Even though I enjoy many forms of pop culture and have been to New York Comic Con twice in the last two years, I still haven’t picked up a comic book in a very very long time. (I used to buy Animaniacs comics and other random issues of X-Men and Wonder Woman from a local flea market circa 1995.)
But after listening to the newest episode of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast I was alerted to the fact that Free Comic Book Day was once again upon us (5/03/2014). And despite the annual PCHH reminders, I’ve just never been able to get myself to a local comic book shop on the designated Saturday, until this year that is.
Since I only know of comics in the general sense, like Dark Horse comics carries on the Whedon-verse, I first consulted NPR’s Free Comic Book Day Guide courtesy of Glen Weldon to get a sense of what free comics would be available.
So with just a sliver of knowledge I headed down to my local comic book shop, Conquest Comics, to peruse the selection of titles and to find a Funko figure for my desk (I’d been eyeing them for some time now).
Everybody Loves Free Samples
I’ve never been inside Conquest Comics before, just driven by it a lot, but I’m happy to report that it was hopping. It was also nice to discover that so many nerds live locally. Plus, they had the vast majority of the free titles on hand (there were 57 this year), and were letting people take home up to 6 comic books of their choosing.
Given my uber newbie status I opted for just three:
The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Yes, this comic book is based on the original cast and incarnation of the Power Rangers TV show, which is why I picked it up (and also how I justify writing about FCBD in my blog). I was extremely curious about how a comic book of a 20 year old tv show would work. Where was the story going to come from? Didn’t the show naturally transition from MMPR to Power Rangers Zeo? And even if it didn’t, the original red, yellow, black, and pink rangers all moved on prior to the actual end of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1995.
Well, apparently there is a graphic novel coming out, but for this occasion, Papercutz – the publishing company behind the impending novel, created an all-new story in canon that fits nicely into the narrative of the season two episode, “White Light: Part 2” (2×18).
It’s a weird sort of throwback story given that they adhered so strictly to the original source material — 90s fashion and all. Although I’ve gotta say, the portions of the story where they morph and then transform into Megazord work much better on the page than on the screen. What takes entirely too long on TV is easily summed up in one panel in print.
And I did enjoy the little throw-away lines about how Tommy struggled to control his zord because he was, “…new to the ways of the Saba and the White Tigerzord…”.
I bet those machines are terrible to drive.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s sudden rise in awesomeness following the release of Captain America: The Winter Soldier has reignited my interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and with the impending release of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie I figured the comic would be an interesting introduction into that world. Also, since it was coming from Marvel I figured the artwork would undoubtedly be spectacular.
And it was, the detailing was insane. The story was also what I wanted – an introduction to the colorful cast of characters, although there wasn’t much of an actual story since the book contained two additional ‘previews’, one for Thanos: The Infinity Revelation and Spider-Verse, which promises “Every Spider-Man Ever”. The preview in my issue had Spider-Man in Shakespearian times, so that was different.
Courtney Crumrin
And lastly, I picked up Courtney Crumrin because it was one of Glen Weldon’s recommendations and because, as Netflix would put it, I enjoy entertainment with strong female leads.
I’m pretty sure that the series is geared towards more of a YA-audience, which I was both surprised and delighted when the story quickly went from outcast teenage witch befriends the new girl in school, to something much darker. I’d kind of like to read more.
Oh, and I also picked up a Brienne of Tarth Game of Thrones Funko figure, looks good right?
