Review: Star Wars Legacy #1

I feel like I’m somehow turning into the Star Wars guy here. I don’t entirely understand how that’s happening, since I’m not exactly a big Star Wars fan in the first place, but something keeps drawing me back, and it’s not exactly a mystery what brings me back: I love the world of Star Wars, but not a huge fan of the Skywalkers et al. Star Wars Legacy #1 (written by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman, illustrated by Gabriel Hardman) is exactly what keeps bringing me back: a new adventure without any of the familiar characters, just the world. (Note: No, this is not new, but it’s being released for people who haven’t read the series before, like me, so I’ll treat it like a new #1 for a series.)

One important thing is to pay attention to the splash page at the beginning of the comic, which outlines the world that we’re in here. This is 138 years after A New Hope (an oddly specific number), so we’re off in the far future from the time we’re familiar with. I made the mistake of not reading it first time through and was overly confused when I read it then, which was fixed just by reading that first page. Lesson learned: it’s there for a reason.

For as much as it throws us into the far future, there is the smallest bit of connection to the originals: our protagonist is Ania Solo, obviously a relatively distant descendent of Han and Leia, but I’m fine with that small connection, which gives us something somewhat familiar to hang onto. It’s also a bit of a shortcut to getting us to care about the protagonist – we all like Han and Leia, so we’re more likely to care more about the protagonist because she has a connection to them. I’d be tempted to call it cheap, but it just works.

Despite Ania being the protagonist, a lot of the story isn’t just about her. This spends a good amount of time dealing with the fallout from destroying the Empire, even though it happened more than a century before. For this, the story follows Yalta Val, a knight who is trying to deal with that situation on the planet where Ania lives. This is not as interesting as her story, and it feels like a lot of Star Wars EU material is dedicated to deconstructing the simplistic way that politics were presented in the original trilogy, and so this kind of feels unnecessary, but it doesn’t completely detract from Ania’s story.

When I started reviewing The Star Wars, the art in that series bugged me for a little while, though I eventually got used to its style. I bring that up to contrast to this comic, which is much closer to a “standard” comic style, if there can even be said to be a standard style, but it just works. It allows me to immediately get into the world, and not attempting to strongly resemble actors or actual people allows me to immediately connect to these characters as new people in this universe.

Whenever I watch a TV pilot, a #1 in a comic series, or any introduction to anything serial, I recognize that it’ll be rough around the edges and have a few problems. So, I always give it a test: all problems aside, does this make me want to read the next issue? For this comic, the answer is yes, and so I’ll recommend it. Especially since it’s being reissued for $1, you really don’t have a good reason not to at least give this a chance, and now that I’ve finished this, I’m going to track down some of the next issues in the series.

Zac Kandell (known mostly on the internet as Mischlings) thinks he knows how deep the rabbit hole of Star Wars EU goes, but is probably wrong. If you find what he says interesting, follow him on Twitter at @Mischlings or check out his personal blog.

Review: The Star Wars #3

Despite it being a fresh start for the series, an alternate universe taking just the main ideas and reusing them in a different context, there’s just one thing that I can’t get away from with regard to Star Wars, even in this series. For the second issue in a row, I’m not entirely sure what to make of it, and I have a lot of that for the series itself. I love the potential that it has, but I’m never quite sure what to make of what they actually do with it. With that in mind, let’s look at The Star Wars #3 (written by J. W. Rinzler, illustrated by Mike Mayhew).

As I mentioned in the previous review, a number of more familiar elements are starting to show up in this series. While they provide touchstones to know where we are in the storyline, the fact that the story has been changed so much from what it was before almost makes it more disorienting than anything else. I’d call it something like the Uncanny Valley of adaptation – there’s an odd mix of the old with the new that’s too much new to be a recreation, but too much old to be a re-imagining, and it just seems to be lacking a real identity on its own. One particular scene in this issue is drawn almost exactly like it was shot in A New Hope, and that serves mostly to throw me off from finally being able to see this as truly separate from the original. Recreating scenes almost exactly while an entirely different story we never saw is playing out in other parts of the issue gives me a sense of whiplash when reading.

I think that what’s bugging me the most, if anything, is that there are a few too many storylines going on all at once. When I get to the end of an issue, while each story there may have come to a good stopping point to be picked up again in the next issue, the issues don’t feel like they’re full, standalone stories. Good or bad, this series is being written for the trade, at which point it should make a lot more sense. As for now, there’s a bit too much going on.

Also, I mentioned something that might be controversial among Star Wars fans in the last review, and I can talk about it here, as it continues on in this issue. I’m talking about R2D2 (or, as he’s called here, Artwo Detwo). In this, he can talk. Not just in beeps and whistles, but actual speech. Honestly, this doesn’t bother me at all, but I expect that there are going to be a lot of fans who react badly to this. So long as he and C3PO (I mean Seethreepio, since this galaxy was so long ago they never heard of shorthand) continue their banter, which they do, I’m okay with it.

I’ve mostly gotten used to the art in this series, which sets aside the fears I had early on that the art style just wouldn’t click right. What stuck out at me is that C3PO seems to have a slightly changed design – he was always intended to look like Maria from Metropolis, but it’s even more pronounced in this design. Again, it’s a change that I don’t really mind, but it also seems like it was a change made for the sake of making a change. 

Overall, I’m still a little torn on this series. I’m going to continue to follow it, since I’m enjoying it so far, but not enough to give it an unconditional recommendation. It’s also a little more difficult to make the recommendation at $3.99 for the issue, so I’ll have to leave it up to you: How much do you want to read good but not great alternate universe Star Wars? That’s what it ultimately comes down to.

Zac Kandell (known mostly on the internet as Mischlings) is far prouder of a single joke in this review than he ever should be – hasn’t stopped laughing at it all day. If you find what he says interesting, follow him on Twitter at @Mischlings or check out his personal blog.

Review: The Star Wars #2

I was frustratingly vague in my review of issue #1 of this series. A lot of that was due to the fear that Dark Horse would send someone with a lightsaber to my apartment if I spoiled anything, but also because the idea alone carried the issue and my recommendation. However, now that the novelty has worn off, does The Star Wars #2 (written by JW Rinzler, illustrated by Mike Mayhew) carry itself with the story rather than just the concept?

I just had to post the Ralph McQuarrie cover.

I don’t hold Star Wars up as the foundation of my childhood or The Holy Trilogy (that belongs to Lord of the Rings), so I really wanted to see the different interpretations of these characters. While I still like it, this series is caught in a weird Catch-22 – it wouldn’t exist without the Star Wars name and is too much of a rip-off to exist on its own. Problem is, existing in the middle tends to just make things more confusing. The biggest issue is how much the characters are modeled after the actors – this Princess Leia looks like Carrie Fisher while acting nothing like her Leia, this Annikin looks like an older Hayden Christensen but is nothing like him. Just a change in the art, designing those characters to look different than their (somewhat) counterparts from the movies would go a long way towards avoiding confusion.

Big Star Wars fans are about to be pissed off at really stupid things, which I realize now should be the definition of fans. There are some familiar characters introduced here with a very different take than people are used to. Now, that can be said for everyone, but these are particularly beloved characters, and anything that’s changed about them is going to bring the angry fans out in droves, assuming that they’re reading this in the first place. While it caught me off-guard, I believe that changes shouldn’t be condemned automatically, and since the spirit of the characters is still intact, I’m willing to roll with it and actually enjoy seeing a different take.

The story in this issue is also a little unclear. The biggest problem is that it’s trying to hit on a lot of beats from the original movie (as much as I’d like to avoid the comparisons, they’re simply impossible not to make), but they play out in a different but unforunately unclear way. I’m also wondering how much ground of the original trilogy is going to be covered in this series, in their very compressed way. I thought this was just going to cover the ground of Star Wars, but this issue is making me think it’s going to cover a lot more.

Overall, I give this a tentative recommendation, only $3.99 after all. I have enough faith in it for now that my subscription is still going, but the novelty is wearing off and the rest of the story hasn’t yet stepped up to compensate. If you’re not in on it yet, this won’t convince you, but if you’re already reading it, you’ll want to keep going.

Zac Kandell (known mostly on the internet as Mischlings) tried writing this review purely in beeps and whistles, but the speech recognition software didn’t like that idea. If you find what he says interesting, follow him on Twitter at @Mischlings for more, shorter thoughts.

Review: The Star Wars #1

Yes, The Star Wars #1 (written by J. W. Rinzler, illustrated by Mike Mayhew) is a Star Wars book. I’m not sure how to fit it into the Expanded Universe canon, if that’s even possible or necessary to. None of that matters, however, and I recommend that anyone who has even a passing interest in the concept pick it up: this is based on the original screenplay that George Lucas wrote in 1974, before many of the changes that made Star Wars what it eventually became.

This is why I say it’s not important to try and figure out how it fits into the canon – call it an alternate universe or something else, just take the concept and run with it. While I’d prefer the franchise in general to completely leave behind the Skywalker family, this is a good way to approach it. A lot of the things that you’re familiar with are gone (and I tried looking for them – they’re either gone or we’re just not there yet), so just take the basic ideas of how the Star Wars Universe works and run with it. It’s difficult to say what’s different because of spoiler limitations, but even knowing that this was based on a completely different version of the movie, I was surprised by how different it was.

A big difference that caught me off-guard was the different entry point into the universe. I expected an opening on Tattooine with Luke, or maybe even the actual opening to the movie with R2-D2 and C-3PO on the Tantive IV. Instead, it starts by going more behind the scenes of the rebellion going on when the original movie started. It serves the purpose of showing the actual events in the opening crawl that Star Wars made famous instead of just using said opening crawl, which may be a rather controversial decision depending on the fans you ask. Don’t worry about its complete absence, though – there is a half-page text crawl setting up the universe at the beginning as if you were completely unfamiliar with it, which applies to very few people but still is a nice touch.

I’m not entirely decided on the art style in this book. As I lack a good art background, I’m not entirely sure how to describe it, but there’s something about the way that faces are drawn that bugs me somewhat. They just look slightly off, but it could just be that it’s a stylistic choice that I won’t even notice after a couple issues have passed, it’s just something worth notice.

Overall, I recommend picking up this book. I know that I haven’t gone into too many specifics, but I don’t think you really need it at this point. It’s a really interesting idea to use the old draft of the script, especially when so many things from that script have been the “what might have been” about the series for decades, that I think just starting to see what it’s becoming is worth the $3.99 cover price. So long as you know that you probably won’t get exactly what you’re expecting, you’ll probably enjoy it.

Zac Kandell (known mostly on the internet as Mischlings) now has something else to add to his pull list. Somehow, getting free comics is really expensive. If you find what he says interesting, follow him on Twitter at @Mischlings for more, shorter thoughts.

Review: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #5

This is the issue that I’ve been waiting for since this series started: Darth Vader vs. the Assassin.  Because if you saw the massacre the assassin pulled off in the first issue, you’ve been exited to see this fight since they revealed the room full of dead soldiers.  Better yet, this issue isn’t just about the fight, but gives a nice, tidy close to this story arch.  Read more after the jump.

I’ve comment in a couple of my previous reviews of this series that I was seeing a side of Darth Vader that I didn’t feel like I saw in the movies: a stead hand, an diplomatic approach and so on, contrasted with a picture I’ve always held in my head of a cold hearted warrior obsessed with power.  The Vader I thought I knew is back.  And I’m loving it.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed the more well rounded view of his character, but this just feels like what I want from a Darth Vader-centric comic.  We even get the “join the dark side” speech.

Even with that side playing a bigger part, we get some of the cunning and cleverness that helps make him a more fleshed out character as he wraps up loose ends.  Some monologuing from the emperor (which for once I didn’t feel was too long winded for the pace) and all in all, I have to say I’m pleased with how this story ends.

The art is spectacular, as it has been.  I have less to say about the art really, because this is one of the things that has been consistently good about this series.  I marveled in my first review at how the style and feel of Star Wars fit despite the introduction of characters and even races that were entirely new.  Major props to the entire art team, Ivan Fernandez in particular as the penciller and earlier .

When I first started reviewing this, I was less than excited about this series.  I was worried that I wouldn’t really be so interested because of course the assassin must fail in his task for the continuity to be maintained.  In the end, I found myself really liking the series, but this issue was without a doubt the best of the five issues.  After all of this, I finally recommend this series with enthusiasm.  If you’ve been following the series thus far, without a doubt go get this issue, especially for $3.50.  If you haven’t, go find the old issues to re-read.  There is a collection coming out, but it’s $7.50 more than buying the issues independently.  Not worth it just for the convenience.

Matthew Bryant, a.k.a. Baker Street Holmes, is a writer and editor for the Red Shirt Crew and so glad for this blog for giving him something to do when he can’t possibly work on his thesis anymore.  He’s excited to be almost done with that, and is looking forward to returning to the States.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #4

Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin is back this week and I thought much more interesting than it has been (although, as I pointed out last time, it has started to interest me more now that the Headless Snake Cultists have become a bigger thing).  There are folds of how this fits into the larger picture beginning to unfurl and we’re getting some answers to things I never thought to ask about the Star Wars stories.  Really good stuff this month!

I harped on the second issue of A Tale of the Golem‘s cover for portraying something that has nothing to do with the plot of that issue, and it’s only fair that I point out the same here: there are no big toothy monsters in this issue.  None.  This is a cover for the last issue, if you ask me.  The cover from the last issue was about the one before that, too.  It’s a beautiful cover, but it’s just not right for this issue.  Minor quibble, but if you’re looking for monsters, read the last issue, not this one.

Now, about the actual issue: this comic really caught my attention because we see things with clear tie ins to the main film series like a glimpse at Vader’s eventual fight with Obi Wan and maybe some hint as to the beginnings of the death star?  We also learn more about the Cult of the Headless Snake, its origins and the ancient prophesy at its core.  I’ve really been looking forward to learning more about this cult and I’m glad they got around to it so quickly.  Now that we know about them though, I wonder what role they will play, if any, since they are no longer a mystery.  I hope they aren’t just done.

But I suspect they will, because otherwise this issue would be completely unrelated to the Assassing part of the title.  Yeah, forgot about that with all the talk of cultists and death stars and monsters, didn’t you?  Yeah, well this series is still apparently about Darth Vader and an assassin, though the assassin has been a background character for the past three issues.  The next issue’s cover shows them fighting, but we’ve already discussed how trustworthy the covers in this series can be.

So the ultimate question: do I recommend this issue?  Yes, actually, because if you’re following the series, it has some important plot development (the cultist details) that you’re going to want to know.  And even if you aren’t following the series, but are interested in the lore behind Star Wars it’s worth picking up because the plot for this issue stands alone fairly well and has some interesting connections to the original movie trilogy.  Besides, what’s $3.50?  Like only, like, 35 minutes of minimum wage work.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, is an editor for the Red Shirt Crew and enjoys long walks on the beach, steam summer sales and AIR CONDITIONING, which the British people have apparently never heard of.  If you wish to provide him with AC or even just a large bag of ice, you can reach him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Review: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #3

We continue with Darth Vader and his quest to save the Emperor from an assassin.  That actually wants to kill him.  But tried to fail to kill the emperor, so he could kill Vader.  You know, what?  Just go read the earlier issues, or at least my reviews for #1 and #2.  A lot has happened.

Vader is hunting down the Cult of the Headless Snake.  Well, that’s not what they call it, but they haven’t revealed what it is called yet, so that’s going to have to suffice.  In his travels, he comes across the shattered star destroyer from the previous issue and learns of the headless snake cultist who lead/directed the attack.  Following data on the ship’s logs, Vader travels to the nearby moon to seek the source of the attack, and hopefully the assassination attempt.  What he doesn’t know is that he’s got a second shadow that follows him to the surface.

What I find interesting, and this may just be because my knowledge of Darth Vader is of the aggressive combatant from the movies, but he is very much a detective and investigator in this issue.  Don’t get me wrong, he still fights off some creatures in a classic display of lightsaber and force power prowess, but his role as a fighter is a minor aspect in this issue.  I really liked seeing him in a different character role, at least different to what I usually see.

Also, we see a little bit more, just a little bit, of this “Cult of the Headless Snake”, right at the end, and no spoilers, but I’m very, very intrigued now.  Before this, I was just wondering if they were with the assassin or not. Now, I have about a billion questions (or really closer to seven) about who they are and what their story is.  I’ve commented in my past articles about this series and that I have had a hard time really getting invested because the movies meant that Darth Vader obviously survives, so Vader and this mysterious assassin aren’t that interesting.  We more or less know how things turn out.  But these cultists: who knows what they do!  They could have any number of outcomes!  That alone has made this my favorite issue of the series thus far.

The last couple issues I didn’t really give an enthusiastic recommendation for because of that.  This time I can definitely give a recommendation, because this time, it’s actually worth the $3.50 they want for it.  You don’t miss much from the previous issue/you catch up on a lot of it in this one, but I would recommend reading the first issue, because there are some characters that may or may not come up later (honestly, I don’t know yet) that are only shown there, so far.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, is an editor for the Red Shirt Crew, and a lover of all things nerdy.  Except zombies, because they could kill you.  They’re fine in movies, books and games, but actual zombies are not to be loved.  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@g-mail.com.

Review: Star Wars: Fire Carrier #5

In spite of my previous reservations, I’m pleased to say that the “Fire Carrier” series is ending on an unexpectedly satisfying final note. In the wake of Order 66, Master K’Kruhk guides the last surviving Jedi younglings, now the precious, irreplaceable future of the Jedi Order, on the final leg of their flight from the systematic extermination of refugees by rogue Imperial elements.

As some of you already know, I wasn’t especially optimistic about this series during the earlier issues. It wasn’t that the story was bad; the story was there, but it didn’t really do anything exciting with the material and kind of fell flat for me. This concluding issue addresses my previous concerns on the matter, bringing all the threads together into something that finally builds a more unique narrative flow.

While we still have a lot of narrative regarding Imperial activity, there’s no Darth Vader cameo in this issue — which is just about always a plus to me. While I do like the occasional character tie-in, I feel like a lot of opportunities are missed by adding big players to the mix. It’s a bit of a trade-off in writing style, but I suppose it all comes down to personal preference in the end.

It’s a shame the story took this long to start throwing us the interesting twists. We see a pleasant subversion of the idea that Imperial officers and soldiers are all made of evil, and we also see a similar subversion as the passionate, death-dealing actions of one young padawan begin what we can only assume is a the beginning of a slow descent into the Dark Side. If anything, this is great material for anyone building an argument for the “benevolent Empire” and “Jedi are assholes” theories that float around the web.

In our review of “Fire Carrier #4”, we got RSC writer Mischlings’s take on the comic. As someone who’s better read in comics than me, his thoughts have brought up some good talking points that I think I’ve left unaddressed in my other reviews.

While the art direction is solid and consistent, the main point I’d like to address is the use of “little yellow boxes” as a narrative device. I agree that they tend to be a little unwieldy; just about anything they tell can be effectively conveyed by other means in most cases. However, we have a few complications in this case. The key thing to remember is that Star Wars is a franchise now mainly targeted at children, especially material with the Jedi or pertaining to the world of the prequels. There’s nothing wrong with that, really. It just means that some things that are obvious to adult readers will be lost on a lot of younger readers. This quickly compounds with the fact that we don’t have established emotional cues, expressions, or body language for many aliens in the Star Wars universe. The less human they look, the harder it is for the brain to extrapolate complex emotions. All of this together means that the yellow boxes, while jarring, are probably a necessary feature in this story.

I don’t particularly want to spoil any of the neat character moments, so I’ll go ahead and jump my thoughts on “Fire Carrier” as a whole.

Parting Thoughts on “Fire Carrier”

You know how when you eat a snow cone, it’s pretty okay for the most part, but then you hit the tasty syrup that sunk to the bottom? Reading “Fire Carrier” is kind of like that. Overall, I rather enjoyed the series as a whole. Not my usual cup of tea, but still quite enjoyable by the end. Definitely a recommended read for fans of Jedi literature and the pre-Rebellion Empire.

That said, I do wish it had started with its narrative twists a little earlier than it did. I will admit that this could easily be because I had no previous investment in the characters involved; however, by the end of it all, I did feel some investment in the goings-on of the party. There are many directions the overarching series could take, and I will happily admit that I am looking forward to seeing where these new threads lead us.

As far as what I liked, I really enjoyed how they showed the faults of the Imperial chain of command. We get the impression that there isn’t some sort of evil tendency behind the Galactic Empire itself. While there’s the corruption of Papaltine and Vader, most of the Empire seems to do pretty well for itself through a rather flexible network of bureaucracy. However, the wiggle-room given by this system makes it ideal for forces of corruption, which leads to rogue elements using Imperial capital to achieve their own unsavory ends. This is something that we see come up a lot in other stories, but none of them examine it in quite this much detail.

My only complaint of note is that I’m still not entirely sure why the Wild Men were a necessary addition. In a way, it kind of raises more questions than it answers. They recognize Jedi, which is fine. No real problem there. However, in a world where extremely diverse humanoid races are the norm, why call them Wild Men? Why not something a little less innocuous, like wildlings or wild apes? Are we using the term “Men” in the Tolkein-esqe sense of “the race of Men,” or are we referring to the fact that they appear to be anatomically male? If they do more stories in this setting, I hope the nature of these creatures is something they go into later.

In any event, this is good stuff for the $2.99 cover price. A bit drawn out and some missed opportunities, but still a neat read. This is definitely worth a read if you’re into the Force-y side of Star Wars. If the whole Jedi/Sith thing is your kind of deal, go for it. If not, there’s plenty of other Dark Horse Star Wars material out there for you to check out.

Doc Watson is a writer, editor, and official “resident Star Wars nerd” on the Red Shirt Crew. Got questions or remarks? Leave a comment below or send him a tweet at @DocWatsonMD.

Review: Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin #2

So, in my last review of Darth Vader and the Ninth Assassin, I was a little hesitant to recommend the comic, as it was unclear where it was going.  Reading the second issue has cleared up some of my questions, but I’m still less than thrilled with it.  What went wrong now?  Check it out after the jump.

Despite my uncertainty last time, the comic did shift focus from the assassin to Darth Vader, which I think makes the comic a more compelling read, since the main character isn’t expected to fail anymore.  And we see an attempt on the Emperor’s life that lures Darth Vader out into the open, so they’ve at least started the true action of the story.  Even the star destroyer that gets attacked, teased on the Dark Horse page for the comic, is pretty spectacular.  But as I noted last time, I still have trouble getting really excited about anything from this time period in the canon, particularly in regards to Vader, because we know he lives to see the original trilogy.

I also feel like there are a lot of wasted frames in this comic.  The attempt on the Emperor’s life is about two pages too long. The conversation the two of them have at the end could also have been more concise.  It felt sort of like the Tim Siedell had a three comic story in mind, but Dark Horse gave him more than that (up to issue #5 can be pre-ordered on Dark Horse already) and he went “Oh, um, okay, I guess I can leave some blank pages for Stephen Thompson to draw on then…”  Overall, it just hinders the pacing, and the whole thing feels kind of slow.

As much as I’m complaining, it is not all bad. I still like the art; Thompson does a great job.  There is also a bit of mystery to the story, as the assassin is never actually said to be behind either of the attacks, and in fact, the attack on the star destroyer doesn’t even really help his cause much, but seems to be perpetrated by the same people who tried to kill the emperor.  Is one of the other eight assassins going to make an appearance?  The first comic did say they weren’t all accounted for.  Or is the ninth assassin really behind that too?  Maybe he has his own agenda.  Honestly, it’s my curiosity over these minor matters that are keeping me reading for at least one more comic, not the main plot.

I still can only give a “so-so” recommendation, because I just find it so hard getting drawn into this time period in Star Wars with anything less than an enthralling plot hook.  But if you want it, it’s $3.50. I’ll be back in a month with issue 3.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, just learned that not only might Jar Jar make a return in Episode VII, Robert Pattinson has expressed interest in lending his voice to the role.  Holmes would love to see Binks die a horrible, painful death more than ever.  You can follow Holmes on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.

Free Comics? Free comics!

As some of you may know tomorrow (Saturday May 4, 2013) is the 11th annual FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!  If you no longer care about what I have to say about free comics, because you are too excited and want to get your comic right now, you are free to leave.  Free comic book day isn’t about you.  Free comic book day is all about those who aren’t yet comic fans.

We read a lot of comics around the Red Shirt Crew office, in case you didn’t notice.  Personally, I love that part of our job, because I grew up with comics and comic book characters.  But maybe you’ve never really gotten into them, perhaps you never understood the draw.

That’s precisely why Free Comic Book Day exists, so people like yourself have a chance to pick up a comic or two (or five, if you’re at a well stocked store) and give it a shot and see what you think.  But just because the offer is there, doesn’t mean you’re necessarily going to take advantage of this opportunity.  That’s why I want to give you 6 reasons to go out and get a comic tomorrow, if you aren’t already a comic fan.  If you are a comic reader, some of these will still have useful information for you too so read on!

6.  Even if you aren’t a big superhero fan, there are still plenty of comics to choose from!

Tomorrow you can get Superman and Judge Dredd comics, sure, but the video game fans can get a Mass Effect or Sonic the Hedgehog comic, Sci Fi fans can get Star Wars.  There are even some television show based comics like Spongebob, The Waking Dead and Grimm.  There’s over 50 comics in total involved this year, and while not ever comic shop will have every comic, pretty much any comic shop will have something for you.  Which brings us to…

5.  Participating locations are easy to find, so don’t fret if you don’t know where your nearest comics book store is and whether or not they are participating.

Just go here, and type in your Zip code (or look up an international location!).

4.  Comics are a great way to help kids learn to read.

Maybe you’re not there to get a comic for you.  Comics are a great place for kids to start to learn to read.  They’re short, they teach good lessons and even when they aren’t free, they’re an inexpensive way to get kids to read regularly.

3.  It’s a great way to get introduced to new writers and new series.

Whether or not you are a comic fan already, Free Comic Book Day is a way that you can find writers and series you didn’t know you’d love.  Like Neil Gaiman? (note: I don’t think any of the comics this year are from Neil Gaiman)  You may not keep reading comics, but you might watch his upcoming episode of Doctor Who or one of his novels, like American Gods.  You never know where a single read might take you.

2.  Many major comic shops across the United States and around the world are having comic signings by comic writers.

If you’re not a comic reader already, this might be a bit of a stretch reason to go to a Free Comic Book Day event, but many places arrange to have comic book authors in their stores to sign comics that day.    This is of course in addition to other events such location might arrange around Free Comic Book Day including other kinds of free merchandise or movie viewings of comic book movies.

1.  Because Hugh Jackman told you to.

If you’re still not convinced, go pick up a comic anyways (it is free after all).  Give it a shot.  Maybe it’ll be nothing, but if it is, you haven’t lost any money over it and you’ll never know unless you try.

Matthew Bryant, aka Baker Street Holmes, will not be participating in Free Comic Book Day only because it’s a $28 train ride to the nearest comic shop, and that defeats the point of Free Comic Book day.  But he wants that Grimm comic SO MUCH!  You can follow him on Twitter at @BStreetHolmes or e-mail him at HMCrazySS@gmail.com.