Gallery: Free Comic Book Day: These Are the 10 Titles You Need to Grab
01Red 5 Comics - Atomic Robo and Bodie Troll
Saturday, May 4th is [Free Comic Book Day](www.freecomicbookday.com), the very special day each year when comic book shops around the world give away, well, comic books. There will be dozens of free books up for grabs at participating shops--find one near you [here](http://www.freecomicbookday.com/StoreLocator)--and figuring out what to grab when you get there can actually be a bit overwhelming. But don't panic. We're here to help. We've sorted through a stack of 50-plus FCBD comics provided by [Things from Another World](http://www.tfaw.com/), and selected the 10 gotta-read books. It wasn't easy -- there was a *lot* of amazing stuff, and limiting the list to ten was a challenge, so I came up with some criteria to help me winnow down the selection: They had to be self-contained; they had to be accessible; and they had to be *comics*. (It’s Free Comic Book Day, not Free Wall of Text Day. I’m looking at you, *Overstreet Price Guide*.) So with no further ado, on to the comics! *Disclosure: As a former editor at Dark Horse Comics and a freelance comics professional, I have prior relationships with many of the publishers and creators mentioned in this article.* *Atomic Robo* and *Bodie Troll* (Red 5 Comics) ---------------------------------------------- Confession: I knew this one was going to make the list even before I cracked it open. *[Atomic Robo](http://www.atomic-robo.com/)*, the story of an action-loving science robot, is just that consistently that good. *Robo* creators Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener are true to form here, but the real star of Red 5’s FCBD book is Jay Fosgitt’s inordinately charming *Bodie’s Troll*, about a little troll who thoroughly fails at being menacing. __Pick it up for:__ \--Friendly robots. \--People having a rough day. \--Everybody. \[Editor's Note: The *Atomic Robo* image above does not appear in this Free Comic Book Day issue, but as the image quality of the preview provided was unsuitably low, I have substituted something totally awesome from *Atomic Robo: Shadow from Beyond Time* #4 instead.\]
02Dark Horse Comics - Star Wars, Captain Midnight, and Avatar: The Last Airbender
*Star Wars*, *Captain Midnight*, and *Avatar: The Last Airbender* (Dark Horse Comics) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark Horse is offering two multi-story flip-books this year, but this one is the better by leaps and bounds. It’s a classic flip book in the tradition of Ace Doubles. Read it one way and you’ve got *Star Wars*; flip the book over and you’re reading *Avatar: The Last Airbender*, with a short *Captain Midnight* story sandwiched between. *The Assassination of Darth Vader* (spoiler: it fails) features the Sith lord at his scenery-chewing best, while “Rebound” drops in on Firelord Zuko’s glum ex-girlfriend, Mai. “Clues,” the *Captain Midnight* story, is a fun homage to classic pulp heroes. __Pick it up for:__ \--Disaffected teenagers. \--Star Wars fans. \--People with jet packs.
03Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D. (Hermes Press)
*Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D.* (Hermes Press) ----------------------------------------------------- Tired of relaunch after relaunch and adaptation after adaptation? You’ll be pleased to know that Hermes Press is celebrating Free Comic Book Day with a collection of Sunday stories from the original *Buck Rogers* comic strip by Rick Yager. This is classic pulp at its finest--the first story starts with the villains trying to steal Mars, quickly followed by disembodied brains, space pirates, and a whole alphabet’s worth of rays--with some bonus history of the first science-fiction comic strip. __Pick it up for:__ \--Your grandparents. \--Funny-book historians. \--Whoever introduced you to Queen.
04Archaia - Mouse Guard, Rust, and more
*Mouse Guard/Rust Flipbook* (Archaia Press) ------------------------------------------- Archaia’s jumps on the FCBD flip-book trend with a charming collection of all-ages stories like the medieval critter favorite *Mouse Guard*, as well as the boy-with-a-jetpack tale *Rust*, a graphic novel adaptation of Jim Henson's *Labyrinth*, *Cow Boy*, and *Bolivar*. They’re lovely, lyrical little stories all, leaning toward fantasy, and hitting just the right balance of beauty and silliness to draw in kids and adults alike. __Pick it up for:__ \--Picture-book lovers. \--Dinosaur fans. \--A child, or anyone who remembers what it was like to be one.
05Kaboom! Studios - Kaboom! Summer Blast
*Kaboom! Summer Blast* (Kaboom! Studios) ---------------------------------------- The *Kaboom! Summer Blast* is almost entirely licensed titles, which left me worried that it would be hard to follow. Not so: It’s a rollicking introduction to six unique worlds and their characters, with none of the impenetrability I'd feared. It collects the brilliant “Choose Your Own *Adventure Time*” -- which might be a little challenging for readers new to comics, but is well worth the extra time -- as well as stories from *Regular Show*, *Herobear and the Kid*, *Ice Age*, *Peanuts*, and *Garfield.*. The *Garfield* story in particular is really good, which is a series of words I never expected to put in that order. Publishers often take FCBD as an opportunity to poke gentle fun at the comics industry and its fans, and this untitled story is a tongue-in-cheek jab at the collector mindset and the industry habits that feed it. __Pick it up for:__ \--Cartoonists. \--Eight-year-olds. \--People who own CCG-graded comics.
06Ape Entertainment / Kidzoic - Sesame Street and Strawberry Shortcake
*Sesame Street* and *Strawberry Shortcake* (Ape Entertainment / Kidzoic) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ I was pleasantly surprised by both halves of this all-ages flip-book. *Strawberry Shortcake*, while not my usual jam, was charming and fun. But really, you’re picking this one up for the *Sesame Street* story “The Anatomy of a Hero,” in which Super Grover teaches would-be superhero Elmo what *really* makes a hero. Sound a little sappy? It is, but it’s also sincere and lovely enough to make me tear up a little while reading it. *Sesame Street* is perfect and brilliant and timeless, and if you say otherwise, *I will fight you with knives.* __Pick it up for:__ \--Kids. \--Jaded curmudgeons who need to be reminded that there’s good in the world. \--People dreading *Man of Steel.*
07Archie Comics - World of Archie Digest
*World of Archie Digest* (Archie Comics) ---------------------------------------- Clocking in at close to 100 pages, the *World of Archie Digest* is probably the most bang for your lack-of-buck, but more importantly, it’s genuinely charming. I’m perennially impressed at the Archie folks’ ability to keep Riverdale sanitized without losing their self-aware topicality, and this is no exception, with one of the best riffs I’ve seen on the “Video Games Stole my Boyfriend” trope. It won’t blow your mind, but it’s a lot of fun. __Pick it up for:__ \--Your kids. \--Your parents. \--Betty Cooper.
08Rebellion - 2000 AD
*Rebellion* (2000 AD) --------------------- Long heralded as a who’s-who of the best British comics creators, the sci-fi anthology series that gave the world Judge Dredd can be dauntingly difficult to pick up. Its FCBD offering is a great sampler of its signature science fiction and searing satire: a 48-page smorgasbord mixing stories classic and modern, self-contained and ongoing. __Pick it up for:__ \--Punk transhumanists. \--Earthlets. \--People who yell at the television.
09Oni Press - The Strangers
*The Strangers* (Oni Press) --------------------------- Occasionally, FCBD will give me a preview of a series I fully intend to follow in syndication. Chris Roberson and Scott Kowalchuk’s *The Strangers* is equal parts silver-age superhero adventure and noir spy thriller. None of this is all that novel -- Roberson clearly owes nods to *Doom Patrol* and *The Prisoner*, among others -- but the result is a comic so soundly rooted in the tradition of its genre that you can almost hear the theme music as you flip the page. __Pick it up for:__ \--*Doom Patrol* fans. \--*Danger! Diabolik* fans. \--Jazz saxophonists.
10Graphic India - Ramayan 3392 A.D.
*Ramayan 3392 A.D.* (Graphic India) ----------------------------------- *Ramayan 3392 A.D* is a science fiction-tinged retelling of the *Ramayana*; the short stories in this collection are mostly drawn from Virgin Comics’ 2008 reboot of the series. If you missed *Ramayan 3392 A.D.* the first time around, I recommend picking up this sampler for a series of fascinating and self-contained glimpses into the world-spanning saga. __Pick it up for:__ \--Fans of big, cosmic stories. \--Superhero fans. \--Fantasy readers.
