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How on Earth are we already in May?! Of course May is a marvelous month because the first Saturday in May - THIS Saturday in fact, May 4th - is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!
Just for the record we think we should re-iterate the rules, given that we haven't done so since May last year. So:
1. Everything with a "FREE COMIC BOOK DAY LOGO" is free to take.
2. No purchase necessary.
3. Please don't take anything you are not interested in.
4. Please do not take multiple copies - leave some for everyone else.
5. If you like something, please consider placing a regular order.
6. Enjoy!
That's about it, really - although if you were to buy something we would be very happy about it...
So, with all that going on, what's on the actual rack this week? Well, we have barbarians, blood, breakouts, Fury and Phantom Menaces amongst all manner of other fine things. Click on our cover of the week below to browse the full rack online or scroll on down to check out our highlights and first issues!
A new era of Barbaric begins!
Worried Axe is going to find out you fell behind on a few issues?
Scared to admit that despite all your friends raving about Barbaric for years, you still haven't joined in on the fun?
Rejoice!
For Barbaric: Born in Blood begins the next season of Owen, Axe, and Soren's tale.
Yes, that's right! We did it the thing everyone says they're doing, even when they're lying through their teeth: a genuinely good jumping on point!
How, you ask? Well, it all starts with a compelling new bad guy. Meet Orrick, the tortured barbarian now turned master torturer, who will take us deep into Owen's past, revealing secrets that should have stayed buried like Axe in a chest cavity slurping up that sweet, delicious blood. Will the cursed-to-do-good barbarian finally do some actual good? Probably not! But some much worse guys will almost certainly lose their heads.
Yummy!
NEW SERIES DEBUT by Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso - the legendary creative team behind the seminal crime series 100 BULLETS!
In the old American West, three children set off across the wild Texas frontier to rescue their mother-kidnapped by ruthless outlaws who gunned down their preacher father. Throughout their journey, they'll face the harsh elements of an unforgiving landscape, deadly animals hungry for blood, merciless bounty hunters and so much more all in a relentless quest to rescue their family.
Along the way, they'll learn the terrible cost of revenge - not just in lives, but in how it stains a soul. While revenge may be satisfying in the moment, it leaves a yearning behind that lasts a lifetime. And once you taste it, nothing else is ever so sweet.
In the tradition of The Searchers, The Outlaw Josey Wales, and Blood Meridian comes a brutal new western series from writer BRIAN AZZARELLO and artist EDUARDO RISSO - the Eisner award-winning team behind the Vertigo crime classic 100 BULLETS and Image Comics MOONSHINE! For fans of 1883, BLOOD MERIDIAN, & THE GOOD, & THE BAD AND THE UGLY.
THE BLOODIEST MARVEL EVENT EVER!
The skies have gone dark, the sun hiding its face from the carnage to come. The children of the night, the vampires, have risen from the dark and hidden places of the world as one to drown the Marvel Universe in blood. Earth's final night has fallen - can even the heroes of this doomed world stem the tide of blood that is to come?
Join the AVENGERS, BLADE, BLOODLINE, SPIDER-MAN, HUNTER'S MOON, TIGRA, DOCTOR STRANGE and CLEA as the dance of death begins in BLOOD HUNT #1!
Rated T+
Written by Meghan Fitzmartin, Cameron Chittock, Joey Esposito, Morgan Hampton, Patrick R. Young, Tom Krajewski, Mike Barr and More!
Art by Kenya Danino, Vasco Georgiev, Paul Pelletier, Nico Bascunan and More!
Spring has sprung!
Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing, Harley is breaking King Shark out of Belle Reve prison...all is right in the DCU as both heroes and villains face all sorts of different spring breaks.
Breaking out of a coffin? Lex Luthor has that covered.
Spring break training? Send in Superman!
Breaking out of your shell? Batman and Mr. Freeze explore that possibility through a connection in their shared past.
Breaking down a worthy adversary? Katana and her sword of souls might just be able to tackle that.
And it wouldn't be a spring break without a Teen Titans beach trip!
All these and more in DC's Spring Breakout!--eight breakout stories to put a spring in your step (is there a zit breakout story? You'll have to read to find out!)
WADE WILSON AND LOGAN AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH - AND EACH OTHER'S THROATS!
The most intensely mismatched team-up in comics and pop culture - the best there is and the merc with the mouth - undergoes a radical change as we kick off a three-part, globe-spanning saga for the ages! The mysterious DELTA believes in change.
Change is good.
But as he sets his sights on DEADPOOL, and WOLVERINE is caught up in the plot, is the third time really the charm, or the curse?
Get ready for WWIII to erupt on the scene with the wildest duo in comics from legends Joe Kelly (DEADPOOL, UNCANNY X-MEN) and Adam Kubert (WOLVERINE, UNCANNY X-MEN)!
Rated T+
GARTH ENNIS RETURNS TO MARVEL - WITH NICK FURY AND FRANK CASTLE AS YOU'VE NEVER SEEN!
It's 1971, there is a war raging in Vietnam, and Nick Fury has been captured by the Viet Cong. At this moment, they don't quite understand that they have in their possession a man who knows enough secrets to damage the United States beyond comprehension. The C.I.A., however, DOES realize this and they can't risk their enemy getting those secrets, so they dispatch the most deadly man in the U.S. Army - LT. FRANK CASTLE.
Explicit Content
Toot toot!
Ladies and germs, don't you just hate it when you bust your butt left and right with no reward? Whether you're devoted to a life of heroism, villainy, or regular-person-ism--everyone needs a break. Which is where the HARLEY QUINN 2024 ANNUAL comes in!
40 pages of luxurious luxury cruise-based comedy guaranteed to leave you feeling rested, relaxed, and READY TO FRICKING SOLVE A MARITIME MURDER MYSTERY. When Zatanna gets framed for a mystery on a cruise ship, ol' Shamluck Harley is on the case!
Eric Powell (The Goon) and comedian and voice actor Lucky Yates (Archer) combine twisted comedic talents to bring you Lester of the Lesser Gods!
Originally created as an unproduced animated short by Powell a decade ago, the concept was revived when the two writers were looking for a comic project to work on.
Lester, the larping bastard son of the Odin, wanders the post-apocalyptic wasteland after thwarting Satan's attempt to bring about the end of days. But can this hero of the downtrodden survive the battle arena of Will Frye the Technomancer Guy.
CELEBRATING THE 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PHANTOM MENACE WITH AN ALL-NEW STORY!
Explore the earliest days and secret inner life of ANAKIN SKYWALKER with never-before-seen, revelatory stories set before, after and between the scenes of the classic movie!
Featuring the dream of a JEDI, the gift of a TUSKEN RAIDER, the heart of a GUNGAN, the ache of a mother and the horror of a hero!
Rated T
Mini-Series Premiere!
Chip Zdarsky (Newburn, Batman) and Kris Anka (Across the Spider-Verse), the all-star team behind The White Trees, return to the fantastical land of Blacksand!
The royal guard has sent their most capable bounty hunters after the accomplices in the king's murder! Javro, once the king's most skilled assassin, must find the killers before they and the bounty hunters-including her son-are wiped out by the kingdom's most feared specter: The Dark Whisper!
Both issues of the acclaimed fantasy miniseries by Chip Zdarsky (Newburn, Batman) and Kris Anka (Across the Spider-Verse) are collected together for the first time!
In the fantastical world of Blacksand, peace was hard-won, and three unbending warriors carry the scars to prove it. Now, almost twenty years later, their children are missing and war is on the horizon. Can they put aside their memories of the war-and each other-for one last adventure?
Collects The White Trees #1-2.