Free Comic Book Day was AMAZING!!! I got so much stuff I'm still going through it all. The freebie I really wanted was Malika: Warrior Queen from Youneek Studios and though I've only skimmed through it, it looked fantastic.
Best deal I got, though, was all four volumes of Azumanga Daioh for only 12 bucks! Yay for FCBD sales!
Anyway, I'll be back later to talk about the freebies I read.
EDIT:
Animal Jam- I got this one for my 7 year old nephew. It has brightly colorful artwork, but story progression feels choppy. He'll like it, though, since it's all about animals and he loves animals.
Buffy the Teen Years- I found the Buffy short very enjoyable to read and I know my 13 year-old niece would dig it. I wasn't too keen on the Plants vs Zombies short, though. I don't know if the kiddos play the game, but if so they'll get something out of it.
Boom! 2017 Summer Blast- Nothing in this one particularly stood out to me
Miraculous- It's based on the TV show and I'm sure my niece watches it. I Googled it to see what it was about, and that opening song is so freaking catchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiq2qS1AlzwSpongebob- It's Spongebob and it has that old subversive Spongebob humor that both appeals to kids and adults.
Betty & Veronica- I did not really enjoy the art and the storytelling wasn't as sharp as I normally expect from Archie.
Bongo- 2015's Simpsons ones made me laugh. 2016's amused me. This year's were not as witty, although I liked the one that put Flanders' sons on a wild adventure. It at least tried to give a couple of throwaway characters a little something something. I just wish it had taken that further. Still, I feel like Bongo Simpsons is stagnating.
*Catalyst Prime "The Event"- This offering from Lion Forge was excellent, especially the gut punch at the end. The art is amazing too. Definitely one of the best freebies this year.
Dr. Who- It's Dr. Who. Not my favorite Dr. Who comic offering, but still fun.
Dragonball Super- Dragonball and Boruto were what you'd expect from Dragonball and Boruto. I like Naruto, but this Boruto was all nonsensical action. At least Dragonball had some dialogue and more detailed art.
Guardians of the Galaxy- GotG was a fun romp, but The Defenders was a very pleasant surprise. It was dark, gritty, and drew me in. I don't know much about Daredevil and his buddies, but now I want to know more.
I Hate Image- This was just a bunch of lame gratuitous splatter and inside jokes.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess- This was a nicely drawn Legend of Zelda manga. However, I preferred the excerpt from the Ocarina of Time manga also included in the book. Twilight Princess felt like any other fantasy manga out there, but Ocarina of Time felt like Legend of Zelda; more creative and wide-eyed adventurous.
*Malika Warrior Queen- my favorite of all the free offerings this year. I read about Youneek Studios recently and when I saw that one of their offerings was available for FCBD, I had to have it. Rarely does anything live up to our internal hype, but this totally did. I'll definitely be buying stuff by Youneek.
Riverdale- This comic is based on the "grimdark" live-action Archie series, and I did not enjoy it at all. It did not feel like Archie at all, some characters were completely changed (for the worse) and was just another ho-hum teen drama.
Star Trek: The Next Generation, Mirror Broken- This was interesting. The watercolor style art really made the whole "bizarro world" Star Trek concept stand out, and though it seemed conceptually silly it grew on me. There were a few other teasers as well. Star Trek: Boldly go had appealing art. The Star Trek/Green Lantern crossover was just plain stupid. And I couldn't get into Star Trek: Waypoint.
Street Fighter V: Wrestling Special- I like Street Fighter and pro wrestling is fun, so why not? The art wasn't really my thing and the storyline was as stupidly fanservicey as any WWE storyline, but it was mindless fun. And a part of me will admit to being curious about the advertised Street Fighter vs. Darkstalkers comic if for nothing other than the fanservice, since I love those games and characters. Hopefully its art is better.
Wonder Woman- It was alright.
tl;dr- Malika: Warrior Queen and Catalyst Prime: The Event were the best freebies I got for FCBD and recommend reading those.