My daughter may only be 21 months old, but it’s never too early to be introduced to comics. She really enjoys a board book called Elmo’s Daddy; unlike most of her books, it uses speech bubbles as opposed to pictures accompanied by text. With Free Comic Book Day right around the corner, I decided to check out the list of comics being offered to see if there would be anything that she would be interested in. To my surprise, there were a bunch of age-appropriate comics to choose from.
Which brings us to last weekend. My wife and I took our daughter to Free Comic Book Day at Crossover Comics and we had a great time! We picked up her first set of comics. There were a few books on this list which were obviously going to be hits (like Sesame Street) and a few surprises which I was not aware of (Owly). We started flipping through some of the books at the store, but the real fun came the subsequent nights as these new comics became her bedtime reading material.
We were lucky enough to pick up a good stack of free comics and the following is a joint review by my daughter and I. Since she is only 21 months old, I’ll do my best to convey her enjoyment, or lack thereof, of the comics we acquired. I’m sure some of the other books that were available this year on FCBD were rated for all-ages, but none of them were really suited for my 21 month old daughter (ie. Spongebob, Smurfs, Scratch 9, etc).
SESAME STREET & STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
Publisher: APE ENTERTAINMENT
(W) Georgia Ball, Jason M. Burns (A/CA) Amy Mebberson
On side one, Elmo, Cookie Monster, The Count and Super Grover teach you about the magic of reading comics! It's GUARANTEED to chase the clouds away! On side two, join Strawberry Shortcake and friends on 3 berry sweet adventures! Includes "The Blue Flu", "The Hunt for Blackberry's Treasure", and "Blueberry's Book Tour". It's a bushel of fun!
When I first saw the list of FCBD books, this one stood out. My daughter loves Elmo. And as predicted, this is the first comic she chose from the pile to read. This story is very age appropriate and would translate well to children of all ages. It is a story about heroes; how everyone is a hero in their own way and what you can do to be a hero in everyday life.
The flip-side of this book contains three Strawberry Shortcake shorts. While they were definitely age appropriate, they were not as much of a hit as the Elmo story. My daughter kept wanting to flip the comic over to see Elmo and Grover again. It also does not help that she has no clue who these characters are. Other kids might be more engaged in this story, especially if they already know Strawberry Shortcake. The one issue I had with this half of the book was the fact that they replace any word that sounds like "berry" with "berry". For example, "I am berry happy to see you". It got to a point where I just started saying the words that they meant as opposed to what was written because it was confusing my daughter who is learning to speak.
MOUSE GUARD / RUST FLIP BOOK
Publisher: ARCHAIA ENTERTAINMENT LLC
(W/A) David Peterson & Various (CA) Royden Lepp, David Peterson
For Free Comic Book Day, Archaia is proud to present a square flip book containing a collection of original short stories from some of its all-ages-friendly titles! In David Petersen's Mouse Guard short, a young Sadie is told a mouse fairy tale about proving one's self and the best trait to look for in love. Royden Lepp's Rust tells how rocket-boy Jet Jones learns an important lesson while helping the younger members of the Taylor family with their daily chores on the farm. This spectacular, free one-shot also includes original short stories from Sean Rubin's upcoming, enchanting dinosaur tale, Bolivar; Jim Henson's fantasy classic, Labyrinth (an Archaia original graphic novel by Ted Naifeh, Adrianne Ambrose, and Cory Godbey is in the works); and Nate Cosby and Chris Eliopoulos' justice-seekin' boy hero, Cow Boy. As an added bonus, there's also fun Pantalones, TX activity pages by Yehudi Mercado!
Mouse Guard by David Peterson received a surprisingly good reaction from my daughter as it included some very timely references. She just saw a mouse on Thomas the Tank Engine and enjoyed the Mouse Guard story very much, even if it was very text heavy. To fully appreciate it, it is probably better suited for children who are a little bit older. I was familiar with David Peterson as he has done some TMNT covers in the past. It was nice to see another side of him.
On the flip-side, Rust was also a hit. After reading Mouse Guard, Rust felt like a much lighter story. We have actually gone back to reread this story a few times already, something we have not done yet with Mouse Guard.
The next story was a short called Bolivar. My daughter loves dinosaurs and the song I Am a Paleontologist. It was funny that a few nights after reading this story, my daughter asked specifically for the "dinosaur story". These 4 pages made a big impression on her.
Cow Boy is an interesting read which played with the book by having some panels upside-down. Also very timely, there is a beaver featured in this story and my daughter just saw one for the first time the other day.
My daughter had no interest in the Labyrinth short. It couldn't hold her attention and we did not even finish it. Maybe another time.
RATED FREE FOR EVERYONE CROGAN ADV & MERMIN
Publisher: ONI PRESS INC.
(W) Chris Schweizer, Joey Weiser (A) Joey Weiser, Chris Schweizer
Oni Press: Rated Free for Everyone returns for 2013! Featuring two stories by two incredibly talented creators, a new Crogan's Adventure by Chris Schweizer, and an introduction to Mermin, a new story by Joey Weiser! In the Mermin Adventure, Mermin goes with Pete and his human classmates to the zoo. And in the Crogan's Adventure, you'll get an epilogue to the story of one of the brothers from Crogan's Loyalty.
With a title like, Rated Free For Everyone, you'd think it would really be for everyone. After reading that one of these stories took place at a zoo, I thought it would be one of my daughter's favourites. Mernin does see an elephant at one point, which would have made this book an automatic winner in her eyes. Unfortunately, it also contains a bully, Mernin says the word "Jerk," and something I only discovered at the very end, it is by the writer of the Spongebob comics. Not really the best influence for young children. On the plus side, it did have a lot of animals; sometimes we just open the book to see the animals again.
The Crogan Adventures story is definitely not for all ages. It has a lot of text, guns, and some shooting. My daughter lost interest shortly before I stopped reading it to her.
TOP SHELF KIDS CLUB
Publisher: TOP SHELF PRODUCTIONS
(W/A) Andy Runton & Various (CA) Rob Harrell
Here at Top Shelf, we're celebrating FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2013 with friends old and new -- the latest lineup of the Top Shelf Kids Club! This FREE comic book contains not one, not two, but SIX different adventures for readers of all ages.
Inside are brand-new stories featuring OWLY by Andy Runton, JOHNNY BOO by James Kochalka, KORGI by Christian Slade, PIRATE PENGUIN VS NINJA CHICKEN by Ray Friesen, and UPSIDE DOWN by Jess Smart Smiley, plus the debut of MONSTER ON THE HILL by Rob Harrell, who also contributes this year's cover! Come on in and join the party!
This Owly short is a really good story about sharing and forgiveness. It is fun since it has no text, each read through will produce a slightly different story.
Korgi was also a great short story without text about friendship. She enjoyed them both and we have gone back a few times to reread them
The rest of the book did not really click with my daughter. It could partly be because it was in black and white, or it could have been that the stories were just a bit older than her. As much as I prefer black and white comics, and while they are cheaper to produce, especially for FCBD, you're targeting children so it might have been worth it to print these stories in colour.
DISNEY FAIRIES
Publisher: NBM
(W/A) Disney, JayJay Jackson (CA) Disney
Papercutz presents DISNEY FAIRIES featuring Tinker Bell, along with comics from the new hit series, STARDOLL! There's only one fairy in Pixie Hollow who can't fly- Water-Talent Fairy, Rani. Why doesn't Rani have wings? Was she always this way? Find out in "Tinker Bell and the Wings of Rani".
My wife loves Tinker Bell and hopefully my daughter will too! I really thought this book would be a winner; Disney usually is. Unfortunately, this book contains mediocre stories that did not interest my daughter. The only part of the book that excited my daughter was the firefly in the Tinker Bell short. Even my wife was not impressed with the stories.
PIPPI LONGSTOCKING COLOR SPECIAL
Publisher: DRAWN & QUARTERLY
(W) Astrid Lindgren (A/CA) Ingrid Vang
Drawn & Quarterly offers a second FCBD title for the first time this year and it will feature one of the world's most beloved and popular characters, Pippi Longstocking! The Pippi Longstocking Color Special will offer a sneak peak at the brand new Pippi Longstocking title that D+Q will publish in May 2013 to coincide with FCBD. Pippi Longstocking was created by Astrid Lindgren and has developed a dedicated fan base of both children and adults for over six decades. The comics presented here were originally published in Swedish in the 1950s and are now being presented for the first time ever in English. This will be the perfect All Ages comic book, ideal for developing a new readership of kids in the 6 to 10 age set.
This book was very confusing and makes a lot more sense now that I've read the summary above. It was originally published in Swedish in the 1950s. This book made very little sense and felt like it was written by someone who have never even met a child before. The main characters act like brats and are not very good role models for today's children. It is a pretty cool collector's item or as a historical piece, but it doesn't really hold up and I am not planning on rereading it with my daughter.
KABOOM SUMMER BLAST (NET)
Publisher: BOOM ENTERTAINMENT
(W/A/CA) Various
An explosion of All-Ages awesomeness from KaBOOM! this Free Comic Book Day! Sure to be one of the most popular offerings this Free Comic Book Day, the KaBOOM! Summer Blast is 48 pages chock-full of the most popular all-ages comics on the stands today! Featuring excerpts from Adventure Time, Peanuts, Regular Show, Bravest Warriors, Garfield, Ice Age and some brand-new surprises, these series will keep readers young and old coming back to your comic shop again and again!
I flipped through the Adventure Time, Regular Show, and Bravest Warriors stories and decided to skip them. They were just too confusing for my daughter and while they are all-ages, they will be more appreciated by teens and up. We did read the Peanuts, Garfield and Ice Age shorts, which all kept her interest. But Herobear and the Kid was the story that she kept asking to flip back to. A simple story about friendship coupled with simple black and white art and a splash of colour brings it all together to create a story that really stood out for my daughter in this book.
TMNT NEW ANIMATED ADVENTURES
Publisher: IDEA & DESIGN WORKS LLC
(W) Erik Burnham (A/CA) Dario Brizuela
Jumping from screen to page, it's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NEW ANIMATED ADVENTURES! This unique series captures the heart of the smash Nickelodeon television show with brand-new stories. Full of action, excitement and laughs, this is the perfect all-ages comic to get you seeing green!!
To be honest, I got this one for myself. I have been watching the Nick ‘toon and it's really great! Eventually, my daughter will love this show too, but for now it's a tad too violent for a 2 year old. The show is rated 7+ and I would recommend the same for this comic.
During the original Fred Wolf animated series run, a comic book was published alongside of it which took place in the same universe. To go along with the news Nick Turtles, IDW is launching an equivalent book entitled New Animated Adventures. The first thing that impressed me was the fact that it's a full length, 22-page comic, for free; essentially an issue #0 to the book that will be launching this summer.
Erik Burnham does an amazing job at capturing the characters of the Nick Turtles. Having written 2 micros and a 4-issue mini in IDW's new TMNT ongoing universe, I wasn't sure if he'd be able to separate the two versions. Well he proved me wrong, didn't he?
It's unfortunate that my daughter is too young for this book because I am sure that she would have so much fun reading it!
I hope that these suggestions have helped you navigate the large offering from this past weekend. These reviews were based solely on my daughter’s reactions and preferences and remember, your mileage may vary.
Free Comic Book Day is a single day - the first Saturday in May each year - when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE* to anyone who comes into their stores. *Check with your local comic book shop for their participation and rules.