HEY KIDS, COMICS: FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2023

 SUNDAY BLOGS WERE SUPPOSED TO BE SET ASIDE FOR POSTING RECORDS AND COMICS AND OTHER NON-CARD STUFF BUT INSTEAD I USED MY SUNDAYS FOR BEING LAZY AND NOT POSTING ANYTHING. THE DAYS OF SLOTH HAVE REJUVINATED ME AND I'M HERE ON A SUNDAY MORNING LISTENING TO A MARX BROTHERS PODCAST AND DOING SOME BLOGGERY ACTIVITY. YESTERDAY WAS FREE COMIC BOOK DAY AND I WENT WITH THE KIDS TO MOOCH SOME GOODIES AND PICKED UP A LIL SUMTHIN FOR MYSELF. I WAS TARGETING FOUR SPECIFIC COMICS AND MANAGED TO FIND THREE OF THEM. THE ONE I COULDN'T FIND WAS THE FANTAGRAPHICS FREE COMIC AND I HAVE HONESTLY NEVER EVER EVEN ONCE FOUND THAT COMIC ON FCBD SO I WASN'T TOO DISAPPOINTED. I HAVE A BUNCH OF THE ORIGINAL FABULOUS FREAK BROTHERS COMICS AND AN ANTHOLOGY SO IT'S NOT REALLY A BIG DEAL. HERE'S THE ONES I DID PICK UP

MAD BALLS VS GARBAGE PAIL KIDS  - DYNAMITE

MY INITIAL THOUGHT WAS NO WAY THIS COMIC WASN'T TRASH BUT I CAN'T PASS UP ON ANYTHING WITH ADAM BOMB ON IT. AND TO BE FAIR, TRASH IS KINDA THESE CHARACTERS' RAISON D'ETRE. THIS IS ALSO AN EXTREMELY 80S MASH UP WHICH SEEMS ODD TO MARKET TO KIDS, BUT THANKS TO STUFF LIKE STRANGER THINGS AND GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY KIDS LOVE 80S KITSCH. I'M SURE A BUNCH OF OLD GEEZERS LIKE ME PICKED IT UP AS WELL. SO, IS IT ANY GOOD?

IT'S FINE. THERE'S AN ORIGIN STORY WHERE A FAMILY OF YUPPIE SCUM MOVE INTO A NEW HOUSE RIGHT BETWEEN THE MADBALL HOUSE AND THE GARBAGE PAIL KIDS HOUSE AND THE KIDS GET TO MEET ALL THE LICENSED CHARACTERS. ONCE WE'VE INTRODUCED EVERYONE WE HAVE A SECOND STORY WHERE THE GANG SHOWS OFF THEIR SCIENCE FAIR EXPERIMENTS AND SHENANIGANS ENSUE. THEN THERE'S A FEW ACTIVITY PAGES WITH A MAZE AND A WORD SCRAMBLE BEFORE WE GET TO ALL THE ADS. THE BEST BIT FOR ME WAS THE INTERVIEW WITH THE ARTIST AND WRITER. IT'S BASIC BUT FUN AND I CAN SEE IT CHANGING AN IMPRESSIONABLE WEIRD 8 YEAR OLD'S LIFE JUST LIKE PLOP! DID FOR ME A MILLION YEARS AGO. IT'S A TOY ADVERTISEMENT, BUT THEY'RE FUN TOYS SO WHO CARES 

TOM HOLLAND'S FRIGHT NIGHT - AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY PRODUCTIONS

A COMIC BASED ON THE GREAT 80S MOVIE, THIS ONE CAUGHT MY EYE BECAUSE I HAVE READ THE ORIGINAL FRIGHT NIGHTS COMIC FROM THE 80S AND IT'S GREAT. A NICE COMBO OF COMEDY AND HORROR WITH A FUN CARTOONY STYLE. I SAW THIS ONE ON THE FREE COMIC BOOK DAY PAGE AND WAS SUPER EXCITED BECAUSE THE COVER AT LEAST REALLY CAPTURES THE VIBE OF THE ORIGINAL. SO, IS IT ANY GOOD?

MAYBE? LESS THAN HALF THE COMIC IS ACTUAL COMICS AND HALF OF THAT IS A FLASHBACK SEQUENCE DRAWN BY NEIL VOKES WHO WAS AN ARTIST ON THE ORIGINAL 80S COMIC. THE REST IS INTERVIEWS WITH THE ARTISTS, WRITER, AND DIRECTOR OF THE FILM, A PREVIEW OF TOM HOLLAND'S SPIN OFF NOVEL, ADS FOR MORE FRIGHT NIGHT COMICS AND SOME COOL SKETCH PAGES FROM VOKES. THE FLASHBACK SEQUENCE IS BASICALLY A CLIFF'S NOTES VERSION OF THE FILM AND THE NEW STORY THAT BOOKENDS IT ISN'T FLESHED OUT VERY WELL OTHER THAN THERE'S A HOT VAMPIRE CHICK WITH BATWINGS SO THERE REALLY ISN'T ENOUGH HERE TO JUDGE IT PROPERLY.  I HONESTLY PREFER THE ORIGINAL ART STYLE TO THE NEW ART STYLE BUT THAT'S PROBABLY JUST ME BEING AN OLD CURMUDGEON. THE NEW STYLE SUITS THE VAMPIRE VIBE A LITTLE BETTER THOUGH

THE EXTRA MATERIAL IS PRETTY FANTASTIC ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIKE THE FILM. I WAS NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE AMERICAN MYTHOLOGY PUBLISHER AND WHEN I CHECKED THEM OUT I DISCOVERED THEY DO A BUNCH OF OTHER HORROR TITLES AND A LOT OF LICENCED STUFF LIKE EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS AND THE THREE STOOGES WHICH IS RIGHT UP MY ALLEY. AS A COMIC IT'S OK, BUT AS AN ADVERTISEMENT IT'S FANTASTIC WHICH IS THE WHOLE POINT OF FREE COMIC BOOK DAY WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT

I'M ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN THE COMIC BOOK VERSION OF ONE OF PETER VINCENT'S FAKE MOVIES FROM THE FILM, ORGY OF THE DAMNED. THAT LOOKS LIKE A REAL HOOT

FRAZETTAVERSE - OPUS

FRANK FRAZETTA'S ART IS FANTASTIC AND HAS BEEN A STAPLE OF COMIC BOOKS FOR DECADES. I FOUND A COUPLE OTHER NEW COMICS WITH FRANK'S ART ON THE COVER WHILE BROWSING AROUND DR. NO'S YESTERDAY. THIS COMIC I HAD HEARD OF BEFORE, THE BASIC GIST IS THAT THEY ARE ADAPTING COMIC STORIES OUT OF CLASSIC FRAZETTA PAINTINGS. A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS BUT FRAZETTA'S PICTURES ARE WORTH WHOLE-ASS COMIC SERIES. THERE WEREN'T MANY OF THESE LEFT AND I WAS LUCKY TO SNAG ONE. SO, IS IT ANY GOOD?

HELL YEAH IT'S GOOD! THERE ARE THREE STORIES IN HERE BASED ON FRAZETTA PAINTINGS. THE FIRST ONE IS BASED ON DEATH DEALER. A VIKING LOOKING DUDE ASKS A SKULL WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AND GETS A QUICK SUMMARY OF THE GIGANTIC MESS THE DEATH DEALER GOT HIMSELF INTO. THERE ARE WITCHES AND A WIZARD AND A BIG-ASS DRAGON AND EVERYONE JOINS TOGETHER IN A D&D AVENGERS SETUP TO FIGHT HELL OR SOMETHING. IT LOOKS RAD AND IS AN EXCELLENT TEASER FOR THE COMICS

NEXT UP IS FRAZETTA'S INTERPRETATION OF MOTHMAN. A SPACESHIP MOTHMAN ACCIDENTALLY CRASHES RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A METH DEALER WAR. THIS PREVIEW SHOWS WAY MORE OF THE METHHEADS THAN THE MOTHMENS BUT IT REALLY DOES WHET MY APPITITE FOR MORE CRYPTIDS. OR IS IT ALIENS? THE SERIES COMES OUT IN MAY SO YOU'LL HAVE TO PICK UP AN ISSUE TO FIND OUT

LAST STORY IS BASED ON DAWN ATTACK. A MIX OF FANTASY AND SCI-FI SHENANIGANS, A VALKYRIE SPACE PRINCESS FIGHTS A GORILLA MONSTER. NOT MUCH MORE TO THIS ONE BUT IT LOOKS COOL. THIS IS EASILY THE THICKEST FREE COMIC I SAW AND THERE'S WAY MORE COMICS THAN ADS. IF YOU LIKE FRAZETTA IT'S WORTH TRACKING DOWN

I HAD A NICE FUN SUCCESSFUL FREE COMIC RUN AND ALSO PICKED UP A NICE BOOK ABOUT WC FIELDS AND RESCUED A FEW COMICS FROM THE DOLLAR BOXES. MAYBE I'LL GET AROUND TO POSTING THOSE ANOTHER DAY. YOU ALL ENJOY YOUR SUNDAY AND MAYBE READ A BOOK AND LISTEN TO RECORD AND GET SOME RELAXING IN