Free Comic Book Day

Saturday, May 2nd, was Free Comic Book Day (FCBD). On the first Saturday in May, independent comic book shops tend to have promotions and celebrations that include giving away (completely free!) several comic book titles. I picked myself a small swag of free goodies.

• Wolverine: Origin of an X-Man. This tells the tale of Logan's first mission for the Canucks immediately prior to his legendary encounter with the Hulk. I think. What do I look like? A Marvel historian?

• Blackest Night #0. A prologue to Geoff Johns' upcoming Green Lantern storyline, this issue was a well done story about pondering and reflection. Hal Jordan and Barry Allen (the formerly deceased Green Lantern and Flash) meet at Batman's grave to discuss the nature of death and a superhero's apparent knack for overcoming it. They talk about the deaths and resurrection of various heroes, including their own respective demises. Allen comments that if there is an escape from death, "you can bet Batman's already planning it."

• Savage Dragon #148. This issue is rather neat, as it's smack in the larger continuity of the title and not simply a prologue or one-shot. The first few pages actually recap the last 147 issues and leads into the current storyline. A nice tactic to help new readers understand just what is going on in this crazy book.

• G.I. Joe/G.I. Joe Origins/Transformers Animated. Three short issues in one! The Transformers part is definitely aimed at kids, but the G.I. Joe stories are top notch, with one written by Larry Hama himself!

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 Reprint. This is amazing. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the TMNT, FCBD offered this reprint of the 1984 debut of the beloved heroes in a half-shell. It also includes new forwards written by creators Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman!

So what's with all this comic book nonsense? Well, to answer that question, let me throw down some imdb links for your surfing pleasure.

Wolverine
Green Lantern
G.I. Joe
Transformers
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Savage Dragon

The comic book industry: Hollywood's creative team.

And, yes, I realize G.I. Joe and Transformers are based on toys, but their stories were told in comic book form long before they made the jump to summer blockbuster on the big screen. Also, it's been over a decade since the Savage Dragon cartoon. But aside from that one, the rest have movies currently in the works.

Next FCBD: May 1, 2010.