On The Shelf: More Free Comic Book Day 2023

 Part 3 of our Free Comic Book Day review.

While Marvel has been the home of Star Wars books for a while now, kid-centric Adventures titles based on the franchise are at Dark Horse.

One such title is built around The High Republic, but what isn't clear is if this story ends on a cliffhanger. No ad for a forthcoming title.

The back-up features Nickelodeon's Avatar: The Last Airbender, written by Amy Chu, and a little more lighthearted than I'd expected.

Rating: B.

Rick Remender's latest at Image is The Sacrificers, previewing a new series debuting in the summer. In a word, bizarre. Not really sure what Remender is going for here, but it does read like a good vs. evil morality play.

Rating: B-.

Another entry from Image is Jeff Lemire's Fishflies, written & drawn by the creator himself. Lemire's art style is very simplistic and to the point. Making it black & white on the interior, however, is not something I agree with, however. A 6 issue double-size miniseries debuts in July. Image would be better served going back to censoring the coarse language, though. Takes away from the aesthetic.

Rating: B-.

West of Sundown, from Vault Comics, is a tale of a vampire debutante and the Confederate soldier who becomes her consort in the old west. Already out as a hardcover trade. Tim Seeley crafts an interesting tale, aided by Aaron Campbell.

Rating: B.

In the 90's, Valiant began building a line of heroes, including X-O Manowar and Shadowman. 30 years later, the characters have been revamped for a new generation. Bob Hall writes & draws Shadowman, whose alter ego is a jazz musician based in New Orleans. Not much has changed, except for the fact that we now have more of a reluctant hero. Michael Conrad & Becky Cloonan are in charge of X-O Manowar, which looks interesting.

Rating: A-.

Paying no heed to the fact that DC's Teen Titans Academy flamed out in less than 18 months, Boom! Studios is forging ahead with Ranger Academy. As in, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangersm who already have two titles to begin with. If they're trying to expand the backstory to explain the existence of the Rangers, ok, cool. The artwork is a homage to the franchise's roots in Japan. It's ok for the target audience, though I'd recommend some Santayana to the publisher.

Rating; B.

Remember "Fright Night", back in the day? With Chris Sarandon, Roddy McDowell, and a decent cast? Well, creator Tom Holland (not to be confused with the actor) has licensed it to American Mysthology for a new series, previewed here. Decent, with 80's vet Neil Vokes contributing to the artwork.

Rating: B.

We'll finish this on Sunday.