Did someone say ‘free?’

By Josh Eiserike

Published: May 3, 2008

The beginning of May means many things to different people: the end of another college semester, Mexican heritage and pride (Cinco de Mayo), a celebration of the labor movement (May day) or free comic books.

For the seventh year running, participating comic book stores around the world are offering free comics from various publishers (typically timed with a big comic book movie of the summer, in this case, "Iron Man"). No charge, no strings attached. Just walk into participating comic book stores and get a free book. Some stores offer up more than one. There's a pretty diverse selection of titles, featuring characters like Superman, Scrooge McDuck, the X-Men, Sonic the Hedgehog and the Simpsons, to name a few. There will also be a free Iron Man HeroClix and Star Wars Miniatures offered, free as well. Both are collectable games featuring miniature ver-sions of popular characters.

"There's going to be tons of stuff that we're giving away," Tom Chillemi, owner of Outpost Games in Gainesville, said.

He said they would be giving away 35 titles as well as the HeroClix and miniatures. He added that someone could walk in and take all 35 titles for free.

"We literally have thousands of books to give away," Chillemi said.

Outpost Games will also be holding a Magic tournament to celebrate the release of a new series. Players can buy decks and booster packs, entry into the tournament is free.

"Magic is a game that has elements of both chess and poker," Chillemi said.

There will be prizes such as special cards.

Painted Visions in Woodbridge will not be having any special events, just the free books and miniatures. Owner Christopher Lloyd said they would offer one miniature and three comics per person. He added that he liked the idea of the Iron Man HeroClix.

"I thought that was pretty cool to come out after the movie," Lloyd said. He added there might be a lot of excitement over the character. "The movie was really good from early responses."

WANT ONE?

So you want a free comic book, huh? Here are some participating locations near you:

»Outpost Games, 7556 Gardner Park Drive, Gainesville; 571-248-6722

»Painted Visions, 3065 Golansky Blvd., Woodbridge; 703-730-8457

When: Today

Info: For more information visit FreeComicBookDay.com

REVIEW: Which freebies to get, which to leave behind

The Potomac News/MJM got a hold of the two biggest Free Comic Book Day offerings early. How do they measure up?

» All Star Superman No. 1 (DC Comics). Yes, it's a reprint, but if you're looking for a free superhero title, this is hands-down the one to get. Time Magazine and Entertainment Weekly named All Star Superman one of the best comics of 2007 and it's fairly obvious why: All Star Superman is one of the most imaginative takes on DC's iconic hero in years. The "All Star" concept is fairly simple: get a team of A-list creators to tell an out-of-continuity story. Here, it's Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, letting their creativity run wild and resisting the temptation retell the origin story (here it's summarized in four panels and eight words). In the first issue Lex Luthor figures out a failsafe way to finally best Superman—send him to the sun to rescue a team of astronauts. The solar radiation will push his Kryptonian biology to the limits—and eventually kill the Man of Steel.

» X-Men- Free Comic Book Day Edition (Marvel Comics). Artist Greg Land gets a lot of flack for his art style—highly dependent on photo referencing. You won't give a damn. He's an accomplished storyteller and delivers high-quality, distinct art. The story here, about a relatively new mutant named Pixie, doesn't hold up (which is a shame, because on the monthly X-Men title, scribe Mike Carey is firing on all cylinders). For the Free Comic Book Day offering, it's nothing exciting: Pixie discovers a conspiracy in her native Scotland, goes to investi-gate, gets in over her head and the X-Men show up to save the day. Yawn. If you're a regu-lar reader of the series or a completist, pick this up, because it's part of a larger X-Men storyline.

Staff writer Josh Eiserike can be reached at 703-878-8072.