What’s the best day of the year? FREE Comic Book Day! Over 50 different, free comics were available this past Saturday, but which ones really stood out? That’s what we’re here for, my fellow geeks!
Arcana Comics had one of the best female characters of the day in The Steam Engines of Oz. Victoria lives deep in the bowels of The Emerald City of the Future, where she helps keep the cogs clean and the gears running smoothly for the great city, now ruled by The Tin Man. But is he the kind and loving fellow we remember? Victoria is also something of a jailer, bringing food and comforts to several unique characters living in cells far beneath the city. But when the (maybe good, maybe not) Witch of the North shows Victoria the ever-expanding Emerald City metropolis destroying the Land of Oz, she persuades Victoria to try and get the Tin Man to see reason. Victoria is an intelligent and resourceful young woman, who is rapidly losing the naivete of youth as her adventure shows her that the darkness below the streets of the Emerald City extends to the land above.
The Strangers from Oni Press was another standout this weekend. It’s a highly stylized super hero piece blended with elements of ’60’s camp adventures like early James Bond or The Man From U.N.C.L.E.. The Strangers are Verity Mills, a silver haired speedster; Michael Kono, the brash playboy; and Sandoval, the square jawed muscle of the group. Led by the mysterious Absolom Quince, The Strangers have both some super powers and spy skills galore, and their tale is a rollicking adventure that reads like an episode of the old Batman TV show. Verity Mills is the standout character here, and it’s great to see the female member of the team as the straight forward leader, while her more flawed male counterparts bring up the rear. This one is a preview of an ongoing series to come, so keep an eye out here for our review of the first full issue.
Dynamite has an intriguing version of the tale of the Little Mermaid in its free offering Damsels: Mermaids. It’s an issue #0 (my personal fave!) and a prequel to the upcoming series (there’s a lot of that happening on Free Comic Book Day), and it’s rather darker than one might expect. This is a tale of a mermaid who walks among men, deeply in love with the Prince of the land. Sadly, his love isn’t returned, and the Mermaid is captured by an evil sorcerer and locked away. Her only companion is a living tin soldier, who is willing to sacrifice himself, both for her and for the boy who owned the toy but lost his life to the sorcerer. It’s a fantastical tale with very real emotional overtones and seems much more promising than the original Damsels series. The Little Mermaid is a gritty and tough character, willing to make sacrifices herself, but it’s the valiant Tin Soldier who really steals the show in this one.
Two intriguing adaptations round out the best of Saturday’s freebies, beginning with Ramayan Reloaded, an expansive futuristic retelling of the Hindu epic The Ramayana, done by Graphic India (who also published the free Chakra by none other than Stan “The Man” Lee). Featuring a story preview by writer Ron Marz, with art from artists including Luke Ross (Gen13) and Michael Avon Oeming (Powers) this is an amazing piece of effort that presents a new take on all the major characters of the epic, from a company dedicated to creating digital comics for the Indian youth market.
The second adaption is The Red Ten, a dark super heroic take on Agatha Christie’s classic mystery “And Then There Were None”. The free comic actually serves as the Issue #0 for the upcoming ten issue mini-series of the same name from ComixTribe. The Red Ten is the story of Oxymoron, a villainous cross between the Joker and Deadpool, clad all in white. He’s decided to eliminate the world’s great super team, The Alliance, one member at a time, beginning with his great nemesis, the female Batman analogue known as The Red. Indeed, each member of The Alliance is a clear allusion to the great heroes in comics, featuring versions of both DC and Marvel characters. How will the nefarious Oxymoron (there may never be a greater villain name, ever again) get to each of these iconic figures, and what will the story say about the genre as a whole? Only time will tell, but we’ll review the first issue here when it hits the shelves!
There are a few other honorable mentions, as always, including preview looks at Marvel’s upcoming Infinity crossover event, a comic version of the upcoming Beware the Batman animated series from Cartoon Network, a new Atomic Robo adventure from Red 5 comics (featuring a look at Bodie Troll!) and the frighteningly violent story of a supercop who’s no longer worried about crossing the thin blue line in Absolution, from take-no-prisoners publisher Avatar Comics. These are just some of the best freebies that were offered up this weekend.
