5 Free Comic Book Day 2017 Titles Worth Picking Up
One of the best times of the year for comic fans is Free Comic Book Day. The 'free' part of that is the reason why. On Saturday 6th May, 2017, it's time for the 16th annual Free Comic Book Day, where stores around the world give away a selection of free comics. With 50 titles to choose from, from a wide range of publishers including Marvel, DC Comics and Image Comics, this is a can't-miss event for any comic fan and a great way to introduce readers of all ages to new series to add to their weekly collections.
5. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Ever since 2011, IDW Publishing have been producing some of the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics ever. Including all the mini-series, they have created a massive ongoing epic that has revised the heroes origins and faced them off against familiar foes like the Shredder and Krang. It's not just a great TMNT series, it's just a great series.
For Free Comic Book Day, IDW is offering "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Prelude to Dimension X," by Tom Waltz, Eastman and Cory Smith. This sets up the Turtle's upcoming space-based adventure in the 2017 crossover event, "TMNT: Dimension X." While a defeated Krang awaits trial for his crimes in Dimension X, a mysterious assassin has set his sights on the Turtles and the rest of Krang's enemies. Should be a fun starting point for anyone new to a brilliant on-going series.
4. X-O Manowar Special.
Valiant Comics have been producing some of the best comics around since their 2012 reboot, with titles like Ninjak (a personal favourite), XO-Manowar and Unity being well-received titles. X-O Manowar is one of the publishers biggest titles.
It's no surprise then, that Valiant's Free Comic Book Day offering is an X-O Manowar Special, featuring a preview of X-O Manowar's action-packed new series, with a story by Matt Kindt and brilliant artwork by Tomas Giorello. This title will also feature previews of "Bloodshot" and the rest of Valiant's lineup with work from creators like Jeff Lemire, Doug Braithwaite, Ryan Bodenheim and Mico Suayan.
3. Doctor Who.
Some of the Doctors best adventures have sadly happened in comics, where fewer people get to know about them. It's not something to complain about though when you're a comic fan, and Titan Comics have been regularly publishing the Time Lord's continuing adventures since 2014, featuring several of the Doctors incarnations and including some new companions that haven't appeared in any other medium. There's also more team-ups between various versions of the Doctor, which for obvious reasons we don't get to see in the TV Series.
Talking of team-ups between various versions of the Doctor, this year's Free Comic Book Day offering has all four modern Doctors appearing in the same story in Doctor Who, by Alex Paknadel and Mariano Laclaustra. In this time-traveling tale, the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Doctors will all visit the same planet at different points in time. Along with nods to established "Doctor Who2 continuity, this comic will also tease upcoming storylines for Titan's ongoing "Doctor Who" books.
2. 2000 AD Special.
If there's one comic to look out for on Free Comic Book Day in the UK, it's whatever 2000 AD are offering. Unlike other publishers, 2000 AD publish weekly, with hardly any gap between stories, and you get many stories per Prog. They regularly deliver on great issues, and Free Comic Book Day has yet to disappoint as far as 2000 AD are concerned.
For Free Comic Book Day, 2000 AD return with a 32 page, 40th anniversary special. Judge Dredd is confronted by someone with a personal vendetta in Forty Years of Hurt from Matt Smith and Phil Winslade; the treacherous A.B.C. Warrior known as Blackblood faces off against a new nemesis named General Public from Pat Mills and Kei Zama; private investigator Mallory Hope encounters occult forces in 1940's Los Angeles from Guy Adams and Jimmy Broxton; Judge Anderson attempts to capture the alien bounty hunter known as Trapper Hag and his evil sister Skinner Hag in Hag Team by Dan Abnett and DaNi; and Judge Death attempts to disclose the identity of a murderer in Dreams of Deadworld by Kek-W and Dave Kendall.
1. Secret Empire.
As much as we're looking forward to the 2000 AD Special, Marvel wins the top spot with it's Secret Empire controversial crossover event that should final event for a while, thankfully. Through reality-warping, Captain America has been turned into a sleeper Hydra agent and after rising to be the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Steve Rogers reveals his true colours while Earth's strongest heroes are busy dealing with an alien invasion, amongst other things. It's a story that has divided fans, and the Free Comic Book Day special "Secret Empire," by Nick Spencer and Andrea Sorrentino, comes with a shocking final moment that will cause even more controversy.
The issue will also feature a prelude to Chip Zdarsky and Adam Kubert's upcoming series "Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man," by Zdarsky and Paulo Siqueira, where Mary Jane is interrupted by an appearance from the high-flying Vulture. Just in time for Spider-Man: Homecoming.
