Free Comic Book Day for 2021 may be delayed until August due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but that’s not stopping publishers from getting a jump on unveiling details for their planned free titles. Archie Comics and BOOM! Studios have released details for both of their Free Comic Book Day titles, with ties to each publisher’s ongoing titles and events. If you’re a fan of light-hearted multiversal heroics or gritty monster-hunting, Archie & BOOM! have you covered.
The Archie: Past, Present, and Future Fun! FCBD one-shot will continue Archie Comics‘s ongoing celebration of the character’s 80th anniversary. The one-shot will highlight the different eras of Archie Comics, and will include the excellent “Crisis on the Riverdale Earths” story that first debuted in last month’s Archie 80th Anniversary Jumbo Comics Digest. The book will also preview the recently-announced Everything’s Archie anniversary one-shot by Fred Van Lente and Dan Parent.
(click preview images to enlarge)
Archie: Past, Present, and Future Fun!
It’s the crisis of infinite Archies! Celebrate 80 years of the Riverdale Gang with this tale featuring a dimension-hopping Archie Andrews in his quest to save the multiverse. Then, witness Archie go toe-to-toe with… himself?! May the best Archie win! Plus, get a preview of the newest Archie One-Shot in shops! This title includes several versions of Archie (from classic to TV to horror) and showcases his evolution as a character over eight decades, all while being a tie-in to the company’s 80th Anniversary plans.
Script: Bill Golliher, Angelo DeCesare, Fred Van Lente
Art: Pat and Tim Kennedy, Dan Parent, Jim Amash, Bob Smith, Glenn Whitmore, Jack Morelli
Cover: Dan Parent
Meanwhile, BOOM! Studios‘s FCBD title is a little less family-friendly, but no less exciting. The Enter the House of Slaughter 2021 FCBD Special is a one-shot tie-in to James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera‘s Something is Killing the Children ongoing series. Colored by Miquel Muerto and lettered by AndWorld Design, the one-shot will introduce more of lead character’s Erica Slaughter’s family:
ARE YOU READY TO ENTER THE HOUSE OF SLAUGHTER? In 2019, Tynion IV and Dell’Edera introduced the world to Erica Slaughter, the iconic monster hunter who came to Archer’s Peak, Wisconsin to save the town’s children from the monsters only she can see. But Erica is not the only member of the House of Slaughter . . .
One of the best things about Free Comic Book Day is the breadth of comics that are available in all different genres and for all different age groups, and I kind of love that Archie and BOOM! are the first out of the gate this year with two titles that couldn’t be more different. Look for both of these books, along with all the other free titles on offer, when Free Comic Book Day 2021 rolls around on Saturday, August 14th.
