Free Comic Book Day's Most Wanted

I honestly expected this blog to have more lists. I've also been a little lax in recent #FreeComicFriday entries. So let's kill both of those birds* with one stone – a list of the top 10 comics I'm aiming to snag Saturday on Free Comic Book Day. Will one of these be the 2025 version of “Eye Lie Popeye,” that surprised me and left me on a cliffhanger that prompted me to order all five issues?

I started to point you to the full list of Gold (available at all participating shops) and Silver (available at some) issues at freecomicbookday.com. But it doesn't include the DC books or the one that tops my list... despite it being promoted in articles on the site. I believe some of this has to do with Diamond's legal troubles. So I'm not sure which of these I'll be able to find, but here are the ones I'll be looking for, starting with number 10.

10. Def Leppard's Hysteria (Vault) – The frontwoman of an indie band loses the mysterious guitar that launched her to fame and fortune, just before taking the stage with the band in the title, and, according to the preview, “A knuckle-dusting rampage ensues, and the guitar's true history is revealed.” Color me intrigued, even if I can't name another Def Leppard song besides “Pour Some Sugar On Me” without the help of Google. Please don't tell (checks Wikipedia) co-lead guitarist Phil Collen,** who co-writes this story.

9. Transformers: The Worst Bot Ever (Image). I'm no Transformers scholar, but this issue promises the first appearance of Ballpoint, labeled in the preview as “everyone's new favorite Decepticon.” As someone who's wondered about the scale of certain Transformers and the things into which they transform – Megatron's a gun? – and doesn't need his comics taken seriously all the time, I'm curious. It also features a look at a new young adult original graphic novel called “Family Force V.”

8. The Phantom #0 (Mad Cave Studios). I was always interested in the Phantom's adventures in newspaper comics, but I never dove deep into his other appearances. Heck, I still haven't seen the 1996 movie, despite countless comic book ads back then encouraging me to “Slam evil.” But for free, I have no excuses. According to League of Geeks, this will be “the first story in an exciting publishing plan that is sure to satisfy both new and returning 'Phans' of comics' beloved Ghost Who Walks.”

7. Red 5 Comic Adventures (Red 5 Comics). Three new stories that all pique my interest: a prologue for “Enigmatown” that offers a reverse Pinocchio tale, a teenager gaining the skills and abilities of warriors who have worn the ancient helmet she dons in “Snow Monkey” and a young woman venturing into a post-apocalyptic wasteland accompanied by what appears to be a talking stuffed animal in “Something Beyond the Petrichor.” I would gladly sample any one of those stories. All three makes this an easy pick.

6. Hulk Teach (Graphix). The Incredible Hulk has been smart, dumb and savage; a monster, a hero and a warrior. This middle grade story finds Iron Man doing lowercase damage control after a Hulk rampage by setting Bruce Banner up to do community service as a teacher. I am confident hilarity will ensue.

5. Power Rangers/VR Troopers (BOOM!Studios). A Free Comic Book Day issue and a plethora of trades available on Hoopla made me give Power Ranger comics a try in the first place, and I was, to my surprise, not disappointed. I remember hearing about VR Troopers back in the day but can't recall many details. If the creative team is going to do anything close to what others have done with the Power Rangers, then I'm not about to turn down a free sample.

4. Iron Man & Friends/Spidey & Friends (Marvel). Animation introduced me to Spider-Man, the Hulk and Stan Lee, so I'm happy to see a new generation getting the same opportunity. These particular shows hold no nostalgic appeal to me, and they aim for a younger demographic than my daughters. But my brother has even younger kids, and one of them has become a serious Spidey fan thanks to the Disney+ show from which this issue is drawn. My niece enjoyed last year's free issue, and this is a must-have for me so we can share the new one that adds an all-ages Iron Man to the mix.

3. Godzilla: The New Heroes (IDW). Neither my nieces nor my daughters will probably want to read this one, but the combination “Godzilla,” “jumping-on point” and “free” would be hard to resist, if I even wanted to try. And I don't. The summary references a new Godzilla continuity, which might bug me if I was well-versed in any existing Godzilla continuity. I still mean to watch the movies in release order, but my experience with them as a kid was just a loose conglomeration of monster battles and awesome visuals. So I am curious to see what IDW has to offer here.

2. Fantastic Four/X-Men #1 (Marvel). To be fair, this one is unlikely to have any impact on my buying or reading habits. I'm on the Fantastic Four train as long as Ryan North is conducting, and this just provides an early look at the next iteration, albeit one that starts over with a completely unnecessary number one. And I'll always be curious as to what the X-Men are up to, even if the post-Krakoa era hasn't moved me to do more than keep up with the titles as they arrive on Marvel Unlimited.

1. Post Malone's Big Rig (Vault). Let me just share the summary from an article on the Free Comic Book Day website, because I want it to be clear that I am not embellishing or imagining this: “'Evil Dead' meets 'Mad Max: Fury Road' in this story set in medieval Europe, where the only thing standing in the way of the horde of demons infesting the continent is a mysterious armored 18-wheeler seemingly sent from the heavens.” I don't know many Post Malone songs, and the ones I do I refer to as “The One from 'Into the Spider-Verse,'” “The Brad Paisley Song He Covered” and “The Taylor Swift Song on which He's Featured.” But I like bizarre combinations and big trucks, and I love God. I have no idea where this comic co-written by Malone will fall on a scale of insanely brilliant to disappointing sacrilege, but I'm really hoping it's more toward the former – although the language he used to promote it on YouTube has tempered my expectations a bit.

Still, if there's a potential “Eye Lie Popeye” in this crop of free comics, my money's on “Big Rig” – although if I'm wrong, I won't be out any of said money.

Let me know in the comments or on the social media which ones you're looking forward to and which ones you grab.

* - Or maybe just scare them off?

** - I'm more of a Phil Collins guy.