Free Comic Book Day sneak peek: 'Walking Dead,' 'Superman,' 'Star Wars'

And, lo! did the comic book industry declare a high holy day in an effort to introduce new people to comic books and increase their sales. The powers that be agreed there should be such a day each year, and soFree Comic Book Day was born!

This year, Free Comic Book Day falls on Saturday, May 4 (yes, the same day as May The Fourth/Star Wars Day; the geek planets have aligned) and even Hugh Jackman is excited about it.



The more cynical of people would probably expect just a few low quality issues to be released for free, but that would be far from the truth. Even though these comics will not cost the consumer anything, the output is usually pretty good and, ultimately, enjoyable. The industry hopes they'll be able to get their hooks into you and entice you into buying at least one or two titles on a regular basis, then increase your need for a comic goodness fix! Yes, there are plenty of super hero themed comics available for this event, but the really nice thing is the number of titles that are kid friendly. One might even say kids are the ones being targeted most of all, because, after all, they are the future. For the kids, check out titles like Sesame Street/Strawberry Shortcake, The Smurfs and Spongebob to see what I mean...

DC/Vertigo head into paranormal territory with latest series

All images courtesy Warner Bros.

BY DAVID BERCK

Once upon a time, DC Comics and its Vertigo imprint announced the release of five new titles with some distinctly paranormal overtones. Now that we're about three months into each title, let's see how they're faring, shall we?

Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child (Vertigo)
Writer: Selwyn Seyfu Hinds (former editor in chief of The Source)
Pencils: Denys Cowan (The Question)

The Voodoo Court of New Orleans is in complete disarray. It seems the queen, daughter of the in/famous Marie Laveau, is dead. Even at this point, we can't be certain of her death or the circumstances surrounding it, as much of the story has yet to be told. What we do know is that the delicate peace between the supernatural creatures in NOLA is in danger of completely falling apart because there is no current queen. We know the loup garou and a witch hunter have been sent after the direct descendant of the first voodoo queen and that the world is not as it seems, even for the petty gods, werewolves, vampires, houngans, and witch hunters that inhabit the Crescent City.