Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday, and while I've never really understood the hype and joy surrounding the event (I find individual comic stores to be remarkably stingy with their free, gratis and for nothing products, and one has to go all over NYC to get the freebies one wants) I still thought it was time to take a look at what was being offered this year.

It seems fanboy universe crossovers is the theme of this year. Sure it's fun to think of those things idly, or in fanfiction, but I'm not sure how I feel about it in comic form. (It's not canon right?) And besides, Firefly/Star Wars crossover? That implies that Star Wars is NOT the most overrated, unoriginal, clunky and uninteresting sci fi story ever, and somehow deserves to be associated with Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew. Also it's written by a Whedon brother, and that inevitably ends in the terrible mangling of a once beloved, or at least highly anticipated, world.

This, after all, is the Weekend of Joss. Avengers comes out tomorrow and we don't need any more examples of his faulty nepotism to taint his glory.

Regardless, read on for a list of the free comics I want to snag this Satuday. (I'm particularly excited about a new comic from writing team Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning.)

The Avengers #12.1: "Age Of Ultron"   Brian Michael Bendis /Bryan Hitch

Start reading with this POINT ONE issue. Prepare for the upcoming high-stakes Avengers event with a battle between the Avengers and the Intelligencia, the return of SWORD, and the disappearance of Spider-Woman!

Star Wars/Serenity:  Zack Whedon / Fábio Moon,
'Han Solo and Chewbacca have a falling-out after a deal with a shady customer goes bad. When the client gets designs on the Millennium Falcon, Han and Chewie present a united front that can't be beat! "Mal" Reynolds, captain of the outlaw vessel Serenity, is no stranger to jobs gone wrong. But when the chips are down, he's able to rely on an amazing, odd, and diversely talented crew for help! Two great space epics in one issue! '

Buffy/The Guild:  Andrew Chambliss, Felicia Day / Georges Jeanty, Jonathan Case, Dexter Vines

Buffy has never needed a vacation so badly as she does now - with the world overrun with zompires and other fallout from Season 8. Luckily, Spike has got the perfect solution: a "spacecation"!


Having lost their regular real-life meeting place, the Guildies are having a little trouble finding a new location they can all agree on. A little in-game battle becomes the deciding factor, and the circle follows the decree of the winner: the beach?!

Note: Not sure if this one is another crossover, or just a two-in-one linked by the Whedonverse connection.

The Hypernaturals:   Dan Abnett, Andy Lanning
This Free Comic Book Day... A universe trembles.


It is the far future; the human race has finally colonized the galaxy, preserving an era of prosperity that's only possible because of The Hypernaturals. They're a celebrated, galaxy-wide superhero task force that keeps the peace. That is, until they all mysteriously vanish. Now, as the galaxy teeters on the brink of chaos, it's up to a group of retired and long forgotten Hypernaturals - and their novice recruits - to save the galaxy from complete destruction.


Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning, the superstar writing duo behind Annihilation and The Legion, launch an all-new original series that takes cosmic super-heroes to a new frontier. Experience the special preview issue of The Hypernaturals this May and pick up the #1 issue this July!



All descriptions come from the official Free Comic Book Day site, where you should go to see the full list and find what comics you want to find this weekend (providing you prefer anime and cartoon-based comics to new work from DnA and bizarre yet intriguing crossovers.)