Free Comic Book Day was this Saturday, and I have to say it was pretty good this year.
I showed up a little late to my local comic book shop, unfortunately, so most of the small press stuff was gone...or my local shop just didn't get any. They pretty much just put the freebee's out on some table while some massive stupid Magic: The Gathering competition is going on in the back. Disgraceful.I regret to say I was unable to get the Image, Darkhorse, or Archaia comics, so they are going to have to be left out. No other publishers seemed to catch my eye either, so...yeah.

Anyway, the two that stood out to me were the DC and Marvel free comics. Both of these guys had the perfect balance of simplicity to draw in new readers and ramifications that made the stories worthwhile.

MARVEL:

The Marvel comic basically had the New Avengers team up with the Dark Avengers to take on a Frost Giant that had taken out Thor. Both teams are initially at each others throats, what with Venom, Bullseye, Moonstone, and Daken (Wolverine's son...yeah, they gave him one) impersonating Spider-man, Hawkeye, Ms. Marvel and Wolverine Respectively.

I found it funny that the voice of reason here was Norman Osborn of the Dark Avengers, who, for those who don't know, has taken the identity of Iron Patriot after having scapegoated Tony Stark for the recent Skrull Invasion(see so-so Marvel crossover "Secret Invasion"). I mean, Captain America is leading the New Avengers but he pretty much doesn't say a word.

Back to my point...In the end, the two teams are able to put aside their differences and save N.Y. and go their separate ways, no surprise there. What made this issue so great though was the face that it did its job of giving a simple story that didn't confuse new readers, but made them want to read more. They want to know why the Green Goblin is star-spangled and has the authority to arrest Captain America, why villains are masquerading as heroes, and most importantly, WHY DOES WOLVERINE HAVE A FLIPPING KID???!! It makes me want to read, and I already know what's going on. It's where things are going that really draws you in.

Next entry: DC Comics!