Comics are awesome.

[138 Scourge]

I don't see how John even expects to stop a living planet.

Introduce himself and ask if Mogo wants some of what Xanshi got?

[Sparky Prime]

Yeah, Guy had a comment about John knowing how to take out planets. The Corps appears to be unresponsive in their mind controlled state, so it doesn't appear that they can reason with them. And with John and Kyle barely able to use their borrowed power rings, I just don't see what they can accomplish, when the smarter idea would be to go after the source of the mind control.

[Shockwave]

I don't see how John even expects to stop a living planet.

Introduce himself and ask if Mogo wants some of what Xanshi got?

Use the power rings to conjure up a green Matrix of Leadership. Duh.

[andersonh1]

I don't see how John even expects to stop a living planet.

Introduce himself and ask if Mogo wants some of what Xanshi got?

That's great.

[Dominic]

Marvel ".1" issues:

Marvel is currently running what they call the ".1 Initiative", billed as being a perfect jumping on point for new readers. For the most part, these are just creatively numbered "regular" issues of the regular comics that would typically be presented at the beginning of a standard arc. There is a bit more explication about the characters and settings. But, other than that, there is nothing terribly noteworthy about the ".1" books.

Avengers:
Features both of the Bendis-written teams of Avengers. I am not sure if it is setting up for an upcoming arc, or is intended to be a prequel to the previous "Ultron takes over the future" arc.

Hulk:
Sets up the new status quo for the series...which will apparently feature the Red "General Thunderbolt" Hulk rehashing the silver age adventures of the green Hulk. The theme, you see, is irony.

Secret Avengers:
The only complete story out of the three ".1" issues I picked up. This is a self-contained story showing a (not so good) day in the life of the Brubaker written team. It is probably the best of the 3, if only because it is focused on the high concept of the series instead of hyping the kewl stuff that is going to happen next.

Dom
-planning a shorter than usual FCBD posing.

[Shockwave]

This is the first time I've been there for FCBD in many years but I was there returning shoe boxes filled with comics so I figured I'd get the freebies as well. The only one I've read so far was the one for the "Fathom" universe and subsequent titles produced by that company. So far I was not impressed. It offered little in the way of anything that would inspire me to grab any of their ongoing series with the "Fathom" entry being the worst. I mean, all we get is one paragraph explaining the universe and then... a cover. That's it. And I'm somehow supposed to be inspired to pick up an ongoing based on that? Fail!

I picked up others but I've been too busy to read them. I'll get to them later this week.

[Dominic]

Are you talking about "Worlds of Aspen"? I have never picked up one of their books, and have never felt the need to even question that habit. Their Free Comic Book Day offerings consistently epitomize how to do it wrong.

I based my (five) picks this year on how well the publishers did in previous years. Archie, Bongo, DC and Marvel got picked.


And, read so far.....

Bongo Comic Free For All 2011:
Just like Aspen consistently mis-handles FCBD, Bongo generally gets it right. Besides the main feature, this issue featured short offerings from indy artists. The Aragones story, (featuring Bart, Milhouse, Martin and Nelson sneaking off to the circus), is note-worthy for looking and reading like an Ulman-era episode of "The Simpsons". There were a few spots that were marred by bad editing. But, I am not ruling out the possibilty of that being an intentional stylistic choice.
Grade: B


Dom
-likely going to purge the FCBD archives to reclaim space.

[Shockwave]

Yeah, I actually stopped reading and tossed aside the Aspen one. I'll have to get through the rest of the stack.

[Dominic]

More FCBD reviews....

Green Lanter (DC): This issue splits the difference between reprinting and previewing. In the case of the reprint, the content might have been edited down for space. But, it reads like a complete issue's worth. The "Green Lantern" story is the first chapter of the newest origin for the character, complete with references to Parallax, Atrocitus and "Blackest Night". The second story is a preview, (which I am guessing is the first half of an issue, and reading as less complete than the "Green Lantern" cover story), leading into "Flash Point". While I am not a fan of Johns' "Green Lantern" or "Flash" runs, it good to see DC pushing a character other than the big 3 on FCBD.
Grade: B


Pep Comic (Archie):
Damn. I did not even thing Archie Comics used the "Pep Comics" name. I do not follow "Archie". And, the stories tend to be pretty circular. In other words, I have no idea if the content of this issue is new or not. If I had to guess, I would say it is a reprint as there are no apparent ties to FCBD in the story. The writing and art are, as it typical, lack-luster. But, that works well enough for "Archie". Most of the ads are in-house promotions for other Archie Comics titles.
Grade: A/B


Dom
-wondering what the hell (kid friendly) Archie Comics is doing promoting Lady Gaga.

[Gomess]

-wondering what the hell (kid friendly) Archie Comics is doing promoting Lady Gaga.

Kid-friendly comics have promoted worse role models.