Diversity Aboveground: Free Comic Book Day 2016

May 7, 2016

Saturday, May 7, 2016 is Free Comic Book Day!

Yes, it’s time once again to locate your participating stores, show up, check out the free comics and give them some love with your cash, too. Store vary from the usual comic book stores to book sellers like Books a Million to collectibles shops. You can either call around to your favorite places or go on http://www.freecomicbookday.com

Standing in front of all those comics can be overwhelming so here’s a list of free and regular priced comics to check out.

4 Kids Walk into a Bank

Tyler Boss, Matthew Rosenberg

It’s a dark comedy about four diverse teenagers who gets mixed up in their parents’ secrets as well as a bank heist. Unfortunately, no super powers like the Runaways but it’s very funny.

Awake

Susan Beneville, Brian Hess

FREE

Regn is a 12 year old with power over planets. She can wake them up. She can heal them but what if they don’t want to be saved? This free issue is actually a prequel to the series available in a compiled trade paperback.

Black Magick

Greg Rucka. Nicola Scott

This comic revolves around Rowan Black; a police detective. Black also happens to come from a long line of witches and her latest case appears to involve her extracurricular activities. It could be cheesy but instead it’s delightful. It even passes the Bechdel-Wallace Test in every single issue. How many comics can say the same? Since it’s in a hiatus, catch up with all the issues in a newly released trade paperback.

Dark Lily & Friends

Georgia Ball and Various

FREE

This teases which will be an upcoming series and three other entities. Ball is known for her work on Disney Princesses and Strawberry Shortcake so that much cute put into a darker subject should be awesome.

DC Super Hero Girls

Shea Fontana, Yancey Labat

FREE

Based off the new series, Wonder Woman, Batgirl, Katana, Harley Quinn, Bumblebee and more have an adventure that’s actually the first two chapters from a graphic novel to be released in June. Fontana also writes everything from the interactive website:

http://www.dcsuperherogirls.com/en-us

Love and Rockets

The Hernandez Brothers

FREE

Love and Rockets was first self-published in 1981 before a comics publisher picked it up in 1982. New issues have been released sporadically ever since. Depending on which brother is responsible at the time determines which stories are in it. Some are about a village in Latin American while others are about growing up Chicano in the early punk scene. This sampler has several stand-alone stories.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

Brandon Montclare, Amy Reeder

Lunella Lafayette is a mechanical genius that despite her young age could give Tony Stark or Peter Parker a run for their money. In the first issue, she manages to teleport Devil Dinosaur and a group of cavemen into New York. She’s also African-American.

Oddly Normal

Otis Frampton

FREE

The title character has never felt like she’s fit in. Now she’s learning about her witch side of the family and that even in the magical world, she still doesn’t fit in. You may have seen Frampton’s work in the popular Youtube series, How It Should Have Ended. Each page is exceptionally cute and occasionally, hilarious.

Poe Dameron

Charles Soule, Phil Noto

Yes, it’s that Poe Dameron but it’s not like comics are full of title characters who are also Latinx. This story bridges the gap between Greg Rucka’s novel, Before the Awakening, and when viewers first meet Poe on Jakku in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. There is plenty of humor and cameos.

Punisher

Becky Cloonan, Steve Dillon

Once again rebooted, Punisher‘s new author was the driving force behind DC’s Gotham Academy. It might seem strange but she’s earning but she’s earning well deserved praise. It also has to be noted that she is the only female at Marvel writing for a male character series.

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Hamilton received 16 Tony nominations this week. It’s a record setting achievement for a show that cast Thomas Jefferson and other Founding Fathers as people of color rather than the historical male Caucasian.

So, the next time that someone says they can’t hire anyone not Caucasian because of history, just point them towards Hamilton.

(sigh)

Another week, another rumor about Kevin Feige possibly letting Black Widow have her own film…

How many times have you seen Captain America: Civil War?

Next week will be that long anticipated DC column…

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