Free Stuff!

I picked up my free comics from Free Comic Book Day almost a week late, ’cause I was too busy volunteering at the Comic Book Expo to pick up any goodies. But I grabbed a few on Thursday when I went to pick up my latest comics fix, so what say we take a quick look at ’em now?

 

Hellboy: Free Comic Book Day

We get three short stories here — “The Mole” has Hellboy dealing with a skin condition that can’t be cleared up at the dermatologist. “Out of Reach” is a thoroughly enigmatic story set just after the events of the recent “B.P.R.D.: Killing Ground” series, with Johann Krauss, back in his glass-jar body, up to some possibly ominous shenanigans. “Bishop Olek’s Devil” is set prior to the current “B.P.R.D.: 1946” series, as Dr. Bruttenholm and Dr. Eaton seek out a dangerous spellbook. Oh, and keep your eyes peeled for Matt Groening’s Futurama/Hellboy mashups. They’re awesome.

Verdict: Thumbs up. All the creepy weirdness you love in Hellboy stories, compressed into bite-sized nuggets.

 

Atomic Robo: Free Comic Book Day

I’ve been trying to get my claws on some of the “Atomic Robo” comics for a while, and I always seem to just barely miss ’em before they get sold out. Sucks to be me. But I got this one, which is a nice little introduction to the character. Atomic Robo is the last and greatest creation of Nikolai Tesla — a fully intelligent, action-loving robot who runs his own think tank and goes on action-crammed adventures against devious scientists and the unexplained. In this story, he chases down a mad Russian scientist who plans to destroy the world with a mega-powerful atomic bomb. A short backup feature is from a new comic called “Neozoic” about an alternate earth where dinosaurs have survived to the present day and are currently making things really rough for humanity.

Verdict: Thumbs up. “Atomic Robo” is lots of fun. Who doesn’t love fast-talking robots who fight Soviet mad science? “Neozoic” isn’t nearly as good, but it shows some promise.

 

Maintenance: Free Comic Book Day

This one follows Doug and Manny, a couple of maintenance guys working in a lab with a bunch of more deranged than normal mad scientists. Worse comes to worse, and both of them end up transported back in time where they meet a bunch of cavemen. Cavemen with rocket packs, rayguns, and Segways.

Verdict: Thumbs up again. Very enjoyably goofy.

There are comics shops out there who have some free books leftover from Free Comic Book Day, so look around and see if you can pick any up.