It's been almost a week since Free Comic Book Day, which for once fell in between the releases of comic book-themed movies. "The Losers" came out a week prior, and "Iron Man 2" opens today.
For me, it's the only day out of the year where I'll willingly step out of retirement and pick up a few things. This year, it was 3 free books, and some supplies for my sports cards. Let's take a look at the books:
Marvel's Greatest Comics: Invincible Iron Man 1: This is a reprint of the current volume of the series, not the original 1968 series. You knew that something involving the Golden Avenger would be Marvel's main entry for this year. It's a funny thing. 5 years ago, there was only 1 Iron Man book on the racks, and now, Marvel has a line of titles largely because the first movie did such tremendous business 2 years ago. Anyway, this was actually the least entertaining of the three I picked out, and I'll leave it go at that.
Doctor Solar/Magnus: Robot Fighter preview (Dark Horse): The former Gold Key heroes are back again, and so is writer Jim Shooter, who helmed the characters' previous revival at Valiant 20 years ago. Dark Horse acquired the rights to reprint the original Gold Key books in the Masterworks/Archives format popularlized by DC & Marvel a few years ago, and feel the time is right to bring them back. New series will debut this summer, and have plenty of promise. What would really help them is if the folks at Dark Horse gave some consideration to marketing Solar & Magnus to Hollywood studios and get a cut of that movie action, just so it doesn't look like DC & Marvel have a monopoly........
War of the Supermen 0 (DC): Previewing a limited series that is meant to be the coda to the "New Krypton" storyline from the last year, clearing the decks for a new creative team to take over the Superman line of books. It comes down to Superman vs. ancient foe General Zod, with Earth hanging in the balance. Hmmmm, haven't we seen that before? Yes, but not quite like this. Let me put it this way. Zod has a lot more backup than he did in "Superman 2" nearly 30 years ago, and it still won't help him in the end.
Ratings: War of the Supermen 0: A-. Doctor Solar/Magnus: A. Marvel's Greatest Comics: Invincible Iron Man: C-.
Bear in mind I only went to one comics shop this year, right in my hometown, and it was packed almost to capacity. The lure, besides the free comics and a back issue sale? Free food!!! The only time I see that many people in the shop otherwise is during a Magic: The Gathering tournament, and even then, it feels like they need to rent a bigger room to hold the tournament.
Am I tempted to get back in the game? A little, but not enough to go all in. I've sold or traded most of my collection as I write this. I admit I do miss the thrill of going to the store every week, but after collecting on and off since the 70's, I had to step away.
I'll have a review of "Iron Man 2" up later this weekend.
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