Reading into May

Hey.
What are y’all doing on Saturday?
The first Saturday in May is kinda special. No, it’s not Star Wars Day, that’s Sunday the 4th. The first Saturday of May is Free Comic Book Day.

Every year, the comic world gets together to send out 46 titles to hand out to people during this event. Thirteen Gold Sponsor and 33 Silver Sponsor to introduce both kids and adults to new lines either coming soon or to reacquaint them with classics they’d forgotten. On this day, Comic book Shops around the country hold events, activities, drawings to promote this day. There’s something for everyone, from ages 2 through 99. Archie is always a favorite but they’re coming out with some new lines as well. Last year they came out with Gatchaman Issue 0 (For those who don’t know the Japanese title, it was renamed Battle of the Planets in America). This year it looks as if there are some old favorites (like a new take on Speed Racer) and some new lines. If you want to see the entire list, you can check it out at their website.

In honor of this day, I went through Penguin.com and the Pop Culture Studio to find some titles that, they say, are must reads for 2025.
The first is a graphic memoir titled Cry when the Baby Cries by Becky Barnicoat. This memoir catalogues those memorable of the first few years of parenthood.

Another is a comic book series by the creators of the Wicked and the Devine, Kieron Gillen titled The Power Fantasy six humans with “superpowers” and if it’s a Gillen story, you know there’s a twist in there somewhere.

A graphic novel I will be looking for is one coming out in June of this year titled The Casebook of Stamford Hawksmoor by Bryan Talbot. It’s a Holmesian tale about a Detective Inspector on the hunt for a sadistic serial killer. Okay, so he’s an eagle but that’s just gonna make it more interesting! I can’t provide a link for this but look at this cover!

Finally a comic title released in March titled, You Must Take Part in the Revolution. It’s based in a dystopian near-future where the US and China are at war over control over Taiwan and what the revolutionaries will do to keep freedom.

There’s my suggestions for comics and graphic novels to check out. Keep a look out for them when you do your walk-through this Saturday, ask your local comic book shop to order them if they don’t have it in store. Comic books shops are just like independent bookstores, they thrive in the community and sell locally. They also host tabletop gaming nights so if you’re into that, check out the schedule and see if anything catches your attention.

Speaking of, this month’s independent bookstore is Black Pearl Books in Austin Tx. I know I’ve already highlighted a bookshop in Texas this year but this one came across my feed and I had to showcase them as well. I will do a deeper explanation into their shop and what they do later this month. All links I could find for any of the graphic novels are links to Black Pearl Books.
Check them out, stroll through their website, get them clicks and views. It help the store’s analytics and brings them to the attention of other’s looking for bookshops.

That’s it for this week friends. Enjoy your Free Comic Book Day. Enjoy Start Wars Day on Sunday. And remember, after your haul. Take time out to curl up and read a good book. Even a comic book.