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THE TICK #1 FCBD 2010 EDITION |
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Writer/Artist:
Ben Edlund |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
NEC Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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NEC'S SYNOPSIS:
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In honor of this year's Free Comic Book Day, and to
commemorate the first appearance of The Tick 24 years ago, NEC Press offers this
special re-presentation of Ben Edlund's legendary first issue of The Tick, in a
special Free Comic Book Day special edition! The complete original first comic
book appearance of The Tick, as it originally hit the stands in 1986! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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“The Tick” is one of those things that many fanboys
and fangirls hold near and dear to their hearts, and I, for the life of me,
can’t figure out why. I never got on board with the comic, the cartoon, the live
action television show, none of it. I just wasn’t sure what the point of it all
was, to make fun of the mentally insane? Don’t get me wrong, The Tick wasn’t the
first person to fight crime and be portrayed as a nut, but he was the first that
I was exposed to whose mental condition was the comic book equivalent of a
pie-in-the-face gag, routinely referred to and utilized as a source of humor,
and really never ending up that funny. This is the first issue of “The Tick”
ever produced, and reprint in celebration of “seven trade paperback
collections…always kept in print and readily available through comic
distributors servicing every comic store in the U.S., Canada, and even in
Europe!”, I mean Free Comic Book Day; I always get those two confused. |
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TOY STORY FCBD 2010 EDITION |
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Writer:
Jesse Blaze Snider
Artist:
Nathan Watson |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
BOOM! Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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BOOM!'S SYNOPSIS:
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With Toy Story 3 hitting theaters this summer, don’t
miss this opportunity to get kids hooked on comics with a FREE issue from the
ongoing Toy Story series from BOOM Kids! More all-new adventures featuring the
world's favorite toys with Woody, Buzz and the gang! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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If you haven’t seen “Toy Story” or its sequel, the
aptly titled “Toy Story 2”, then you may find this miniscule review, while
lacking in size, wrought with spoilers. Apparently there’s a third installment
of the Disney/Pixar behemoth on its way to theaters as I write this, and in
anticipation of the soothing sounds of cash registers ringing (which is really a
dead reference, and stupid imagery considering nobody uses traditional cash
registers anymore) the powers that be have seen fit to reintroduce the
characters to a new crop of youngsters (people I know that enjoyed the movie
with me in ’95, when I was twelve, now have kids of their own, so go figure) by
way of comic books so that come whatever-Wednesday-or-Friday that they open the
latest sequel in theaters they see a bigger return-on-investment. It works both
ways really; Comics and film have become so directly dependent on one another as
of late that there is very little distinction as to what drew what inspiration
from whom, and when, or why…oh and this issue is written by the son of that dude
who looks like a chick from the band “Twisted Sister”, so that’s neat. |
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SONIC THE HEDGEHOG FCBD 2010 EDITION |
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Writer:
Ian Flynn
Artist:
James Fry |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Archie Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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ARCHIE'S SYNOPSIS:
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"Hide & Seek & DESTROY!": Dr. Eggman has vanished -
or has he? As Sonic searches for clues, he stumbles across an old weapon from
the bygone days of his childhood. Will Dr. Eggman allow Sonic to be destroyed by
this threat from yesteryear? Will Sonic discover the truth behind his old
rival's disappearance? All the answers lie in this free issue! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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While the character was a BIG part of my childhood
in the video game format, no matter how hard I tried I could never get into the
comic book adaptations. Well, I might be the only one because this book has been
going strong, in one form or another, for the better part of twenty years; the
original series, at 212 issues, has been recognized by the Guinness Book as the
longest running comic book adaptation of a video game. That’s a lot of Hedgehog,
you know what I mean. In the FCBD edition the title character is continuing the
arduous task of reconnoitering the former hideout of his long-time enemy, all
the while oblivious to the fact that Egg Man is much closer than he is believed
to be. Sonic fights some sort of amalgamation of badniks, made out to look like
some sort of mythological hydra-like creature, but that really goes no where
fast; get it? |
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S.E.HINTON PUPPY SISTER FCBD 2010 EDITION |
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Writer:
CW Cooke
Artist:
Taylor Lautner |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Bluewater Productions
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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BLUE WATER'S SYNOPSIS:
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S.E. Hinton, author of the The Outsiders, was - and
still is - one of the most popular and best known writers of Young Adult
fiction. And now Bluewater Productions proudly announces an exciting new
partnership with the best-selling in this special FCBD preview issue, showcasing
the new titles from Hinton. |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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“The Puppy Sister” is a partnership between the writer S.E. Hinton and BlueWater
that seems kid-friendly and altogether innocent; there are some basic spelling
errors that should have been weeded out in proof-reading, but I’m pretty sure
Editor Darren G. Davis was too busy scouring gossip rags for his next bio-comic
target to bother giving a darn about an acclaimed author’s first foray into the
realm of comic books. Blah, blah, blah…it’s the same old song and dance from a
company that doesn’t seem to care if the products they release are poor
representations of themselves or not, as long as they can scrape together a
quick buck paraphrasing “Tiger Beat” in a poorly illustrated Taylor Lautner rag
(actually it’s Rob Pattinson, but who cares!) and scam ‘Tweens out of four
bucks. What a joke. |
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ARCHIE’S SUMMER SPLASH! #1 FCBD 2010 EDITION |
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Writer/Artist:
Dan Parent |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Archie Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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ARCHIE'S SYNOPSIS:
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“Whose BEACH is it Anyway?”: Sun, sand, swimsuits
and cool rockin’ tunes — no, it’s not a cinematic “beach party” blast from the
past, but a whole new summer splash from Archie and his friends! In this
fun-filled free issue, Cheryl and her snooty friends from Pembrooke form an
all-girl group to compete head on with the Archies at a summer beach music
festival. Will Cheryl’s group be a tuneful treat, or mistaken for bellowing
whales? |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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If “Archie” is your thing then I think you’ll like
this book. The title has always been a little too ‘vanilla’ for my taste, and I
grew out of it a long time ago. However, as I read through this, my first
“Archie” comic in, sheesh, ten-plus some odd years, I noticed that they’ve gone
a long way towards diversifying the cast, as well as highlighting the
socio-economic differences amongst the town of Riverdale. The book is still very
accessible for young readers, and a perfect gateway comic to introduce kids to
without worry of sex, violence, drugs, or anything else that makes stories
really interesting. |
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G.I. JOE: A REAL AMERICAN HERO #155½ FCBD EDITION |
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Writer:
Larry Hama
Artist:
Augustin Padilla |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
IDW Publishing
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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IDW'S SYNOPSIS:
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This is what you really want! Larry Hama continues
his original and ground-breaking G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero saga with the
VERY NEXT ISSUE (but, you know, 15 years later). G.I. Joe has closed its doors,
leaving COBRA to pillage, burn, and plunder! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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Okay, try to wrap your brain around this, if you can: in the 80’s, a very dark
decade in American history, Marvel Comics licensed “G.I. Joe” from Hasbro toys
and for over a decade published a comic starring “The Ultimate Weapon of
Democracy.” The architect of this series, for the most part, was Mr. Larry Hama,
a name that still leaves a bad taste in my mouth thanks to “Barack the
Barbarian”, and in recognition of the legacy of characters his stories left
behind publisher IDW, in ANOTHER Marvel tradition, albeit a more recent one, is
giving Hama a chance to pick up the series where he left off, ignoring anything
about the characters that has happened since his departure from the series. I,
for one, wasn’t a huge fan of the ‘Joe’ comics, well, because I still had a
television in the 80’s and 90’s and preferred my propaganda spoon fed to me in
half-hour segments, but even without any knowledge of what had happened in the
series prior to this issue I still had a great time reliving the stories of my
youth, even if they’re a bit more contemporary than I remember them. |
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BONGO COMICS FREE-FOR-ALL! FCBD 2010 EDITION |
Writers:
Chuck Dixon, Sergio Aragones, Tony Digerolamo and Ian Boothby
Artists:
John Delaney, Sergio Aragones, and Phil Ortiz |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Bongo Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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BONGO'S SYNOPSIS:
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The comic company that brings you The Simpsons and
Futurama in the fantastic four-color format joins with retailers to reel in new
readers, with a comic cornucopia of tantalizing tidbits and a spectacular
sampling of the best in humor comics! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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I’ve maintained, over the course of the last few
years, that “The Simpsons” remains one of the smartest and funniest of the
off-color cartoon comedies that seem so popular these days. Sure Seth McFarlane
and his creations “Family Guy”, “American Dad”, and most recently “The Cleveland
Show” get a lot of the critical acclaim these days, and “South Park” has
captivated the hearts and minds of audiences for the better part of the last ten
years or so, but “The Simpsons” did it first, and they did it better, and they
still do. In my opinion they’re one of the only television properties (or movie
properties, or video games, or whatever) that can make the transition from the
screen to the printed page, and while it’s not a flawless translation, it’s damn
close. Readers get four short stories that run the gamut of typical ‘Simpsons’
fare, from super-powered Barts from multiple realities, or Homer’s misguided
attempt at relieving the global warming fiasco. |
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FRAGGLE ROCK/MOUSE GUARD FCBD 2010 |
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Writers:
Nichol Ashworth and Sam Humphries
Artists:
Jake Myler and Jeremy Love |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Archaia Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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ARCHAIA'S SYNOPSIS:
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It’s time to dance your cares away as Gobo, Mokey,
Wembley, Boober and Red return for a brand-new series of hilarious and heartfelt
Fraggle Rock adventures written and drawn by some of the most imaginative
creators in comics! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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The Fraggle's of “Fraggle Rock” were, like, the
COOLEST things in the world when I was a kid. I’d get up early just to ‘dance my
cares away down at Fraggle Rock” with the puppets that looked so real to me, at
the time, that I knew they had to be around here somewhere, I just wasn’t
looking hard enough. It’s one of those things that, when you’re younger, you buy
into, and I was sold by the end of the first episode. It’s really great to see
the characters brought back for a whole new generation of kids to experience,
and while this book isn’t going to attract fans of the series that have since
grown up and moved on from such sillyness, it’s still fun to take a quick
breeze-through for nostalgia’s sake. There’re two stories, one all about the
Doozers, and another about Red and her misguided attempts at sculpture. Both
stories ring true to what I remember to be the heart of the series: teaching
kids to be themselves. I don’t know just how likely it is that the underground
race of party-animals is likely to catch on with younger readers but it sure is
nice to seem them again. |
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DC KIDS MEGA-SAMPLER FCBD 2010 EDITION |
Writers:
Art Baltazar, Franco, Landry Q. Walker
Artists:
Art Baltazar, Mike Norton, and Eric Jones |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
DC Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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DC'S SYNOPSIS:
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This sampler is the perfect place to check out the
sensational line of titles aimed at readers of all ages! It includes exciting,
all-new stories starring Batman: The Brave & The Bold, Tiny Titans, Billy Batson
& the Magic of Shazam! and Super Friends! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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While this may not be within everyone’s desired age-range as far as content is
concerned there’s nothing less than ‘cool’ about this book. It kicks things into
high gear with a beautifully illustrated “Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam”
story in which aliens are abducting the world’s bovines in order to experiment
on them. Art Baltazar is up next with his much acclaimed “Tiny Titans”, which
I’ve had very little experience with yet found strangely endearing. There are a
few particular riffs on the Superboy mythos that rand so true I actually found
myself laughing out loud. Lastly there’s a short story in the vein of the Dick
Sprang-inspired “Batman: The Brave and The Bold”, which I didn’t think would
work but it really does, focusing the adventure on the Martian Manhunter as
opposed to just another Batman story. This is a great sampler for kids, or if
you’re just looking for FUN super heroics, without all the doom and gloom that
tends to accompany the medium these days. |
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IRON MAN/NOVA FCBD 2010 EDITION
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Writer:
Paul Tobin
Artist:
Craig Rousseau |
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Reviewer:
"Sweet" Dan Sweet
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Publisher:
Marvel Comics
Shipped On:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (050210) |
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MSRP:
FREE! |
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MARVEL'S SYNOPSIS:
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What happens when an armored billionaire teams up
with a hot-headed, cosmic-powered teen to fight a trio of massively-powered
super-apes? Find out when Iron Man and Nova take on Red Ghost and The
Super-Apes! Out-numbered, the Golden Avenger and the Human Rocket will have to
trust an apparent traitor in the gorillas' midst if they are to survive and save
an entire city. Will they succeed or are they being played? Find out in this
all-new, action-packed adventure, which happens to be FREE! |
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SWEET DAN'S REVIEW:
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About half-way through this book I realized what this was, an advertisement for
the brand-new “Marvel Adventures: Super Heroes” ongoing series (On Sale
Monthly!) by writer Paul Tobin. As far as “Marvel Adventures” is concerned I’m
not that experienced, considering the line, for the most part, ‘the kid
section’. With that said, I really enjoyed this would-be old-school done-in-one
throw down between Iron Man and Nova and the Red Ghost (who always reminds me of
that Misfits song “Crimson Ghost”) and his super powered apes. Except, one of
the apes has gone rogue, and he’s working with Shell-head and…Nova...in order to
stop his former boss in hopes of receiving plenty of candy as his reward.
There’s a short “Super Hero Squad” back-up feature that was extremely well done,
and also my first real look into that aspect of the Marvel U. I thought all the
characters were perfectly represented by the writer, Todd DeZago, whom I
automatically confused with Tom DeFalco, who he is NOT. |
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"Remember, Saturday May 1st, 2010 is Free Comic Book Day this year
and we're giving away the over 30 titles listed in these pages at the store that weekend. That's a lot of
titles and as always some are going to be of more interest to you than others.
So take a look at the ALL AGES, TEENS AND UP and REFERENCE offerings for this
year and begin to dream about the 2nd Happiest day of the Year (right after Christmas!)
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All Books/Characters pictured herein are © Copyright 2010 by their respective owners. No rights given or implied by Alternate Reality, Incorporated.
Reviews © 2010 Alternate Reality, Inc.
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