will be more entertaining. Not Recommended.

MARVEL ADVENTURES IRON MAN AND HULK…The house of ideas is officially condemned. Marvel’s second Free Comic Book Day offering is plain and simple a dud. First up is an Iron Man story. The plotline and artwork is dime-a-dozen. The Hulk story is the same. This looks and reads like a thousand other comics on the rack. And that my friends pretty much describes 95% of Marvel’s output these days. I forgot these stories the moment I finished reading them. Hey Marvel!!! At least have the courage of your convictions and make truly terrible books. That would at least be something. But to keep grinding out this flavorless porridge is wasting everyone’s time. Most assuredly not recommended.

OWLY & KORGI 2007 FCBD ED…This all-ages book by Andy Runton is a gem. The story is told wordlessly. Using a mixture of expressions and symbols, the story of Owly, a kind but lonely little owl is heartwarming and a real charmer. It is very reminiscent of great children’s literature in the style of Winnie the Pooh and Frog and Toad.
The backup story is Christian Slade’s Korgi. Slade, a former Disney animator, is a terrific illustrator. This is one of the finest debuts by an artist/writer that I’ve seen in quite some time. This story, like Owly is also told without words. It concerns a young girl named Ivy, her pet korgi named Sprout and their adventures in Korgi Hollow. Both of these stories should have younger and older kids hooked immediately. Highly recommended.

UNSEEN PEANUTS 2007 FCBD ED…I have a lot of the old collections of Charles Schulz’s older Peanuts stuff and was always a fan. This amazing offering contains strips that we printed only once and classic ones from the early days of the strip. I had lots of fun going thru this book and it is something that everyone can read and enjoy. Each reprint has a text piece preceding it that tells you the history of what you are reading and why it was never reprinted in some cases.

WALT DISNEYS MICKEY MOUSE 2007 FCBD ED…This may be the true gem of Free Comic Book Day. This issue celebrates the work of Eisner hall-of-famer Floyd Gottfredson who, in 1929 went to work for Walt at the Disney animation studios and then was asked to “temporarily” fill in on the Mickey Mouse newspaper strip. That temp job lasted until 1975. For 45 years Gottfredson wrote and drew the daily adventures of Mickey. Gottfredson created a huge supporting cast of characters. But it was his depiction of Mickey that is his finest achievement. Instead of portraying Mickey as a role model, Floyd gave Mickey a mouse against the world sensibility. A stubbornly optimistic, imperfect but determined character trying to prove himself in competitive and scary surroundings. Modern Mickey writers and artists are still trying to emulate this to this day. This is essential stuff.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN SWING SHIFT 2007 FCBD ED…This book brings a real sense of the Spiderman movies to the page. I guess that’s understandable. This comic will most likely find its way into the hands of readers that only know Spidey from the feature films. Unfortunately, those readers are unlikely to want to pursue any further comic exploits after reading this story. This basically is a long car chase scene with Peter Parker trying to stop a vehicle that is under the control of a generic heavy, while also racing the clock to get a cake for Aunt May’s birthday. Spidey gets some help from a new female hero in town with the unfortunate name of Jackpot. Feel free to make your own joke. Dan Slott’s writing does what it needs to do to establish the characters and story for the casual reader and the artwork by Phil Jimenez is quite good. But overall, this is a white bread approach to Spiderman. Somewhat recommended.

APE ENT COMIC SPECTACULAR 2007 FCBD ED…High points included the Indiana Jones inspired Athena Voltaire and Bizarre New World. The other four sections just didn’t do much for me with Teddy Scares being the closest thing to something I would read again.

ARCANA STUDIO PRESENTS 2007 FCBD ED…Arcana returns this year with more teases for their titles. The interior page tells us that the company has gone thru some changes since last year and talks about an improved website and logo. The stories inside include: Kade (their demon hunting warrior character and the art here is nice), 100 Girls (which is in France with subtitles) and a sneak preview of the new series Clockwork Girl (futuristic scientist makes a young robot). None of this stuff is my cup of tea but the stories do read well and are entertaining.

ASTONDING WOLF-MAN #1 2007 FCBD ED…We get here the first story of the new Robert (Invincible) Kirkman comic from Image. Now I know some are wondering how he can do a new book from Image if he is under a Marvel exclusive but Marvel doesn’t have a problem with him doing things like this. The book involves a successful businessman who on a camping trip is attacked by a wolf. He eventually becomes a werewolf and the title will show him dealing with his curse and trying to lead a normal life. The art here is by Jason Howard and is damn good. We also get sneaks of the new full color Brit series (also from Kirkman), Spawn: Godslayer and Top Cow’s First Born mini.

COMICS 101 HOW TO & HISTORY LESSONS FROM PROS 2007 FCBD ED…Another instructional book that helps you write, lay out a story, draw people and learn what mistakes you can point out in art. There is also a large text piece from legend Roy Thomas about comic history and some more history lessons.

COMICS FESTIVAL 2007 FCBD ED…This book is jam packed with stories short and shorter. The Spirit’s Darwyn Cooke (who is in a bit of hot water over an encounter with Marvel’s Axel Alonso at a con) has the longest story here about creativity called ‘The Alex’. The many other offerings here include a Scott Pilgrim tale and a whole mess of other fun things to read.

DAYSTAR ENTERTAINMENT 2007 FCBD ED…A late arrival appeared from a company that uses the slogan ‘We Make Movies You Can Read’. Inside we get small offerings from titles that mostly involve ladies with large breasts who love violence. I suppose there is an audience for this but I think they bought comics in the heyday of Lady Death and such.

DIGITAL WEBBING JAM #1 2007 FCBD ED…Four stories are put together in this one that rank, from worst to best as E-Man, Bloodrayne, Zombie Highway and Fist of Justice. Fist of Justice started out completely insulting to the readers intelligence but it turns out that if you keep reading it makes sense why the writing and story was like it was. Surprising ending that will bring me back for the full issues.

FAMILY GUY HACK SLASH FLIP BOOK 2007 FCBD ED…If you need evidence to the fact that funny cartoons generally don’t transfer well to comics, Family Guy is exhibit A. On the other hand, Hack/slash is a very good origin tale for new readers. I’m absolutely looking forward to getting my hands on the new series.

HUNTERS MOON SALVADOR FLIP BOOK FCBD ED…The absolute worst book I’ve read of the FCBD group. There are two books represented here and they are Hunter’s Moon and Salvador. Boom! Made a huge mistake with this one by giving two half stories that both end with no intrigue whatsoever. Salvador has three writers working on the story and there isn’t one word in that half of the book. So, it’s impossible to take anything away from the preview. Outside of the first page of Hunter’s moon, the most action is a conversation between a father and son in a car. Terrible.

JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA #0 2007 FCBD ED…This is the one to make sure you get if you haven’t already read it. Written by Brian Meltzer and drawn by a slew of top tier talents, JLA #0 takes us through the past, present and possible futures of the new JLA. From beginning to end there is constant images and ideas that will intrigue you if you are even a modest fan of the DC team and their histories.

KEENSPOT SPOTLIGHT 2007 FCBD ED…One of the largest offerings of the day has more stories than you can shake a stick at from creators few have heard of. All were pretty decent and the great thing about a book this big is that you can pick and choose so many things that it wouldn’t make much sense not to pick this up.

LAST BLOOD #1 2007 FCBD ED…Definitely for the mature crowd, Last Blood is another post apocalyptic zombie tale with a pretty good twist. The last group of Americans is surviving in an abandoned school with the help of some vampires. Obviously the vampires need human blood so the two groups are forced into coexisting. Definitely one to keep an eye on.

LIBERTY COMICS #0 2007 FCBD ED…Heroic Publishing has been in the news lately because they happen to have the copyright for The Champions and Marvel is launching a new title with the same name. Here we get four stories involving their character Liberty Girl from creators Mike Barr, Rob Jones and Shi’s Billy Tucci. The opener by Tucci is the best and the remaining stories are okay and somewhat entertaining. The character is a mix between Captain America and Wonder Woman.

LOVE AND CAPES #4 2007 FCBD ED…This book takes the unique approach of combing the superhero comic with the TV sitcom and gets some fairly entertaining results. The story centers on an average accountant named Mark Spencer, who, in his secret identity of the Crusader, keeps the citizens of Deco City safe. His girlfriend is Abby Tennyson, who owns a comic book store and also knows Mark’s true identity. There are other, very recognizable superhero characters here as well. Amazonia, Darkblade as well as The Crusader are members of the Liberty League. Writer and artist Thom Zahler does a nice job combining the superheroics with the living room domestic notions of the sitcom. Zahler’s art is also quite good. This book won’t change your life but it will give you a laugh or three. Recommended.

LONE RANGER NEW BATTLESTAR GALATICA FLIP BOOK 2007 FCBD ED…Brett Matthews take on The Lone Ranger is right on the money. Matthews does not “re-imagine” the character nor does he feel the need to place the character in a modern setting to make it more hip. What he does is to simply take the established nature of the character and through excellent storytelling, make it a relevant, exciting and fresh all over again. Along with Sergio Cariello’s terrific art, the Ranger is once again the icon he deserves to be. The Lone Ranger IS back.
Unfortunately the other portion of this book is a real disappointment. The retooled Galactica is one of the finest shows on television. Yet the comic does not seem to understand why. The approach here is little more than Star Trek meets G.I Joe. Televised Galactica uses a far reaching story arc as a catalyst to tell its multi-character stories. It’s at its best when the characters are driven by the epic nature of the arc. Here in comic form, any sense of an epic scale story is lost in favor of some rather generic space fare. Lone Ranger: Highly recommended. Galactica: Not recommended.

NEXUS SPECIAL 2007 FCBD ED…The long awaited return of Horatio Hellpop to the racks is coming soon from the team of Mike Baron and Steve Rude. For those of you that don’t remember the era Nexus was one of the books that you just couldn’t wait to come out. The art was cool and the story even better. It was one of the most successful independents of all time. Here we take a trip down memory lane and reprint sections from classic Nexus tales before getting a taste of the new limited series coming from Rude’s new company. We also get a text piece on just who Nexus is and was and see the last page of the final Dark Horse offering of the character in 1997.

PIRATES VS NINJAS 2007 FCBD ED SPECIAL…You better enjoy pirate talk because there is a mess of it in this book. The story is told by the pirate ship navigator who is the only one who can read the legendary Shadow Beards handwriting which makes him a valuable asset to the pirates and the ninjas. Overall the story is pretty descent and there are a few funny parts that everyone can enjoy.

TRANSFORMERS MOVIE PREQUEL #1 2007 FCBD ED…There are those that are looking forward to the Michael Bay movie and I am not one of them because I have never gotten into the concept behind the toys. That said this prequel is very well done and sets up a lot of things that some will see in the movie. If I get bored one evening I may head out and see the film but cars turning into giant robots just leave me cold.

UMBRELLA ACADEMY ZERO KILLER PANTHEON CITY 2007 FCBD ED...A retro themed book that shows a new team of superheroes, with some very different powers, fighting the Murder Magician. I like the style of the book and that they went a different way with the heroes powers. For example, there is a character called Rumor that when she tells someone something it becomes fact. There are also a small preview of The Warriors type book called Zero Killer and Pantheon City which seems to be a I, Robot type of story.

VIPER COMICS PRESENTS JOSH HOWARDS SASQUATCH 2007 FCBD ED…The second volume from Viper has four glimpses of new titles. We get Sasquatch from Josh Howard, Karma Incorporated, Underworld Railroad and Oddly Normal. Karma and Oddly are second volumes of previous titles. Karma is a funky book with unique art wile Oddly is a school based book with aliens. The Howard offering is an anthology book that promises to have over 30 creators and will be over 250 pages and has a collection of stories that from the looks of them are damn good. Underground is a quirky looking book that involves saving souls.

VIRGIN COMICS RAMAYAN 3392 AD 2007 FCBD ED…The Sadhu and Walk-In are the best of this four section book with Ramayan 3392 A.D. and Devi round out the foursome but weren’t as good as the other two. It’s hard to judge these types of alternate world stories, especially Ramayan, with only about eight pages worth of content. Devi does seem to have a little more substance than the preview leads onto.

WAHOO MORRIS 2007 FCBD ED…This was one of the most entertaining of the books I read and that’s even with the bad lettering. The book involves a band and the folks that surround them. Craig Taillefer started this book back in 1998 with four issues before moving to Image in a disaster that went one issue. He went to becoming a web comic and from there he did graphic novels. This was and is an adult book and here he takes out the more adult content (and you can see where that material was) so that more people could get into the book. My quibble is the small lettering that makes the story hard to follow at times but this was a very good story with nice simple artwork.

WHITEOUT #1 2007 FCBD ED…The biggest surprise of the FDBD stack is Whiteout. There is a murder where there once stood a research facility in Antarctica and Deputy Stetko is given the case. While she is dealing with case she is also forced into dealing with the rumors and her own set of problems. While following a lead she comes across another murder in process and the story ends with Stetko being trapped with the murderer. Again, if you are part of the mature audience, take a peak at this one.

WIZARD HOW TO DRAW SAMPLER 2007 FCBD ED…This year’s offering from Wizard includes tutorials from Exiles’ Jim Calafiore on how to do rough figures, Defenders’ Kevin Maguire on facial expressions, Joe Kubert on creating characters, Mike Wieringo on panel sequences, Tom Raney and inker Scott Hanna on the development of a page and Joe Quesada with the Wizard staff on how to do iconic covers. This is one of two art related offerings that should help in the development of new talent entering the business.

WORLDS OF ASPEN 2007 FCBD ED…Michael Turner’s company comes back this year and gives readers a taste of what they will be seeing in the coming months. We get previews of Soulfire, the current Fathom: Kitani, Soulfire: New World Order (coming in July) and the current title Shrugged. The art here is often gorgeous and yes, there is a story here but if you asked me I couldn’t tell you what it was.