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Free Comic Book Day 2006

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the go-get-one dept.

Julio Ojeda-Zapata writes "It's Free Comic Book Day (May 6), and what better way to mark the occasion than a comic about comic books? A reporter and artist at the St. Paul (Minn.) Pioneer Press newspaper teamed up to honor the comic-book form -- imitation is the finest form of flattery, as they say. The comic is available online as a slide show, as well as in downloadable PDF form. As a bonus, the paper's 2001 manga-style tribute to manga (by the same artist, but with a dramatically different look and feel) has been reposted." More information is available at the official Free Comic Book Day 2006 site.

8 of 84 comments (clear)

  1. Limitations of the comic format by CRCulver · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I recently read Watchmen , which I had often heard comic fans praise as elevating the comic format to legitimate literature. I found it rather disappointing, for reasons I set out in my Amazon review (namely the trope of the supervillian explaining the whole thing to the heroes). What comics would you propose to someone who wants to read something just as deep and well-crafted and a novel? I've admired Neil Gaiman's prose efforts, do the Sandman comics hold to the same fine standards?

    1. Re:Limitations of the comic format by joe+155 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      you want something as deep and well crafted as a novel then it'll pretty much have to be a novel. There are limits to what the comic/ graphic novel format can do, you can't really have pages of deep description, it all has to be able to be expressed pretty much as a picture with only fairly small amounts of dialogue. If you don't like gory pictures and violence then a lot of the stuff out there won't be for you. I thought spawn was quite good, although tastes will be as individual as what you like to watch on TV.

      --
      *''I can't believe it's not a hyperlink.''
    2. Re:Limitations of the comic format by EvilIdler · · Score: 4, Informative

      Oh yes, Sandman is deep AND entertaining. There are also other comics
      that can be considered to be in the same universe, like Lucifer, Books of
      Magic and Hellblazer. The characters certainly mingle now and then.
      (Any of these series will introduce you to a ton of different writers
      and artists who have made many other comics worth reading)

      Poison Elves is another indie comic that tries to be more than just
      action drawings, although there's an unhealthy amount of murder at times ;)

      100% is the name of a 5-parter by Paul Pope. It being a Vertigo release
      should be a hint that it's not for kids, either. One word: GASTRO!
      Sci-fi without the aliens is always the best.

      If you didn't enjoy Watchmen, you may also hate V for Vendetta, Promethea
      and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. But that's not an excuse to
      take a peek.

      Grant Morrison is sort of in the same league, except crazier; his Invisibles
      and The Filth are my faves.

      Warren Ellis is a bit hit and miss in quality, I think, but he writes
      for the love of it, not to become rich(er). Transmetropolitan is his
      greatest masterpiece. Mostly alien-less future "society", in a world
      where they lost track of what year it is. It could be considered almost
      post-apocalyptic, except it looks more like an on-going process.

      On the Image label, please skip past Spawn and head straight for The
      Walking Dead. I started on the first issue, not really expecting to like
      it, but now I have 25 issues in my collection. It's got zombies. How
      could any Slashdot-reader resist? No ninjas or pireates, though. Well,
      perhaps *one* ninja.

    3. Re:Limitations of the comic format by Taed · · Score: 3, Informative
      While Watchmen is one of the strongest pieces of comic book "literature", it unfortunately relies on a pre-knowledge of the super-hero genre. I feel that it can't be appreciated on its own, since it is essentially a deconstruction of prior work.

      I believe that the most shining example of a work that is accessible to "outsiders" is easily Maus by Art Spiegelman. (Don't just take my word for it, it won a Pulitzer Prize!) At its core, it's the true story of the author's father's experiences surrounding the Nazi Germany concentration camps. Heavy stuff, but told in a way that is accessible by even a 10-year-old. Highly recommended!

      A few other examples of excellent work that stand on their own would be V for Vendetta by Alan Moore, Cerebus: Jaka's Story by Dave Sim, Batman: Year One or the Sin City series by Frank Miller, Torso by Brian Michael Bendis, anything by Jaime or Gilbert Hernandez, Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson, or Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse. Your local comic shop would have any of these works, and you can always skim them prior to purchase.

    4. Re:Limitations of the comic format by FroBugg · · Score: 2, Informative

      All the stuff other people have replied with is great, so I'd like to add a couple of reccomendations of my own.

      Bone, by Jeff Smith, is fantastic. It's black & white, and a little bit lighter (though not all the time) than a lot of the other stuff being pushed. The entire run is available in TPBs or in one giant phone-book sized volume.

      Mike Mignola's Hellboy is great fun. The art is beautiful and it's got a very pulp-action feel with good writing and good stories. A number of the stories are lifted directly from myths and legends, but it's got a nice modernizing touch to it. It's not Shakespeare, but it's very well done. Available in a number of TPBs, each of which has a pretty much complete storyline.

      Fables, by Bill Willingham, is still a monthly comic through DC's Vertigo imprint. Characters from legends and stories (Snow White, the Big Bad Wolf, King Cole, Prince Charming, Rose Red, etc) have fled a conqueror in their homelands and established a community in New York City. I can't reccomend this enough.

    5. Re:Limitations of the comic format by mad.frog · · Score: 3, Informative

      Cerebus is a fascinating work of art... 300 issues (exactly), all written and drawn by the same two guys, with the main writer/artist (Dave Sim) the main driving force. Unfortunately, while the first 200 or so issues had brilliant parts ("High Society" and "Church & State" in particular), the last part is... well... challenging. Not least because Dave Sim seems to have gone clinically insane at some part along the way. And no, I'm not exaggerating.

  2. Holy Memories Batman by The+Walking+Dude · · Score: 2, Informative

    I recently found this free collection of comic book/cartoon theme music (MP3s).

  3. 100 Bullets by mad.frog · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Surprised no one has mentioned 100 Bullets, by Azzarello and Risso. It's still an ongoing series, but the first few years are out in collected form, and have many excellent self-contained stories.

    The initial conceit is that some figure with a ruined life is approached by a mysterious figure known as "Agent Graves", who presents them with an attache containing proof of who is responsible for their ruined life (e.g., framing them for kiddie porn), along with a gun and 100 "untraceable" bullets... and the promise that any action they choose to take with this evidence and weapon will have no legal consequences.

    This may seem like a concept without much opportunity for diversity of plot, but they find many ways to take it in directions you don't expect. And -- this is crucial -- there's nothing supernatural going on ("Agent Graves" is just a clever name).