The Thousands

No doubt comic books will soon snake down to the bottom of the cultural ladder again, but for now, nicely-bound graphic novels are available in credible bookshops. Why would you enter the lowly, unwelcoming comic store? Four words and an exclamation point: Free Comic Book Day!

Once a year, publishers pick a single issue to give away in an attempt to lure new customers into the crack-like addiction of monthly comic buying. There are anthology-style samplers from indie artists, SIMPSONS comics for kids, Mike Mignola’s dependably awesome HELLBOY, and more.**Best by a wide margin, though, is the first issue of ALL STAR SUPERMAN. It’s an American icon reinvented by two Scotsmen: written by the perpetual idea machine that is Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quietly, who is half-Chris Ware, half-Jack Kirby. It’s one of the best comics of the last decade – and the only superhero comic to make Time magazine’s top 10 graphic novels of 2007 list, if that’s the kind of reassurance you need to face hypermuscled men in circus underwear again.

Besides, it’s free. To paraphrase Spider-Man’s theme: action is its own reward.