Broken Frontier

This year’s Free Comic Book Day was a first of sorts as several comic book publishers opted to offer freebies that included original story material instead of the reprints that used to be a FCBD fixture.

The BF staff picked up a few of these ‘original-story samplers’ for a quick review to see whether readers new and old might find them appealing.

Arcana Studio Presents #3, Arcana Studio

Arcana Studio Presents #3 is composed of three original stories that serve as preludes to upcoming projects from the company. Going into this issue cold, I was curious how it would hold up for new readers, one of the goals of FCBD.

The first feature, Kade, was perhaps the strongest of the three, dazzling the eye with extraordinary digitally colored art. Focusing on a so-called “Gothic demon hunter,” Kade’s story is filled with moody atmosphere, pseudo-Biblical portent, and barbaric fantasy violence. The story establishes enough background and mood for new readers to get a feel for the series.

Unfortunately, the second feature, Ezra, tries a bit too hard to do the same. Our scantily clad redhead warrior woman spends most of the story casually mentioning her backstory in battle and the dialogue comes across a bit awkward. The art however is quite lovely.

The third story, 100 Girls, features only one of said girls within it. Instead, it focuses on a wounded and rather ruthless old man escaping from the wreckage of a building decimated by the aforementioned super-powered young lady. It’s a good little character piece, marred only by the arrival of an odd creature towards the end that will probably perplex anyone not familiar with the series.

- Eric Lindberg

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Free Scott Pilgrim!, Oni Press

Free Scott Pilgrim!, written and illustrated by Bryan Lee O’Malley, follows the adventures of a young, slacker hero whose Seinfeld-like story quickly takes a left turn into the Twilight Zone. That is, if the Twilight Zone had ever written episodes as sitcoms. The art has a Manga look and feel to it and is thoroughly enjoyable with the story O’Malley is telling.

As a hook to bring in new readers, Free Scott Pilgrim! really works. It is instantly accessible, well-written, and feels like a full story, not something cut-down, condensed, or rushed. Additionally, O’Malley easily and effortlessly introduces Scott and his supporting cast.

Mention should also be made of Andy Helms’ back-up feature in this issue – Free Fearless Griggs! In this story a spry, 100 year-old, Victorian adventurer battles forces of evil and darkness in his own witty style. The art and writing are highly reminiscent of Mike Mignola’s Amazing Screw-On Head, and really, who couldn’t use more of that type of humor and storytelling? The Aggressive Adventures of Fearless Griggs will be released this summer according to publisher, Oni Press. Two volumes of Scott Pilgrim are available with a third upcoming.

Both features are well worth the investment now that Free Comic Book Day has passed.

- Tonya Crawford

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Future Shock, Image Comics

For its FCBD edition, Image presented a collection of eight four-page previews of upcoming material plucked from several of the company’s strongest titles. The spirit of four Image founding fathers was represented by way of Savage Dragon, Shadowhawk, Spawn and Witchblade. Fear Agent, Gødland, Invincible and Noble Causes filled out the other half of the book.

Although Image didn’t offer any truly original material, fans were still able to get a peek at the future. Ardent Image fan or stranger to some of the best creator-owned material available, everyone who picked up this sampler was able to see that this future is looking bright. Yet, from the fun-filled sci-fi romps and character-driven superhero action to Jack Kirby-esque adventures, a rejuvenated Savage Dragon and the best Spawn and Witchblade in a long time, calling this FCBD edition a mere sampler would be a discredit to the all-out effort the people in Berkeley, CA have been giving recently.

Seeing that the company’s image has been polished up a great deal under the steady hand of Erik Larsen, and based on all the goodies included, Future Shock wasn’t just a sampler. It was a testament for the future. Hopefully, a lot of rookie comic readers noticed that as well. To Image fans, though, it was anything but a shocker…

- Frederik Hautain

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Owly: Breakin’ the Ice, Top Shelf Productions

Like all Owly stories, Breakin’ the Ice is a simple morality play about human nature. The charm in Runton’s stories stem from the fact that they are simple, charming narratives. Keeping that in mind, I think Runton somewhat missed that mark - not in terms of the actual message, but in the execution. Just as BF’s Neil Figuracion pointed out when discussing Owly: Flying Lessons, Runton again relies too much on his pictorial word balloons in Breakin’ the Ice. In some cases, it’s difficult to tell exactly what action is trying to be expressed in these balloons. At other times, Runton actually spells things out too much, using these balloons where his delightfully expressive art has already clearly demonstrated the intended spirit.

That being said, a slightly “off” outing by Runton is still a high bar that many cartoonists could only hope to aspire to reach. This issue adds some variation to Runton’s previous Owly tales, not following the “Owly trying to make friends only to be mistaken as a predator and learning a lesson” template. This time out, it’s Owly that teaches his friends, both new and old, the value of friendship, trust and teamwork. This is a charming tale that will delight kids, and remind adults of the charm and value of comic books.

- Fletch Adams

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The Preposterous Voyages of IronHide Tom, AdHouse Books

The Preposterous Voyages of IronHide Tom combines elements from myths, folk-tales, and tall tales with Joel Priddy’s sometimes simple, sometimes complex, line work. Readers follow along with the indestructible Tom as he voyages around the world to strange and exotic lands and makes and loses fortunes, ships, and crews.

While Priddy’s simple line work takes a little getting used to, the reader’s eye is quickly attuned. The writing taps into old cultural stories regarding the perils of the sea and impossible heroes. This is combined with slapstick and the hysterically funny tendency by IronHide Tom to use one-word euphemisms for the same swear word.

Unlike many of the other offerings for Free Comic Book Day, The Preposterous Voyages of IronHide Tom is not part of an ongoing series, as such; it cannot encourage readers to pick it up as a new title. It does, however, serve as a good example of the diversity of comics. It shows those who are not fans that there is more to the medium than big muscles and capes. For those who are already comic book fans, perhaps IronHide Tom will cause them to seek out subjects and styles that they have never tried.

- Tonya Crawford

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Viper Comics Presents: Volume 1, Viper Comics

Viper Comics Presents: Volume 1 offers a variety of previews and samples of products from the company. The star attraction is a new story from its crowning jewel, Dead@17, called “Prelude to War.” I use the term “story” somewhat loosely, however, as it is really little more than a cryptic inner monologue and a series of splash pages showing images from its heroine’s past and future. “Prelude” is not very satisfying on its own but it serves its purpose and Josh Howard’s stylishly cartoony artwork has rarely looked better than in this crisp and clean black and white presentation.

Next up is a scene from A Dummy’s Guide to Danger by Jason M. Burns and Bryan Baugh, which seems to postulate what would happen if a ventriloquist puppet and his human partner went vigilante.
Emily Edison by David Hopkins and Brock Rizy focuses on a teenage superhero whose clubhouse is wrecked by rampaging robots sent by her grandfather. This story seems to be aiming for a more humorous tone and seems like it would be a cute all-ages book.
Finally, A Bit Haywire by Scott Zirkel, Courtney Huddleston, and Mike Garcia also skews younger with the amusing story of a boy who discovers he has super-speed when escaping from a nasty neighborhood dog.

Most of the stories hype the fact that the upcoming projects are in full color, though the previews here are all black and white. This was surely cheaper for Viper (and thus understandable), but it doesn’t quite achieve the same effect.

- Eric Lindberg

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X-Men/Runaways, Marvel Comics

In X-Men/Runaways, Marvel’s offering for FCBD 2006, the X-Men come to Los Angeles seeking to recruit Molly Hayes to the Xavier Institute. But her friends aren’t going to give her up without a gratuitous superhero fight scene. Just as he does in the monthly Runaways series, Brian K. Vaughan blends the action with witty dialogue and character beats, while keeping things fairly accessible for potential new readers. He also creates some amusing pairings among the two teams—Chase perplexed by the Beast’s staggering vocabulary, Gert and Shadowcat bonding over bizarre pets and their roles as the respective voice of reason for each group. The resulting story is short and somewhat pointless but still entertaining. It makes me wonder what Vaughan could do with a full-fledged X-Men/Runaways miniseries. Love it or hate it, Skottie Young’s exaggerated and cartoonish art helps set the lighthearted tone for this story.

This issue also includes one of Chris Eliopoulos and Marc Sumerak’s charming Calvin and Hobbes-like Franklin Richards comic strips. This time around, Franklin discovers the joys of reading…and his dad’s invention that brings life to inanimate images. There’s also a preview of the upcoming all-ages book Marvel Adventures: The Avengers, and an informative but somewhat long recap called the Ultimate Spider-Man Saga.

- Eric Lindberg