Tales From Free Comic Book Day 2024 With ‘Star Wars’, ‘Young Jedi Adventures’, and the Funko Pop Wall of Horrors
It’s May the Fourth weekend, which means every Star Wars festivity you can think of. From The Phantom Menace returning to theaters to a new trailer for The Acolyte, Tales of the Empire, and—heck—even a new Fall Guys collaboration; Star Wars is everywhere. The fervor also made its way to comic book shops as Free Comic Book Day kicked off.
For those unaware, Free Comic Book Day is held annually on the first Saturday of May. On this day, publishers put out free issues to encourage new readers, preview something in the pipeline, and just have a bit of fun. Marvel and Dark Horse each had a Star Wars issue to do just that. In honor of Tales of the Empire‘s release on Disney Plus, I went to my local shop to check out the scenes and tried my hand at forging my own legendary tale.
The first stop was the free comic table and the fat stack of issues featuring my beloved Nubs. Young Jedi Adventures made their comics debut, crossing over with characters from Dark Horse’s The High Republic Adventures. By design, Free Comic Book Day issues sometimes lack substance. Therefore, we won’t do full reviews for this or Marvel’s offering. That didn’t stop me from enjoying what ostensibly was a new episode of the series. I read every line of Kai’s dialogue in Jamaal Avery Jr.’s voice. Nubs’ mannerisms were as endearing as ever. Writer Daniel José Older captured everyone to near perfection.
The issue follows Nubs as Yoda forces him and Qort to partner up. Nubs is nervous because he is afraid nobody will be able to speak Poobian. Of course, Qort doesn’t talk much Basic himself, so that doesn’t jive well with Nubs. This was a fun ride. Andy Duggan’s art was vibrant, and the issue left me wondering if the comic medium might be the place to take the stories of Kai, Lys, and Nubs.
Season 1 of the show ended as the broader High Republic initiative began, meaning that future seasons might be forced into darker territory. I want Nubs to stare down a Nameless and win as much as anyone, but who knows if that can happen, given the audience. Either way, Young Jedi Adventures is here to stay, and this comic was a treat. (And if it’s your thing, the Plants vs. Zombies B-story is pretty cute, too.)
After that, I picked up Marvel’s Star Wars issue. It features work from Charles Soule and Greg Pak, the current writers of the ongoing Star Wars and Darth Vader runs. As both series seem to be approaching their finales, this Free Comic Book Day issue helped set the stage.
Soule’s side of the story occurs after Star Wars #36, in which the Rebels took down a statue of Palpatine on Coruscant. After being demoted to Hoth, the disgraced Imperial officer held responsible for the attack has a chance for redemption when the Rebels return. The heroes of this story couldn’t resist a call for help when the Alliance learned of those left behind on Echo Base. Lando, Luke, Chewbacca, and Leia take up the mission, and it’s… fine. The action is always fun and has a swash-buckling nature to it, but we’ve seen it a hundred times in comics before. I liked seeing Hoth again and growing the lore that now exists there.
On Pak’s side of the issue, Sabé is back, and she is after Luke. She finds Warba, an old character from the 2015 Star Wars run. Sabé knows Warba can’t be trusted, so why she still chooses to trust the swindler to find Luke will be one of life’s great mysteries for a bit. The issue closes with the reveal that Warba is actually working with Vader, who also wants to find Luke more than ever after Darth Vader #45, so good job Sabé. Her fate is one of the big hooks heading into the final few issues of this era, and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens with her.
Out of all the other free issues sitting on the table, I managed to limit myself to two more: Robert Kirkman’s Energon Universe Special and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles issue with an eye-catching cover. Is this the year I change my ways and finally read the other issues I pick up? Stay tuned.
Instead of checking out right away, I wandered through the store to see what else was going on. The arcade setup in my shop immediately drew my eye. Unfortunately, because Free Comic Book Day is a family event, that meant lines. Don’t let anybody ever tell you nobody is interested in Avatar because there was mayhem at that Avatar pinball machine. Meanwhile, some played card games, and others checked out the toys and memorabilia in the shop.
Being the social butterfly I am, I thought it prudent to leave them be and check out the vintage comic section where nobody was. Consider this my declaration of a GoFundMe account because I came across 1977’s Star Wars #5, a black and white variant cover of Vader Down #1, and a glistening “9.4” grade on a variant of 2015’s Star Wars #1. Nine. Point. Four. To my dear friend whose wedding is this month, I hope you understand the sacrifices I’m making for you.
Girl math means these are discounted since I already picked up four free issues, right? #FCBD2024 pic.twitter.com/XdmtMQHjDN
— SWNN (@StarWarsNewsNet) May 4, 2024
Once everything was said and done, it was check-out time. I have already-ordered comics waiting for me behind the counter, but my shop knows how to get me. The line is set up right next to a wall of Funko Pops for poor suckers with small amounts of disposable income. After standing my ground against the likes of Baylan Skoll, Shin Hati, Thrawn, and the dark, soulless eyes of a rugrat known to many of my generation as Chuckie Finster, I was then faced with the prize wheel at the counter. Nothing says Free Comic Book Day like a 30% chance of winning a mystery envelope.
Little was I prepared, though, for a wheel that badly needed some WD-40. It has to spin one full circle, they said. The second-hand embarrassment emanating from those watching my first attempt fail horribly would go away, they said. This comedy of horrors would turn into my lucky day as my second attempt went around a full circle and a single extra slice, right onto one of the mystery slices. One small gift certificate later, it later dawned on me that Chuckie would soon pull me into his cold embrace after all.
Thus ends my Free Comic Book Day. As I look back, I can’t help but think about the two stormtroopers walking into the store as I was leaving. I hope they had as good a day as I did. Demon Funkos notwithstanding.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
