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Free Comic Book Day is finally here! And due to the ongoing Diamond Comics bankruptcy, it’s… Maybe the last Free Comic Book Day? Or at least, it’s likely the final one in this current form, with a slew of new books from major publishers hitting stores. And in honor of that, we’ve got a requisite slew of Free Comic Book Day 2025 reviews.
But first, our requisite, yearly note here: the books are free in stores, but comic book shops have to pay for them. So with that in mind, if you are headed to your Local Comic Shop (LCS) to pick up freebies, if you can swing it buy a comic and/or graphic novel while you’re there.
Also, a note if you’re a FBCD neophyte, every shop has different rules, and there are only specific books — like the ones we’re reviewing below — that are free. So before you start grabbing things off the shelves, check with your LCS to find out how many and which ones are available, if any, because every shop is different.
Prelude out of the way, let’s get to it with all the Free Comic Book Day 2025 reviews you can handle. And we’ll add to this rundown of capsule reviews as more books become available.
This book is the biggie from DC, teasing an upcoming title — Superman Unlimited — and an upcoming TBA crossover event. While we won’t spoil anything here, the first story by Dan Slott and Rafael Albuquerque shows the Man of Steel is in good hands with this new team… Even if Slott is about to change Superman’s entire world with huge chunks of kryptonite and a big change for the Daily Planet. In the midst of this, there’s a page that seems to riff off the iconic page from All-Star Superman that found Supes comforting a girl with suicidal ideation, and it’s rather lovely. The Absolute Universe story by Jeff Lemire and Giuseppe Camuncoli is a little more of a “tour of the universe” story with a preview of things to come, but ends with a jaw-dropper of a last page that will be very exciting — and unexpected — for anyone who has been following the DC All In saga. Good stuff, all around.
The front story in this book comes from Joe Kelly and John Romita Jr.’s run on Amazing Spider-Man, while the back-up is a prelude to Ultimate Spider-Man: Incursion by Cody Ziglar, Deniz Camp, and Jonas Scharf. The ASM story is solid enough, but curious that Marvel put out a broad introduction to Spider-Man, a character I think everyone is generally aware of — even if the solid team delivers a solid story. The back-up is an explanation of Miles Morales’s status quo, which is way more complicated and perhaps more necessary leading into the Incursion event. Oh, and there’s a little surprise in the back, too, a pretty cool series of full-page splashes from Kelly, Al Ewing and Charles Soule, with art by Cafu, that teases a big event coming… Some time.
The front story by Ryan North and Humberto Ramos is just another, great, solid, very fun FF story from a writer that has been delivering non-stop on the team for years now, and the artist who will be joining him on a rebooted number one in July. Meanwhile, the Giant-Size X-Men story by Jackson Lanzing & Collin Kelly, and Iban Coello teases Ms. Marvel’s trip to the past. It’s intriguing, but what could have been a jaw-dropping reveal has already been teased through multiple solicits. The real draw is Chip Zdarsky’s ridiculous, meta-story about Free Comic Book Day featuring two new characters called Wolverpool and Deadverine.
Written by Paulina Ganucheau with art by Coleman Engle, this book presents a surprisingly hefty intro to the upcoming crossover between the two franchises. Though the cover art mixes the animation styles, this issue is firmly in the PowerPuff world, with all the adorable cuteness that implies. If you’re a fan of both of these properties, you’ll wanna pick it up.
Written and drawn by Rob Justus, this is a preview of the upcoming all-ages graphic novel. If you’re psyched about the Superman movie, and have little kids interested in Superman, Green Lantern, and Hawkgirl — and are into things like Tiny Titans — this seems like a perfect fit. And there’s also a preview of Aquamanatee by Ben Clanton and Cassandra Federman, about a manatee who wants to be Aquaman’s sidekick. Both cute, but just note neither of these are complete stories in and of themselves.
Another excerpt, this time from Sholly Fisch and Yancey Labat, about a kangaroo contest on Themyscira. There’s enough here that it seems like fuel for an animated series, possibly in the mode of DC Super Hero Girls or Batwheels, but with kangaroos playing magical sports. Plus, there’s another cute back-up story from Matthew Dow Smith, previewing DC’s Misfits of Magic.
Move over, Energon: it’s time for the Kai-Sei Universe, IDW’s new, rebooted take on the world of 2025’s belle of the ball, Godzilla. The FCBD special takes the form of three previews for upcoming titles: Godzilla, by Tim Seeley and Nikola Čižmešija; Godzilla: Escape the Deadzone by Ethan S. Parker & Griffin Sheridan, and Pablo Tunica; and Starship: Godzilla by Chris Gooch and Oliver Ono. And you know what? All three kinda rule. Like DC’s Absolute Universe, the focus seems to be on distinct — both storywise and artistically — books that allow creators to push themselves in wild ways, and not feel constrained by what comes before. The stand-out of the three is definitely the main Godzilla title, which seems insane based on the prelude shared here. But the other two have intriguing setups and should be great to follow as well. Skreeonk with your bad selves, IDW. Looks like another winner.
The new IDW Dark line gets a first look with several short previews in this issue. The stand-out is Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees: Rite of Spring, the sequel to Patrick Horvath’s best-selling cozy horror book. And even in the short pages, it delivers with plenty of dread, both for our new journalist hero, and for the target she doesn’t know she’s after yet, Sam, the serial killer bear. I was already hyped for this book, now my hype is through the roof. There’s also a preview of 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun, by Rodney Barnes and Chris Shehan, Tuatha by Gavin Fullerton, and Blood & Honey by Sean Peacock. The 30 Days of Night story seems like more icy vampire action if you’re into that. Tuatha looks like a lovely adventure story, with art reminiscent of the Mignola-verse. And Blood & Honey is a curious one… There’s an air of danger, but the preview comes off mostly like Fence. So we’ll see!
Here’s a lovely surprise: the Power Rangers story in this flipbook just might be the best thing you read all Free Comic Book Day. Written by Melissa Flores with art by Trish Forstner, this is a beautifully told tale a stray dog — appropriate for Forstner, who is known for her work on Image’s Stray Dogs — in the world of the Rangers. Don’t miss this one. On the flipside is the intro to the new VR Troopers title by Mairghread Scott and Sebastián Perez. I do not know who these Troopers are, but I hope their fans are happy!
This has a bunch of nice excerpts from BOOM! titles like BRZRKR, Irredeemable, and The Many Deaths of Laila Starr. But they’re all excerpts, so kind of are what they are (particularly if you’ve read the books before. The best of the bunch, or at least the most successful, is a story from BOOM!’s horror anthology Hello Darkness by Tini Howard and Chloe Brailsford that is a very messed up tale of dreams and their consequences.
This is a lighter, recap volume featuring a front story from the world of Critical Role, and a backstory from Black Hammer, both providing the groundwork you need to understand their respective worlds. Are either of these necessary if you already know the books? No. But they both feature lovely art from Leonardo Cino and Letizia Cadonici, respectively, so are worth checking out, if only to look at. And if you don’t know what these books are about? Consider this a good primer.
Two tales for kids, the Young Jedi Adventures is what’s advertised on the tin: an adventure for Young Jedis. The much wilder one of the backup tale from the world of Avatar, which sees talking, walking versions of Appa and Momo as wandering ronin. Your mileage may vary, of course, but I giggled throughout… We need more Appa and Momo on the road adventures!
True to the name, Mad Cave’s Speed Racer #0 goes fast and furious with two stories bringing the franchise to American-style comics. The opener by David Pepose and Davide Tinto is essentially Fast & The Furious meets Knight Rider with a dash of Dukes of Hazzard, and promises the book will be a high-octane thrill ride. Meanwhile, Mark Russell and Chris Batista take on Racer X for a new series, which seems to provide the cool and calculating counterpoint to Speed Racer‘s heat. Fun, fast and perfect for anyone who misses the bubble-gum insanity of the cult classic film.
Written by Ray Fawkes with art by Russell Olson, what you got here, folks, is your classic, over-the-plate Phantom tale. He’s moody and intense and fighting for the little guy… Though in this case, the little guy is a big ol’ tiger. If you’re into two-fisted vigilantes, then this is your Free Comic Book Day pick.
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“]] We’ve got Free Comic Book Day 2025 reviews for books including the DC All In Special, IDW Dark, and much more. Read More