2025 Free Comic Book Day

JD DeLuzio May 4, 2025 at 7:56am

The local weather wasn't the best, attendance and cosplaying remain below what they once were, but it was still a fun event. Some college media students were making a doc. They interviewed me. I don't know how much of that will end up in the final video. I picked up Black Mirror and the first part of Will Eisner's bio in comic form, and purchased a Golden Age Wonder Woman collection.

My obligatory video will likely be edited today and posted Monday.

Jeff of Earth-J May 4, 2025 at 10:28am

I don't always participate in FCBD, but when I do I have always gone to a shop that is closer to my house than my regular shop. Yesterday, for the first time ever, I went to my regular shop on FCBD. The weather was beautiful, and there were many artists, vendors and a DJ set up along the sidewalk outside. there were many cosplayers, from a Jedi Knight and a Jawa the the Ghostbusters. The atmosphere was very much like a typical JD DeLuzio video (when the weather's nice). I was a bit surprised that patrons' choices were limited to three, but there ended up not being much I was interested in. (There are usually some leftovers the following Wednesday.) My choices usually reflect titles I intend to buy anyway (such as "Blood Type") or ones I don't intend to buy but want a sample of anyway (such as "Speed Racer"). but I passed on both of those in favor of two I am on the fance aboput: "Superman Unlimited" and "Fantastic Four." The one I was most interested in was NBM's "Will Eisner: A Comics Biography." I haven't read any of them yet.

Someone took a candid photo of me (well, with me in it) that ended up on Facebook.

(I'm the guy on the far right.)

JD DeLuzio May 4, 2025 at 7:20pm

It really wasn't bad-- I just miss the far more crowded and crazy days, pre-pandemic, and when the superhero movies were riding high. The rain in the morning also dampened some people's enthusiasm, and the lack of a specific costume competition probably explains the smaller number of cosplayers. Still, people had a good time, and, yeah, I made a video:

Captain Comics May 12, 2025 at 9:48pm

This year I avoided the anxiety of missing something I really want by just ordering the books ahead of time. (From Golden Apple, back in, I think, February.) TBH, I wasn't sure what my status would be May 3, eyeball-wise, knowing I was going to have surgery in April. So I just took appropriate steps.

As it happened, I was OK to go -- but didn't, because we were meeting family at a Kentucky Derby party. We had to pick someone up, got halfway across town before finding out they were the other way, and ended up skipping the LCS because we were running so late and didn't want to miss the race. I went later in the week, and caught up on all the books I missed in April.

But my Golden Apple box has arrived. I've done inventory, and sure enough, I got everything that was released. There were nine books that were announced that did NOT ship, although I don't know the particulars on any of them. I suppose I paid for those back in February, alas.

Anyway, I'll get around to actually reading the books as soon as I can. If anybody has any books they'd like to comment on, I'll gladly join in.

Jeff of Earth-J May 14, 2025 at 4:09pm

If anybody has any books they'd like to comment on, I'll gladly join in.

I should be able to knock this out pretty quick. As I mentioned above, my LCS had a limit of three, which i abided by and didn't go anywhere else.

DC: ALL IN 2025 SPECIAL EDITION #1: This is a flip book. The front side is Superman Unlimited and the flip side is an overview of the "Absolute" universe. I found Rafael Albuquerque's to be so unappealing I had to force myself to finish it. Although I don't consider myself a "feminist" I do believe in equal rights. In any case, if I were a woman, I would find this story offensive. Apparently "former media mogul Morgan Edge" has gotten a divorce and his ex-wife, Imani Edge, got controling interest of his media empire in the settlement. she says, "Some billionaire ex-wives fight malaria. Others climate change. I see the greatest danger we are facing is misinformation." Heaven forbid that a woman could rise to the top of the business world on her own merits! No, the only way for a woman to succeed is to gain controling interest in a divorce settlement. There's not much chance I'll be buying Superman Unlimited #1 when it comes out.

The flip side is a ten-page ovefrview of the "Absolute" universe which I wish I would have read instead of the 18 Absolute books I did buy.

Y'know who doesn't need free comic books? Adults. the primary focus of FCBD, I think, should be to attract new young readers. A few years ago, DC released free samplers of their "Archives" line on FCBD. This year they should have put together sometning from their Silver Age DC Finest line.

Marvel: FANTASTIC FOUR: I used to not like Humberto Ramos' art but he's gotten better in recent years. He has regressed here, though, his art looking almost as bad as Rafael Albuquerque's. (No, make that just as bad.) His Sue is abnsolutely ugly, and he has given Johnny Storm a very unbecoming '70s porn star moustache. (That alone would keep me from buying the book.) What Marvel should have offered in their FCBD offering is one or more of the stories from Fantastic Four Fanfare #1. the Alan davis one would have been ideal.

there was a series several years ago which brought the original X-Men into the present, thereby hopelessly screwing up continuity. The second story of this book reverses that premise, by inserting Ms. Marvel into the X-Men just after Giant-Size #1.

The third story features "Wolverpool" anf "Deadverine" which I didn't even bother to read.

NBM: WILL EISNER: A COMICS BIOGRAPHY: Some time ago I swore off comic book biographies, but I do make exceptions once in a while. The "Stan Lee" one by Peter David was pretty good, and the "Jack Kirby" one by Tom Scioli was great. this one is very good, bordering on great and left me wanting more.

JD DeLuzio > Jeff of Earth-J May 14, 2025 at 7:24pm

I really liked the Eisner bio one as well. I will probably read the complete version at some time.

Captain Comics May 15, 2025 at 2:49pm

DC: ALL IN 2025 SPECIAL EDITION #1: This is a flip book. The front side is Superman Unlimited and the flip side is an overview of the "Absolute" universe. I found Rafael Albuquerque's to be so unappealing I had to force myself to finish it.

It really is sub-quality, especially for Albuquerque. He’s a 20-year veteran who has done a lot of outstanding work, like American Vampire. Maybe he was under the gun.

Although I don't consider myself a "feminist" I do believe in equal rights. In any case, if I were a woman, I would find this story offensive. Apparently "former media mogul Morgan Edge" has gotten a divorce and his ex-wife, Imani Edge, got controling interest of his media empire in the settlement. she says, "Some billionaire ex-wives fight malaria. Others climate change. I see the greatest danger we are facing is misinformation." Heaven forbid that a woman coudl rise to the top of the business world on her own merits! No, the only way for a woman to succeed is to gain controlling interest in a divorce settlement.

I don’t consider myself a neanderthal, but this didn’t bother me at all. For one thing, a lot of ex-wives of billionaires are in the news: Melinda Gates, MacKenzie Scott, even Grimes, who is famous both on her own merits and as a baby mama for Elon Musk. The Internet tells me 43% of the women in the “Real Housewives” franchises have divorced their rich husbands, but remain affluent – and on TV. Billionaire ex-wives exist and are big players to the Tik-Tok crowd, so are therefore fair game.

Which is connected to my second point: Equality means what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Or the reverse, in this case. Comic books depict men who are rich without having earned it, so it’s fair to depict some women in that light.

Third, this is just one woman, and it doesn’t say or imply (to me) that this is the only way a woman can get rich. There are women in the DC Universe who got rich on their own merits; this just doesn’t happen to be one of them.

And fourth, this seems to me like they were trying to create a female Morgan Edge, one with a motivation to do things differently. (Although I suspect she’ll turn out to be just as villainous.) What better way to create a female Morgan Edge than his ex? Straight to it, with little backstory needed. (The other way would be for her to be his sister, but they already went that route with a Luthor sister, who was rich on TV, also a genius, and aspired to virtue to offset her brother.)

I understand how it could rub you the wrong way, but I was fine with it. Maybe I am a neanderthal.

Regardless of all that, her immediate use is as a plot device to change The Daily Planet into a worldwide news organization. Her description of the plan almost brought me to tears. That is the sort of journalism that existed in my early career – ubiquitous, skeptical and loaded with enough resources to defy presidents, CEOs and kings. Sadly, I don’t think we’ll ever see that sort of journalism again. Look how quickly the networks and newspapers fold when Trump leans on them. And my newspaper, for example, depends on good will to exist, and doesn’t buy ink by the barrel – or at all.

And that kryptonite meteor at the end is the crux of the upcoming Superman Unlimited and, we're led to believe, Superman's status quo.

The flip side is a ten-page overview of the "Absolute" universe which I wish I would have read instead of the 18 Absolute books I did buy.

If it makes you feel any better, I’m still reading the Absolute universe, so I’ve spent more money than you have! Sorry, best I could do. And I’m enjoying some of them, especially Wonder Woman and Martian Manhunter. I’ll continue probably until MM ends with #6 -- unless the march is already on for Absolute Justice League.

The overview has the existing characters being observed by a guy who can watch, and transport, through reflective surfaces. Yeah, most fans will guess Mirror Master pretty fast. The kicker is that “our” Mirror Master shows up at the end, which will not end well. I read somewhere that he’s the second character from Earth-Prime to find the Absolute Universe, but I don’t remember who the first was.

Y'know who doesn't need free comic books? Adults. the primary focus of FCBD, I think, should be to attract new young readers. A few years ago, DC released free samplers of their "Archives" line on FCBD. This year they should have put together something from their Silver Age DC Finest line.

As noted, I got the entire FCBD lineup, and I try to do that every year, with varying results. It’s tough slogging to read them all, though, primarily because the bulk of them ARE for kids. The superhero universes usually use FCBD to tease upcoming crossovers and storylines, but they’re not R-rated, and wasn’t it superheroes that pulled you and me into comics? A little Spandex amid the kiddie stuff isn’t a bad thing, by my lights. And I think if there wasn’t any Spider-Man or Batman, a lot of kids would be disappointed, especially the ones too smart or too old for Investi-Gators.

Marvel: FANTASTIC FOUR: I used to not like Humberto Ramos’ art but he’s gotten better in recent years. He has regressed here, though, his art looking almost as bad as Rafael Albuquerque’s. (No, make that just as bad.) His Sue is absolutely ugly, and he has given Johnny Storm a very unbecoming ‘70s porn star moustache. (That alone would keep me from buying the book.) What Marvel should have offered in their FCBD offering is one or more of the stories from Fantastic Four Fanfare #1. The Alan Davis one would have been ideal.

Wow, I didn’t have that reaction at all. I had to get accustomed to Ramos’ FF when he was on the title the first time, but I did, so I didn’t have to adjust this time. And Johnny has the porn ‘stache in the regular series, where he had to take a secret identity for a while, complete with facial hair, and decided he liked it. I’ve read all of this run of FF, and I don’t even notice the mustache any more.

As to the story, it seemed like a nice done-in-one that showed who the FF are, which I imagine is the point. Sue’s realization that they were dealing with kids having a sleepover made me laugh.

I haven’t read the Marvel Fanfare story in decades, but I assume you’re correct that it would do the same. Marvel probably thinks it better to run something new and current, that would sell the movie better, and “new” is my preference in any case.

There was a series several years ago which brought the original X-Men into the present, thereby hopelessly screwing up continuity. The second story of this book reverses that premise, by inserting Ms. Marvel into the X-Men just after Giant-Size #1.

I’m not crazy about this premise at all. I’ve ordered all the Giant-Size books, and can’t take it back now.

The third story features "Wolverpool" anf "Deadverine" which I didn't even bother to read.

I did, and you didn’t miss anything. It’s in the same vein as Gwenpool – people from another dimension, presumably ours, who know they’re in a comic book. These two want to get home, and are trying stupid ways to do it that allow them to break the fourth wall a lot. I don’t read Gwenpool, which is arguably a stronger premise using the same tools, so I don’t see much here I want to see again.

NBM: WILL EISNER: A COMICS BIOGRAPHY: Some time ago I swore off comic book biographies, but I do make exceptions once in a while. The "Stan Lee" one by Peter David was pretty good, and the "Jack Kirby" one by Tom Scioli was great. this one is very good, bordering on great and left me wanting more.

This really is pretty interesting! I don’t know anything about Eisner’s early days, although I knew he and Bob Kane (nee Robert Kahn) went to school together.

I’m not at all surprised about the antisemitism, as I know from historical reading it was commonplace before Hitler generated a lot of sympathy for Jews with his pogroms, and I’ve read lots of stories from comics creators of the period that one of the reasons that there were so many Jews in comics was that they couldn’t get jobs anywhere else. I’m not surprised, as I said, but I am glad to see it depicted. Those who forget history, etc.

I also read:

ARCHIE’S COMICS SPECTACULAR: I’m convinced it’s not just nostalgia talking: Today’s Archie comics just aren’t as sophisticated or as funny as the ‘60s and ‘70s. To some degree it’s the artwork; none of today’s artists can hold a candle to Dan DeCarlo, Harry Lucey or Samm Schwartz. But it’s also the writing, which seems aimed at children, and often just isn’t very funny. Silver Age Archie, Jughead and Betty & Veronica were written so that adults could enjoy them as well, like Rocky & Bullwinkle. They weren’t as sophisticated as Rocky & Bullwinkle, but they were genuinely funny no matter how old you were, and many were clever morality tales spinning off the foibles of human nature, like Veronica’s vanity or Archie’s impulsiveness.

OK, some of that might be nostalgia talking. But I sure would love to see the three titles I mentioned collected.

BLOOD TYPE: Sadly, this is bait and switch. It is not a preview of Oni’s upcoming EC title, but three reprints, one each from Epitaphs from the Abyss, Cruel Kingdom and Cruel Universe. Oh well. I didn’t mind reading them again.

CONAN: SCOURGE OF THE SERPENT: The art wasn’t up to the usual standard of Titan’s Conan titles, but it served well enough. And the story is a prequel to a Conan story I’ve read (“The God in the Bowl”.) I’m interested in the upcoming crossover this promotes, which will adapt three REH stories in three different time periods involving Set, the Serpent-God: “The God in the Bowl” (Conan), “The Shadow Kingdom” (Kull) and “The Haunter of the Ring” (John Kirowan). I’m interested to see if they go beyond REH’s links, and I’ve never read the Kirowan story.

BEST OF 2000 AD: These Mega-City One stories read the same to me as the ones I read in my adolescence, as if decades hadn’t passed. That’s OK. I liked Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper and Judge Anderson then, and I like them now. There’s also a teaser to a new series set after the events of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, where England has access to extraterrestrial technology – and no other nation does.

If I read more, I’ll report more.

Jeff of Earth-J > Captain Comics May 15, 2025 at 3:38pm

I haven’t read the Marvel Fanfare story in decades... Marvel probably thinks it better to run something new and current...

I was referring to Fantastic Four Fanfare #1, which came out last week.
Captain Comics > Jeff of Earth-J May 16, 2025 at 1:21pm

Oh, sorry! I haven't read that yet -- hasnt arrived from Westfield.

Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod) May 15, 2025 at 4:43pm

Cap, the first DCU character who's encountered the Absolute Universe is Booster Gold, right as the universe launched. We haven't seen him since, as far as I know.

And I've heard that Absolute Martian Manhunter has been so well received it's been upgraded to 12 issues now.

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2025 Free Comic Book Day

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