Hey kids, free comics!

One of my favorite things is Free Comic Book Day, because, you know, “free” and “comics” are the peanut butter and chocolate of the Direct Market. It's the first Saturday of May, and this year that means May 5. Out of all the ones that are being released, I’ve put together a shortlist of the ones I want most.

Kaboom! is the kid-friendly imprint of Boom! Studios and their Peanuts/Adventure Time Flipbook looks like fun. The Peanuts comics are clearly crafted with care and affection for the original material, and Adventure Time is just as nutty as the animated series.

Atomic Robo from Red 5 is one of my favorite comics and why it’s not talked about in the same group as Hellboy and The Walking Dead is beyond me. It’s one of the best comics around - terrific characters, excellent writing and art, beautiful coloring. I grab the latest ones each year at San Diego, and whatever pops up on FCBD. If you see a copy, grab it. Highly recommended.

Rockhead And Zinc Alloy from Capstone just looks like a pile of fun. Scott Nickel is a hugely funny writer, so I definitely want this.

Barnaby from Fantagraphics Books serves as a preview to their upcoming book collection. I’ve always liked the strip by Crockett Johnson (though it’s admittedly an acquired tasted), so it’ll be nice to see a sampling of it in this format. Fantagraphics always puts together a nice package, so it’ll look as good as it reads.

You can’t throw a rock without hitting a Stan Lee project and Graphic Elvis from Liquid Comics lists Stan as one of the writers. It seems like a very un-Stan type of project, so I’m curious, even though I don’t worship at the feet of the Elvis legend.

Honorable Mention goes to the Valiant Preview. I can guess what’s going to be in it - hype-based content with some graphics and possibly some excerpts - but I really want Valiant to succeed and become a strong, second-tier publisher, so I’m looking forward to seeing what their stuff looks like.

You can see from my list what my primary interests are like - I try to avoid too many books where it’s all Death/Brokeback Poses/Dark Heroes and try to find stuff that looks different, silly and fun. Of course, your mileage may vary, but that’s what “free” is all about.

A list of the participating titles is at the FCBD website.

[Artwork: Rockhead and Zinc Alloy from Capstone]