It's A Little Different, But Hey, It's Free

Who doesn't like to get free stuff?

One of the places I look for comics or trades at what I consider to be a good price is eBay. And on auctions that I've won recently, more and more of the sellers seem to be of the generous variety, including some freebies in with the items I actually bid on, won and paid for. Some don't, and that's OK; as long as you get what you paid for, you can't really complain about not getting more. But it's a nice surprise when it does happen, and like I said, it has been happening a little more often of late.

Once in a while the freebies might be making up for a mistake: for example, the wrong stuff was accidentally shipped to you. Then by way of apology, the seller ships out the right stuff and tells you to just keep the incorrect stuff as a peace offering. But more often than not, it's simply an extra comic or two slipped in with whatever else you ordered.

Being on the receiving end of this has prompted me to do the same when someone buys comics from me. I don't always have the extras on hand, but I try to include some extras when I can. Single one-off issues work great for this, I've found.

When I receive these freebies, I usually read them regardless of whether I've heard of the title before. It is a great way to find some gems I would have otherwise missed, although admittedly, such gems can be rare. With one recent order from an eBay seller, I was surprised to find the box contained a couple trades and half a dozen or so single issues I didn't order. Thinking my order had been accidentally packed with someone else's, I immediately contacted the seller who assured me the extras were just bonuses. This was the first time I received such bounty from one seller, to be sure. I haven't read all of the books yet, but was surprised to find several gems in the bunch that have me looking for the rest of the respective series. All of the extras in this instance were Image books, and here is just a bit about some of the ones that piqued my curiosity:

The Adventures of Apocalypse Al No. 1 (2014)
J. Michael Straczynski, writer
Sid Kotian, artist
 
This is a fun little book that combines detective fiction, supernatural creatures and events and no small amount of humor to very enjoyable effect. The lead character is private detective Allison Carter, the latest in a long line of investigators specializing in preventing the end of the world. In just this first issue alone, Al thwarts a would-be demon raiser, gets a tip from a dead friend, has a late-night meeting with a very creepy dude while she's in her underwear and makes a number of unscheduled jaunts to alternate realities, and this is just the set-up for this story. Yeah, more please!

The Bakers: Babies and Kittens (2007)
Kyle Baker, writer and artist

This 100-page hardcover is a whimsical little cartoon story of a family that wants to get a cat. At least Mom and the three kids do, but Dad is allergic to the critters and forbids it. But the kids think some kittens they find are cute, and Mom has seen a mouse in the house. Adorable hilarity ensues. This book is very similar to a child's picture book although there are nuances to the story that only adults will get, so I enjoyed this one with my 3-year-old daughter who agreed the babies and kittens were quite cute! This was a complete story unto itself, but I understand there are other The Bakers stories out there I might have to try.

Infinite Vacation No. 1 (2011)
Nick Spenser, writer
Christian Ward, artist

Now this tale seems like the kind of story that could make your head hurt if you try to think about it too much. The premise is that the characters here live in a world where they can buy their way into alternate realities for a price. Having a crappy day? Jump over to another reality where your day is going much better. The possibilities for change are limitless, and changing his circumstances with a few clicks is what Mark, the lead character, is used to. That is, until Mark starts to notice that his alternate selves are dying off. And not just a few of them. A whole lot of Marks are dying. What's up with that? I'm a little curious to find out.

Imperial No. 2 (2014)
Steven T. Seagle, writer
Mark Dos Santos, artist

This last one was a little more bizarre than the others because of being dropped into the story in the middle instead of at the beginning, but I think I got the gist. Imperial is a superhero looking for a replacement. Mark (Yeah, another guy named Mark.) has been chosen. But not only is Mark not very interested in the job, he's much more focused on the fact that he's supposed to be getting married to his girlfriend, Katie. That doesn't stop Imperial from showing up and bringing danger into Mark's life. This one looks pretty interesting too.

I guess all these freebies are going to cost me something after all!

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Batman: In Color

Tales of the Batman: Carmine Infantino (2014)
DC Comics
Gardner Fox, John Broome, Cary Bates, Gerry Conway, Don Kraar, Mike Barr and Geoff Johns, writers
Carmine Infantino, Joe Giella, Murphy Anderson, Sid Greene, Bob Smith, Steve Mitchell, Mike DeCarlo, Sal Trapani, Mike Esposito and Neal Adams, artists

I tend to run hot and cold on my opinions of Carmine Infantino as a comic book artist. At the height of his career, he was an incredible penciler, as evidenced by many of the stories in this very volume. He is most known for adding the yellow oval to Batman's chest emblem, defining the "new look" of the character in the 1960s, and for his well-known and lengthy run as the artist on The Flash. But to my eye, a great deal of his later work lacks the definition I prefer to see. Often his later comic pages could look sketchy, rushed and unfinished.

So why spend money on a tome like this, celebrating an artist whose work I don't always appreciate? The vast majority of this book comes from the aforementioned height of Infantino's career, when he worked on Batman and refined the Darknight Detective's "new look."

There are a number of covers from both Batman and Detective Comics from the mid-1960s era, but another plus of this book is that most of the interior work presented here, Infantino did for Detective. Those stories have a history of focusing more on Batman's deductive prowess and less on super-heroics. In fact, many of these stories eschew the more colorful members of Batman's rogue's gallery for costume-less street thugs and gangs. There's a later Riddler tale, as well as appearances by the Joker, Cluemaster and Blockbuster, but more often than not, the Gotham Guardian is matching wits with characters like Frank Fenton, General Von Dort, Eivol Ekdal, Frank Pragnel, Doc Hastings and Mr. Brains.

The biggest draw for me, however, are the covers of this era and the stories they inspired. Often the cover idea came first, presenting some horrific or startling scene, and then it was up to the writer and/or artist assigned to the book to build the story around that cover image. Julius Schwartz was very well-known for this technique as an editor at DC Comics, and it led to some very eye-catching covers that made young readers want to pick up the book and learn how such a thing could happen. Many of them still make me want to read the issue in question if I haven't already.

Often what was depicted on the cover might end up being a red herring for the story presented within or hint at the solution to some mystery the hero has to figure out, but often, the comics stories behind these covers were well worth a reader's time, otherwise the cover trick wouldn't have worked for very long. But one such Infantino cover presented in this book, along with the story behind it, handles things in a rather unique way. I can't say I've read every issue of DC Comics from this era — far from it — but I know I've never come across a story quite like the one associated with the cover above.

This tale pits the Caped Crusaders against a foe named the Bouncer, who has fashioned an outfit out of an experimental substance that allows him to safely rebound off any surface. The Bouncer escapes Batman and Robin in their first encounter because the unique properties of his suit catch them off-guard. After their first defeat at the hands of the criminal, the Dynamic Duo use their ingenuity to figure out how the Bouncer was able to achieve his stunning feats and devise a way to counteract his abilities. Despite Batman and Robin's resourcefulness, the Bouncer escapes from a few more encounters with the pair. But they use each new defeat to learn more about their foe until they successfully apprehend the Bouncer on Page 8 of this 14-page story. Nowhere in the span of that eight pages is Batman dead or even believed dead. Not even for a moment.

But then Page 9 is taken up entirely by images of Gardner Fox, the writer of this particular Bat-tale, in his home. Fox explains that after finishing such a story, he often retires to his "What If" room to reflect on a story before polishing and sending it to his editor. In this scenario, Fox wonders "what if" the Bouncer was prepared for Batman and Robin's latest attempt to foil his crimes. Naturally, in that case, the Dynamic Duo's plan does not work, Batman is gunned down, and the scene from the cover plays out, complete with cameos by several members of the Justice League and a surprise twist that leaves Robin still working with a partner at the end of the "what if" version.

I won't spoil all of the details of the story — the cover image is practically ordering me not to — but this was definitely one of my favorites from a thick 500-plus page hardcover that I very much enjoyed and highly recommend. Who knows what surprises you might find inside?

I Seem To Be On A Black And White Kick

True Story, Swear To God: 100 Stories (2004)
AiT/Planet Lar
Tom Beland, writer and artist

I don't remember when or where I first heard of Tom Beland's autobiographical True Story, Swear To God series, but I must have heard good things that made me curious to give the series a try. So a few years back, I purchased the first 10 issues of the second volume of the series.

I didn't know at the time I bought these issues from Image Comics that they were from the second volume of the series, but the first issue played catch-up, recapping how Tom met his fiance, Lily, on a trip to Orlando, Fla. Tom, from the Napa Valley, fell in love at first sight upon meeting Lily, who hails from Puerto Rico.

The rest of those 10 issues detail the point in the pair's relationship where Tom has relocated to Puerto Rico to be with Lily and must get used to a new culture and strange language. It's a funny, romantic, easily relatable story told in an entertaining way. And Tom's art is simple, clean and cartoony, and his characters are very expressive.

I wanted to read more of the story, so I recently went looking for issues from the first volume of the series and found the Image collection True Story, Swear To God Archives Vol. 1. Along with that volume, I also saw this trade, True Story, Swear To God: 100 Stories. While the Archives book collects the entire first volume of the title, originally self-published by Tom about meeting Lily and the early days of their relationship, the 100 Stories volume is a little different.

When Tom first met Lily, he was working as a cartoonist and page designer at a local newspaper. The cartoon strip Tom produced bears the same name as his eventual comic book series, and covers much of the same territory: his family, daily life in the Napa Valley, his budding relationship with Lily and his experiences learning about the Puerto Rican culture. The only major difference is that instead of a single, continuing narrative like in the comic book series, the True Story strip is more random slices of life.

This collection made me laugh and nod my head in shared understanding just as much as the True Story, Swear To God comic series, both volumes. My life is not identical to Tom Beland's, but the experiences he shares are told in a way that emphasizes the universal experiences we all go through. Pick up any of his books, and if you don't feel something, you're no longer human!

Here are a few more samples to enjoy: