FREE COMICS: SATURDAY AT YOUR LOCAL COMIC SHOP

Hey, Leaguers!

Tomorrow is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, the annual event which attempts to lure you into the nasty habit that is comic buying with the promise that the first one is free.

It was the second choice of the retailers association, but somehow "I'll give you a Spider-Man comic if you get in my van" didn't get the traction they were looking for.

Nonetheless, its a sort of festive, carnival-like event at many comic shops, and for those of you with kids, there is lots of free, kid-safe material.

I'll be at Austin Books in the morning (gotta go early, because we gots a baby shower to attend), so if you're not in Austin, I recommend looking up a shop in your area.

Click here for info and to search for a shop.

I am a genuine fan not just of superheroes or Superman or the genre of science-fiction or leotard-clad do-gooders. I'm a fan of the medium.

Here are some books you can look for that may not be free, but that might be worth reading.

Queen and Country.
Now collected into 4 novel-sized-ish volumes, Greg Rucka's UK-based espionage series is brutally smart, relevant, and full of all manner of internal and international intrigue... I didn't read the series until they collected it in these compact volumes, but its quickly become one of my favorite comics.

In the Shadow of No Towers.
You were either with Art Spiegelman on Maus or you weren't. Spiegelman tells his first-person account of being a New Yorker in the days, weeks, etc... after 9/11. Beautifully rendered, whether youa gree with Spiegelman's politics or not, there's little denying that his mastery of the form, a la the styling of Winsor McCay and other predecessors.

Laika.
Tells the story of the little Russian dog first sent to space in Sputnik II.

Which I'd pair with:

First in Space.
The story of the first Chimp in orbit.

First Flight of the Phantom Eagle.
Marvel attempted the Vertigo War Stories approach under Warren Ellis and Howard Chaykin, and for some reason it wasn't a bigger seller. But I loved this comic. This book collects the series, of a young American joining the British Air Forces in World War I, and realizing that being a pilot may not really be the equivalent of the modern-day knight.

Tales Designed to Thrizzle.
I highly recommend this title. It is funny. And brought us the great concept of "Snake and Bacon".

Apocalypse Nerd.
Also strangely appealing. If you're into stories about IT guys and the fate which awaits them after N. Korea nukes the US.

The Great Outdoor Fight.
One of the greatest tales ever put to the comic medium.

and many, many more...!