If you are ready to visit your local comic shop this Saturday for Free Comic Book Day, you know there will be free comics and an entire inventory of new comics, back issues, and other items available to celebrate this wonderful annual event. Perhaps you’re planning on staying in and checking out comics from the comfort of your home – well, there are plenty of PREVIEWS online for you to look through, and then you can venture over to BOOM! Studios to see what other comics you might want to check out.
BOOM! Studios has several imprints – Archaia, BOOM! Box, and KaBOOM! – and we’ll focus on the latter today. KaBOOM! has stories that will interest parents and kiddos equally. Let’s jump into action and discover some comics you might find for your FCBD 2018.
Bodie Troll
Age Group: All-Ages
Creators: Jay Fosgitt (writer/artist)
You’ll Like This If You Like: Dennis the Menace Meets “Three Billy Goats Gruff”
Bodie Troll’s introduction takes a classic tale and spins it around on its heels. No, Bodie doesn’t eat the goats, but it’s clear they must’ve read the story. They offer puzzled looks and stroll right past the small, cute troll, as if he wasn’t even there – well, they do so after a volley of licks to the face.
Bodie is comical and kind of the town fixer (or schemer), anything to get his hands on some tasty roots. He takes odd jobs or he gets wrapped up in some kind of shenanigans, whether it’s taking care of a baby or being saved from a warrior that wants to kill him, but he’s okay with it because she thinks he’s “huge and terrifying” – words to the heart of the little troll that couldn’t frighten any goats.
This is an all-ages tale that’s light-hearted and fun to flip through. There are plenty of weird creatures and “friendly” disputes to keep you or your kids entertained. Bodie Troll is a graphic novel, released in February (2018), that will make you wonder what weird scenarios this small, furry creature will wrap himself into next. If you happen to miss it in stores, you can also find it at comixology.com.
Capture Creatures
Age Group: All-Ages
Creators: Frank Gibson (writer), Becky Dreistadt (artist/cover), Kelly Bastow (inker), Britt Wilson (letterer); Tracy Liang, Joseph Bergin III, Lin Visel, Katy Farina (colorists)
You’ll Like This If You Like: Pokémon
Did you ever disobey adults when you were a kid? Did you speed away on your bike and pretend to do a wicked slide to avoid a closing gate that resulted in a banged-up knee?
No? Well, Tamzen goes through that very sequence in the opening pages of Capture Creatures which is available in trade paperback, collecting four issues in the series. Tamzen and her classmate, Jory, venture out in a new zoned territory that’s considered unsafe. On their trek, they happen to run into a little, unknown animal which also happens to have super powers.
Unbeknownst to the two of them, there are many more of these creatures and several unknown figures lurking in the shadows. Tamzen and Jory, along with their accompanying adult, a park ranger, find out there’s much more involved with returning their new animal friend to a nearby island. They race toward adventure, it’s late at night, and the creature glows fire above its head – what could possibly go wrong?
Dodo (Post-FCBD Release)
Age Group: All-Ages
Creators: Felipe Nunes (writer/artist), Mike Fiorentino (letterer)
You’ll Like This If You Like: Up (film)
Dodo is aimed at a little girl and the reality around her family. Laila’s parents are separated, and at a young age, she isn’t sure why there are changes in her life. This is a tale for parents to share with their kids who might not understand why things are different when dealing with change.
In Laila’s life, something does take place unexpectedly. She finds herself a new friend and it’s a bird. As her life fluctuates, her surroundings do, as well – especially when a dodo runs head first into her life and doesn’t know how to stop. It is safe to say there will be broken dishes and trash strewn about. Dodo is a fascinating look at a child’s independence, despite having restrictions placed on her with the parents being apart. This strange bird, in a way, is indicative of the chaos in Laila’s life and helps her realize or cope with the cluttered mess surrounding her family’s life.
Although this title won’t be available for Free Comic Book Day, it’s definitely worth bookmarking its release in comic stores on May 30th – and it is available for pre-order.
In addition to these three stories, there are plenty of options available through BOOM! Studios and their imprints. You can check out their online collection, explore many different genres, and surely you or your kiddos will find one to snag on or after Free Comic Book Day.
