Free Comic Book Day 2007

This year's Free Comic Book Day is on Saturday, May 5 -- the same weekend Spider-Man 3 opens -- and the list of comics that will be available is pretty impressive. My initial thoughts on some of them:

Archie Comics (Gold): Archie Comics Little Archie 2007
Archie Comics (Silver): Sonic the Hedgehog 2007

My son loves Sonic, so I'll definitely grab one for him. I'm guessing Little Archies is something new?

DC Comics (Gold): Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century 2007
DC Comics (Silver): Justice League of America # 0 2007

Smart selection on the Gold title as all-ages accessibility should be the goal for the Big Two on FCBD, but their Silver offering should have been for something from the Vertigo or Wildstorm line, or even a Minx sampler.

IDW (Gold): Transformers the Movie Prequel #1 2007

No-brainer for IDW here, though I wonder if they wouldn't have been better served by giving Fallen Angel a boost, if not at the Gold level, then certainly as a Silver offering.

Image Comics (Gold): Astounding Wolf-Man #1 2007

Golden Boy Robert Kirkman gets the Image slot, and I have to wonder how they determined this since they're not technically publishers but a vanity press/distributor hybrid. Can other Image creators release FCBD material under the Image banner? Coupled with their second annual no-show at the New York Comic-Con, I'm forced yet again to question their continued position as a so-called Premiere Publisher in the direct market.

Marvel Comics (Gold): Amazing Spider-Man Swing Shift 2007
Marvel Comics (Silver): Marvel Adventures Three-In-One 2007

Considering a Spider-Man title is a no-brainer this year, you'd think Marvel would have maximized the opportunity by flip-flopping these offerings and giving the Gold spotlight to the all-ages Marvel Adventures, especially considering it's new material. It's not like retailers wouldn't order the Spider-Man issue at the Silver level, but you know many won't bother with the "kiddie" title.

TOKYOPOP (Gold): Tokyopop Choose Your Weapon 2007

As a manga neophyte, these samplers are always great to see. While I've yet to follow up on anything I've come across in any of them, preferring to periodically browse the shelves and pick up whatever looks interesting at that moment, they have that browsing more likely and more frequent.

Arcana Studio (Silver): Arcana Studio Presents 2007

While Arcana has fallen off my radar a bit over the past year, new 100 Girls material is always a good thing!

Boom! Studios (Silver): Hunter's Moon / Salvador Flip Book 2007
First Second Books (Silver): The Train Was Bang On Time 2007
Virgin Comics (Silver): Ramayan 3392AD 2007

Always nice to see new publishers getting into the FCBD mix.

Fantagraphics Books (Silver): The Unseen Peanuts 2007

An interesting choice for Fantagraphics, and one I'll definitely pick up.

Keenspot Entertainment (Silver): Keenspot Spotlight 2007

The 2005 edition was an impressive package that I still flip through now and then. As I'm trying to get into webcomics a bit more, I'll definitely look out for this one.

Legion of Evil Press (Silver): Comics Festival 2007

The 2005 edition was one of my favorites of the year, so I'm really looking forward to this one.

Renaissance Press (Silver): Amelia Rules! Hangin' Out 2007

Amelia does indeed rule! If your favorite retailer doesn't get this one, you need to find a new retailer.



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