Free Comic Book Day is an event that I hope you all get to experience at some point in your lives, because it’s usually the busiest day of the year, and it’s always nice to see new faces perusing the shelves to see what they’ve been missing.  I thought this was an impressive FCBD, due to the variety of new stories from a plethora of publishers.  Some of these issues were short samplings, consisting of 8-10 pages, while others were full length stories, like Oni Press’ new series Bad Medicine.  The people at Archaia Entertainment were gracious enough to provide the eager masses with a hardcover copy of their popular book, Mouse Guard.  I haven’t read a comic book made for kids in a long time, but Superman: Family Adventures, which was written and illustrated by Art Baltazar and Franco was highly enjoyable.  Instead of doing my usual recommendations, I figured I would share with you all, two of my favorite issues from this year’s FCBD.  Let me know which books you enjoyed in the comments section below.

Dinosaurs vs. Aliens - Story by Grant Morrison & Barry Sonnenfeld / Art by Mukesh Singh

Don’t let the title fool you, Dinosaurs vs. Aliens is an enjoyable action-adventure story that left me wanting more, and Singh’s art is superb.  From the creator of the ‘Men in Black’ franchise (Barry Sonnenfeld), comes a tale of an alien race who has been searching the galaxy for centuries, looking for a new home.  As you can imagine, that new home is Earth, but it’s set in the time of dinosaurs, so I’ll be curious to see how these extraterrestrials interact with the indigenous population.  This FCBD edition is not a complete issue, but it does have a nice artist sketchbook in the back that’s worth checking out.  There’s no denying that Mr. Singh has talent, but I wonder how well the story will hold up over several issues.  The teaser that we get in this comic was enough to bring me back, but what about you?  Does the idea of dinosaurs clashing with aliens seem too absurd, or will the writing prowess of Grant Morrison (Final Crisis, Batman & Robin) be enough for you to give it a chance?

The New 52 #1 – Story by Geoff Johns / Art by Jim Lee, Ivan Reis, Kenneth Rocafort & Gene Ha

This was the most surprising book in my stash, due to my lack of enthusiasm for the current Justice League book being written by Geoff Johns.  The New 52 is quite possibly the best JL story I’ve read since the relaunch.  If you checked out the Flashpoint miniseries, then you’ll remember a character called Pandora, who is a hooded woman that randomly appears in various issues throughout the New 52.  I assumed that she would serve a purpose for a future event that would crossover the entire DC Universe.  Well, in this issue we find out that next year the first big event will be called “Trinity War.”  The origin of this name comes from Pandora’s mysterious past, when she was cursed to walk the Earth alone for eternity, separated from her two comrades who were also punished.  If there’s anyway for you to get a hold of The New 52 #1 then I encourage you to do so.  There’s mystery, action and suspense, which is what I love about stories from the Justice League and I’m sorely missing those elements in the current issues.  Hopefully the “Trinity War” will be an improvement, and if this issue is any indication, then there’s a good chance we’ll be in for a fun ride in 2013.

Favorite Panel: The New 52 #1 – Art by Jim Lee

My Complete Pull List For the Week of 5/9/12:

Higher Earth #1 (Boom Studios)

Incorruptible #29 (Boom Studios)

Batman #9 (DC Comics)

Morning Glories #18 (Image)

The Walking Dead #97 (Image)

Avenging Spider-Man #7 (Marvel)

Ultimates #10 (Marvel)

Wolverine & the X-Men #10 (Marvel)

-David Griffin (Follow @griffinde on Twitter)


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