The very best of FCBD 2026
By Dan Brown Free Comic Book Day came and went on May 2. Before the annual giveaway unfolded at L.A. Mood, I published a preview of some of the freebies that were going to be handed out to customers. Now that the event has passed, I’ve had a bit of time to sort through the rest of the sampler comics I picked up on the weekend. Here are a few additional thoughts, including my very fave of the bunch! That would be Tales of a Gen-X Nothing, which comes from London creator Jeff McClinchey. It is a slick, entertaining mini-comic about . . . how to make mini-comics. The art is vivid. The writing is funny and crisp. Even better, it might inspire some youngster in Southwestern Ontario to try her or his hand at creating their own comic stories. You might recall in my preview column I mentioned how, among this year’s free comics, there was a strong theme of comic education. That is, as a group, the books handed out this year were designed to help new readers understand how the conventions of comics work – with the unabashed goal of making kids into fans. In his own eight-page, black-and-white sampler, McClinchey goes one additional step by showing readers how they can take an idea, then turn it into a piece of sequential art with all the requisite beats. “Hi, I’m Jeff and I make comics,” his cartoon self (who looks kinda like the Dude from The Big Lebowski) explains on the introductory page. McClinchey’s goal, he tells readers, is to “create a series of zines to encourage making comics.” Borrowing from comic pros like Brian Azzarello and using cinematic lingo (wide shot, full shot, close-up, et cetera), McClinchey gets into basic panel theory. “Pro tip: Ask creators how they create,” he advises in one square box with a block border. Tales of a Gen-X Nothing (a borrowed title that echoes Judy Blume, a Generation X touchstone if there ever was one) is clean and expressive. I’ve been collecting comics for decades but even I got excited by McClinchey’s advice. He also preaches patience, telling young creators not to try making an epic in the first go. “Give yourself a fighting chance!” he cautions. I look forward to future releases with more of McClinchey’s advice! Other notable FCBD titles include: Conan: Tides of the Tyrant King: It feels like there’s an FCBD tradition in recent years of publishing one freebie with an evocative cover featuring Conan. This year, it comes from Roberto de la Torre and shows our favourite barbarian baptized by a waterfall in which the bodies of recently dispatched enemies float. The Cimmerian: Kuthal of the Dusk: I recommend this one for the precise lines from artist Stevan Subic that put me in the mind of Esteban Marato. What is the difference between this title and the Conan comic mentioned above? The stories under the Cimmerian banner include more adult content with uncensored violence and sex. Flash Gordon: If you liked Princess Leia’s torture droid from the first Star Wars movie, you’ll dig this issue, which sees the storied pulp hero busting out of a prison on Planet Death manned by many-armed synthoids, who keep Flash docile with forced injections. Artist Will Conrad’s lines convey action better than almost every other creator involved with FCBD this spring. This one is jumping! Aquamanatee: Aimed at early readers (5-7 years of age), this DC joint is mostly a goof on all of Aquaman’s previous sidekicks. There’s Meg the Megaladon, Super Squid, Clawdius the Lobster and on and on. I guess no one takes Aquaman as a superhero seriously, so why should kids? Let's start the scorn early! I would love to read your mini-reviews of this year’s FCBD releases, and hear your thoughts about the upcoming stories being teed up in these mini-comics. Meet you in the comments! Dan Brown has covered pop culture for more than 33 years as a journalist and also moderates L.A. Mood’s monthly Graphic-Novel Group book club.
