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Free Comic Book Day books - what did you think?

Another FCBD is in the books. What did you get, and what did you think about them?

For my (no) money, Archaia pretty much won FCBD this year on format alone. What a gorgeously put-together book that was, right down to the "This book belongs to..." part in the front. It was like a Little Golden Book of Awesome. The stories varied for me in terms of what I liked (Rust didn't really go anywhere, I thought, and as pretty as the Cursed Pirate Girl story was to look at, I had a really hard time actually reading it; I need to go and get Cow Boy now, though, because that was really fun), but this has to be the best of the bunch, no question. I'm getting a copy in my next DCBS box, but when I saw this at the store, I couldn't wait and had to grab it then and there.

Abnett and Lanning's Hypernaturals from BOOM! was so, so good, too. If you enjoyed their Legion or Marvel Cosmic work, you'll probably dig this, too, because it's very much in the same vein. This has me so excited for the series now and would definitely be my favorite if not for the Archaia book.

The My Favorite Martian book from Hermes Press was a pleasant surprise. I like those old Dell/Gold Key TV and movie adaptations now and then, so it was fun to read this one. I don't know that I liked it enough to go buy the $50 hardcover collection, but still, this was a nice little bit of nostalgia chow.

I liked both of the stories by Zack Whedon in the Star Wars/Serenity issue from Dark Horse, but thought it was weird they were both "charming rogue has to stop people from stealing his ship" stories. I get that that was probably on purpose, but still, it did feel a lot like reading the same story twice, even if it was a good one.

The Avengers reprint from Marvel was an odd choice. I get wanting to have Avengers content out there, but I figured they'd pick something that more closely resembled the movie.

I was disappointed to see that the Superman Family Adventures preview was just the same one from the final issue of Tiny Titans. And the Green Lantern and Young Justice stories just weren't very good, I'm afraid.

Still have more to read, but that's what I've gotten to so far. Your thoughts?

Comments

  • hauberkhauberk Posts: 1,511
    Complete bust on my end. For the last couple of years, we have an out of town swim meet scheduled for the same weekend. Last year, we hit two shops and it was great - came home with some great swag. Hit the same two shops this year. One was primarily a game store with new comics - no back issues worth mentioning to purchase (I don't take the free swag unless I'm going to spend something in the store). The other, which was awesome last year (I picked up an almost complete run of JSA for $0.10 an issue), had about 8 unsorted long boxes of what appeared to be bird cage lining. All while, back home, my LCS was running an awesome FCBD.
  • ZhurrieZhurrie Posts: 617
    Archaia was the only thing I cared about since I love Rust and Mouseguard. The Adventure Time/Peanuts one was cool. I didn't get to my other LCS where I hope they still have Bongo, Image 20, Moomin, Yo Gabba Gabba, Atomic Robot, My Favorite Martian, and I doubt it but Transformers.

    I say it every year but I wish shops or someone would offer the option to *buy* a set of the books. Most places have a few book limit and I could not care less about getting them for free or dealing with the crowds and stuff when I already have a pull list... I'm not the target audience but I want the books. Let me pay $20 or so and get them all and I'd be a happy man.
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    The shop I usually goto had a limit of 3 each customer this year. So I just got the Valiant,2000AD and Bongo. Was kind of disappointed that the Bongo was half Spongebob. But still got some 50 cent back issues and a handful of trades.
  • KyleMoyerKyleMoyer Posts: 727
    Would you believe I did NOT get the Archaia FCBD offering at WildPig? (by choice!) But before you pick up your pitchforks, let me explain. I have that on order from DCBS. Granted, I have 4 other books on order from DCBS but I still picked some of them up. But the difference is that there were plenty of copies of Transformers 80.5 or Dinosaurs vs Aliens (how can you not pick up a book with a title like that) or whatever. They were telling people to take them at the end of the show. But there was a more limited amount of the Archaia book, so I figured I'd wait for my copy and leave that one for someone else to enjoy. I didn't get the chance to read any of them yet, but I did skim through a bit including the DC New 52 book (because of the controversy about it). I'd comment on that, but I think it should get it's own spoiler thread (if it doesn't already have one, I'll start one in a minute).
  • I got the one LCS that was doing the free comcis 5mins after it opened (I've never been there so early,lol) and the line for the freebies was at least 60 deep;took 10mins just to get the 3 free (your choice) ones they limited you to. I got the Mouse Guard (have not read it yet),The Censored Howard Cruse (have not read it yet) and Mega Man (have read it and it captures the feel of the games [8bit ones] nicely.) And my god the unholy smells coming off of the people in the store would have woken the dead.

    The other LCS (right across the street from the above) was not doing the free comics since they cut ties with Diamond not to long back and are just sticking with back issues were giving away grab bags with some bargain bin books got some Avengers title and a Batman one.

    Didn't shop the sales at either place since the 1st one has 99cent sales at least 4x times a year and the smell was not worth it to me. Really,people need to at least take a whores bath if they're going out in public. The 2nd on has many many many long boxes of 50cent ones everyday and it was elbow to asshole in that one and I don't want to get to know anyone that closely....well maybe Kate Beckensale.

    Anyone get the Overstreet one? I'd like to if the horror stories in it were reprints or new ones. The brief article I read about it did not say.
  • dubbat138dubbat138 Posts: 3,200
    edited May 2012
    2000ad-Dredd and Ro Busters' stories were fun. The others didn't grab me

    Valiant-Fun,but I would have rather had more actual comic pages.
  • WetRatsWetRats Posts: 6,314
    I ended up at my LCS ten minutes before opening and the parking lot was completely full.

    Parked in the back lot & got let in the back door, decided to just watch until the line died down.

    It was 45 minutes before the end of the line got out of the parking lot!

    Fantastic turnout. Lots of kids. Fully half the books at The Tangled Web were kids' books.

    Had fun listening to nearly everyone there trading Avengers highlights.

    Haven't had a chance to look at all the books I eventually grabbed, but the Serenity story was worth the trip by itself.
  • DoctorDoomDoctorDoom Posts: 2,586
    I... missed FCBD.

    The horror.
  • RedRight88RedRight88 Posts: 2,207
    I... missed FCBD.

    The horror.
    Same here... Ironically enough because I can't afford it.

  • QuinQuestionQuinQuestion Posts: 130
    I had a fun time I brought my little sisters to their first FCBD. They had a blast. I picked up the New 52, The Avengers, Witchblade, and the one Image put out. Archaia was all out by the time I got there. My comic shop did something interesting this year. They mad every free comic after the first one 50 cents with all proceeds going towards charity.
  • GregGreg Posts: 1,946
    I haven't looked through everything.

    Dinosaurs vs Aliens has me interested and I really can't for Revival to hit.

    The original plan was to take a trip all the way out to Muncie because Mark Waid had a signing at a store out there, but it didn't happen. Instead we hit our not-so-local shop in Portage.

    They had a good turn out while we were there. It appeared there were a lot people new to the hobby. While we were there the staff seemed overwhelmed by the number of people asking 'where do I start with (insert title/character here)." I was even approached a few times and helped some folks find some Hulk and Green Lantern books.

    Of course there were a lot of people asking for anything related to the Avengers, Hulk, Iron Man, Cap and Thor. There were a couple of small press indy creators doing sketches and a branch of the 501st.
  • KrescanKrescan Posts: 623
    My LCS ran a pretty good sale this year, lots of dollar boxes with something I'm not sure what to make of (more on that in a minute) but they had a lot of TPB's and HC's for 5 bucks each, I got the Exiles Ultimate collections vol 1 and 2 for 5 bucks each, and I got a marvel masterpiece on Hercules and Hawk for 5 bucks each and a What if.... TPB for 5 too plus a handful of dollar comics that looked interesting

    What else I found was the X-Men Keepsake Collection by Jim Lee. It's not banged up or folded or anything the corners are rounded up a little bit. I also found the X-force one by Rob Leifeld which I gave to a friend because a) it was rob leifeld and i didn't really want it and b) he's in good with the LCS owner so I wanted a witness in case I got the "that's not suppose to be in the dollar box, it must be a mistake"

    It's sealed up and had a price tag of 20.00 on it so I'm not sure if I got something worth getting or just another piece of junk like all the X-men #1's from the 90's I usually find in the dollar bins
  • For a buck I would chance.

    Read the Archaia book and the two stories that stand out the most are RUST and COW BOY. I'm actually thinking of picking up those trades. They're both all ages titles but not overly kiddie like. What did you guys think of those titles?
  • ZhurrieZhurrie Posts: 617
    Rust is one of my all-time favorite comic/graphic novel pieces. Absolutely stunning and I rave about it to whomever I can. It is just unreal. Now is a perfect jumping on point because there is only one HC out so far and #2 is coming soonish. Cow Boy is very cool too, but Rust takes the cake IMO.
  • Eric_CEric_C Posts: 263
    I got the ones I did not think my shop would have on DCBS, but still got the Marvel and DC ones on Saturday. I feel like the Big 2 skimped out here. They are either books already put out or just a 5 page preview of what to come. It wasn't like I was expecting greatness, just a little more effort.
  • DoctorDoomDoctorDoom Posts: 2,586
    I... missed FCBD.

    The horror.
    Same here... Ironically enough because I can't afford it.

    I kind of.... forgot about it until the day was half-way over. I cursed, then shrugged my shoulders
  • MiraclemetMiraclemet Posts: 258
    Anyone know what that Archia HC cost the stores (free not being free of course)?
  • ZhurrieZhurrie Posts: 617
    I don't remember, I know this year there were a lot of high $0.3X priced books (like $0.37 or 38 cents). I think they should stick to $0.25 per book no matter what to the LCS. I actually had a great chat with a friend/owner the other day and he made an exceptional point: Make the books $0.25 and have a nickle or dime of each one sold go to a charity/cause for kids. That way FCBD would get some press prior (like it already does) but then it drops out of the news entirely instantly... that way they could then say afterwards $20k or whatever was raised from this years FCBD and it would hang in the news a bit and add to the whole thing and give more exposure. Another funny thing was that Spiderman was by FAR more popular with the people coming through than the Avengers FCBD stuff... like not even close. That really surprised me.
  • My closest shop did some good things. I was annoyed at Marvel to a degree because both their Avengers books were reprints when they used to be something more unique. I wish I'd picked up books from another company instead. I guess they did it to help get young readers into the Avengers but I already had both issues. I just didn't get the memo.
  • KyleMoyerKyleMoyer Posts: 727
    My closest shop did some good things. I was annoyed at Marvel to a degree because both their Avengers books were reprints when they used to be something more unique. I wish I'd picked up books from another company instead. I guess they did it to help get young readers into the Avengers but I already had both issues. I just didn't get the memo.
    I don't understand that complaint at all. FCBD isn't something that the comic book companies thought would be fun. It's promotional. Making the comic book, printing it, paying someone, etc. all cost money, and it's only worth it if they receive new sales in return. If you already own that issue that was reprinted, you're not a new customer. If you are someone who is already reading Avengers, why should they waste their advertising dollars to give you a free book when you would pay for it if they asked you to? And if the goal is to get a new reader to the Avengers (whether that new reader be a completely new reader or a comic book fan who's never read the Avengers), then what difference does it make if it's a new or an old story because to the person picking it up, it is new. I'm perfectly fine with this and I would actually rather Marvel do this if they are going to do something with their big names. If they're going to give away the brand new issue of a lesser known, but critically acclaimed, book to get people to try it, that's good, but what's the point of a free Avengers/X-Men/Spider-Man story? Sure, as a fan, I like getting stuff for free, but from a business standpoint, there's no logical reason to do so. And even as a fan, if I have a limited number of free books I'm allowed to get (as most stores do), I'd rather get an indie or small press book that I can give a try to and see what I think of it without having to spend any money to do so.
  • DoctorDoomDoctorDoom Posts: 2,586
    For me, the best Marvel FCBD issue they've ever done was the Avengers/Dark Avengers one, with Jim Cheung art.

    (That was the same year they had Blackest Night #0. The best FCBD ever for me!)
  • My closest shop did some good things. I was annoyed at Marvel to a degree because both their Avengers books were reprints when they used to be something more unique. I wish I'd picked up books from another company instead. I guess they did it to help get young readers into the Avengers but I already had both issues. I just didn't get the memo.
    I don't understand that complaint at all. FCBD isn't something that the comic book companies thought would be fun. It's promotional. Making the comic book, printing it, paying someone, etc. all cost money, and it's only worth it if they receive new sales in return. If you already own that issue that was reprinted, you're not a new customer. If you are someone who is already reading Avengers, why should they waste their advertising dollars to give you a free book when you would pay for it if they asked you to? And if the goal is to get a new reader to the Avengers (whether that new reader be a completely new reader or a comic book fan who's never read the Avengers), then what difference does it make if it's a new or an old story because to the person picking it up, it is new. I'm perfectly fine with this and I would actually rather Marvel do this if they are going to do something with their big names. If they're going to give away the brand new issue of a lesser known, but critically acclaimed, book to get people to try it, that's good, but what's the point of a free Avengers/X-Men/Spider-Man story? Sure, as a fan, I like getting stuff for free, but from a business standpoint, there's no logical reason to do so. And even as a fan, if I have a limited number of free books I'm allowed to get (as most stores do), I'd rather get an indie or small press book that I can give a try to and see what I think of it without having to spend any money to do so.
    Yeah, I totally see your point. I forgot that it is about helping to get new readers in on the books and in the stores instead of getting those who are already buying issues to have an extra story. I should be annoyed at myself, and I am, for not branching outside the box and picking up something else that I'd never normally read to see if it is worth branching out. Sorry about that @KyleMoyer, I was thinking more selfishly than I should have. Now that I think about it, the Avengers issues that I picked up could have gone to someone else to get them into Avengers. Now I'm really annoyed with myself.
  • KyleMoyerKyleMoyer Posts: 727
    That certainly wasn't my intent. Chances are your store probably had enough Avengers copies to meet the demand (I did my FCBD at WildPig and there were plenty of copies) so there's no reason to feel guilty about that. The one that was the hardest to come by was the Archaia book. For me the biggest detriment to using FCBD for that end was the fact that, as mentioned, FCBD was for me at WildPig, so the free books I picked up of things I might not have otherwise (the two that I wanted to check out that I grabbed were one called Bad Medicine and another by Abnett and Lanning called Hypernaturals or something along those lines, largely because they're the first issues of something new, which I personally think is a great thing to do for FCBD) can end up in the big pile of 50 cent books I got there and get lost in the shuffle. I will definitely at least make sure to read those two aforementioned books though before doing my next DCBS order.

    And don't get upset about it, we all like getting stuff for free. I picked up the DC New 52 free book even though I know full well that it isn't going to make me add or drop any DCnU titles. But they gave me a free book so I'm grabbing it. And of course, the book my inner nostalgic geek was the most excited about was Transformers 80.5 even though, again, I know full well that I'm buying that series when it comes out anyway.
  • Thanks @KyleMoyer. Sometimes I think about what other things we can do to promote our favourite hobby and I should have told some more people to go. I usually never get to FCBD because I have my stuff shipped to me. I don't live near a shop.

    I just wished I picked up the Buffy and Witchblade books because I know they were both new content, although I will be getting those in HC when they eventually come out and that is the reasons I didn't get them.
  • ZhurrieZhurrie Posts: 617
    I think this discussion and the chat I had with my friend/owner highlight that there are some minor flaws with the whole FCBD thing as it currently stands. On the whole it works, but it could certainly be tweaked and more could be done with it. I'm happy to just continue to grab my pull list and pay $10-$20 for the books and be done with it. New readers or people looking to branch out benefit from the free aspect. The stores do OK from it all but it could be better. I think about 160 new people came into the shop and about 80 were converted to a sale of some type and about 8 new subs. That isn't bad. But if it had a longer tail like the charity aspect to hit back in the news this week following it, it would keep comics in the public eye, have a positive connotation, and maybe draw in a few more people after the fact. That would have value.

    When it comes to the books, I find some way to pay my shop for them and I make sure I only have them pull 1-3 books for me and the rest I come in on Monday and if any are left I will grab the few others I wanted to read. I figure that gave everyone a fair chance and I'm not hogging anything or keeping anyone from a shot at a comic. That's just how I personally handle it. I even offered to pay for a stack of Archaia HCs so that I could have my two copies and there would be even more to give away or for my wife to hand out extras to her class. They weren't taking second orders on it though because of the demand and they were all gone. Next year I'm going to do that with the all-ages stuff, have the shop stamp them all with their info, and have her give them out at school.

    I wouldn't sweat it though, that is what the day is about and trust me there are tons of people out just to snatch up as many free books as they can and then flip them on ebay. My friend combated that with the Archaia HC by keeping them behind the counter and giving them to people/kids that either asked or he thought would like it. He was able to keep from people taking a bunch of them at once that way too, which was happening at other shops.
  • I think this discussion and the chat I had with my friend/owner highlight that there are some minor flaws with the whole FCBD thing as it currently stands. On the whole it works, but it could certainly be tweaked and more could be done with it. I'm happy to just continue to grab my pull list and pay $10-$20 for the books and be done with it. New readers or people looking to branch out benefit from the free aspect. The stores do OK from it all but it could be better. I think about 160 new people came into the shop and about 80 were converted to a sale of some type and about 8 new subs. That isn't bad. But if it had a longer tail like the charity aspect to hit back in the news this week following it, it would keep comics in the public eye, have a positive connotation, and maybe draw in a few more people after the fact. That would have value.

    When it comes to the books, I find some way to pay my shop for them and I make sure I only have them pull 1-3 books for me and the rest I come in on Monday and if any are left I will grab the few others I wanted to read. I figure that gave everyone a fair chance and I'm not hogging anything or keeping anyone from a shot at a comic. That's just how I personally handle it. I even offered to pay for a stack of Archaia HCs so that I could have my two copies and there would be even more to give away or for my wife to hand out extras to her class. They weren't taking second orders on it though because of the demand and they were all gone. Next year I'm going to do that with the all-ages stuff, have the shop stamp them all with their info, and have her give them out at school.

    I wouldn't sweat it though, that is what the day is about and trust me there are tons of people out just to snatch up as many free books as they can and then flip them on ebay. My friend combated that with the Archaia HC by keeping them behind the counter and giving them to people/kids that either asked or he thought would like it. He was able to keep from people taking a bunch of them at once that way too, which was happening at other shops.
    It's all about getting people in the store and buying. FCBD is a good event but I think there needs to be more things advertising comics out there. At the end of the day I don't want comics to disappear or move to even further on the fringes of society. I mean, manga is doing a rip-roaring trade but a lot of those people aren't bothered to pick up a comic and if we could hook into that market then comics would become more widespread.
  • John_SteedJohn_Steed Posts: 2,087
    edited May 2012
    Bad Medicine #1 was available on Free Comic Book Day, but if you missed it, ComicsAlliance has the full 22-page story, available for you to check out right now! Read the full first issue after the cut!
    http://www.comicsalliance.com/2012/05/10/bad-medicine-1/
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