Free Comic Book Day In the Time of COVID

Today would’ve been Free Comic Book Day, and a lot of us comic fans would’ve spent the day picking up their free books and supporting their favorite local comic shops. I know I have a ritual that involves going to 2-3 stores and then bringing the haul home and reading all night. Since we were unable to do that, I thought I’d recommend some free webcomics to hold you over while we wait for our fix. 

I read a lot of things on Webtoons that range from D&D-esque stories, to sci-fi, to romance, so I thought I’d highlight some of my favorites to give you some new, free reading material. 

Lumine:

A runaway werewolf (Lumine) meets a boy named Kody and is hired to be his body guard. Their relationship isn’t great at first but they slowly build a friendship as they learn about each other. Great if you like fantasy series.

Everywhere & Nowhere:

Based on Rosencrantz & Guildenstern from Hamlet but Guildenstern is a girl and they travel through time. It gets dark in places but is mostly a comedy. Each episode is pretty short so you should be able to catch up quick.

Winter Moon:

You follow the characters in a WoW type fantasy game, but eventually learn about the people behind the avatars. Another great fantasy series with episodes short enough you can catch up fairly quickly.

1HP Club:

This one follows the artist’s d&d game. It gets mildly raunchy but nothing that’ll make you blush too hard. Has comedic and fantasy elements so it’s good for all types of humans.

Zero Game:

The people in this comic are all participating in a game where losing means death but winning gets you a big reward. The game targets people with nothing left to lose. Another great fantasy series with some of the best art I’ve seen in a webcomic.

Cursed Princess Club:

This is where I divert from my usual fantasy-land. It’s a comedy series that follows Gwendolyn, a princess who is mistakenly given an invitation to the Cursed Princess Club. She swears despite her looks she hasn’t been cursed but they let her stay in the club, and she grows a lot as a person thanks to their friendly advice. 

Purple Hyacinth:

This one is hard to pin into a genre. It follows a woman in the police force who has the ability to detect lies and the assassin she teams up with to fight an evil organization. The art and story are both fantastic, which is why they landed on my list.

Mage & Demon Queen:

If you’re looking for a comedy/fantasy series that speaks to your gay or lesbian heart, this is the one for you. Mylora is a mage who is trying to win the demon queen’s heart, while all the other adventurers are trying to kill said queen. It’s funny and sweet and sometimes serious, but overall it makes me gleeful to read. Episodes for this one are pretty short and they’re on hiatus so you should have no trouble catching up.

There are plenty of others I could recommend, but I don’t want this post to turn into a novel. If you’re looking for more traditional comics, Comixology and Marvel both have monthly subscriptions that are reasonably priced with plenty of reading options included. I personally use Comixology a lot and could recommend a ton of books from there if you’re interested. Leave a comment with your requests and I’ll share my thoughts. Also let everyone know what you’re currently reading to keep the conversation going.

The Movie Industry’s Glorious Return: or How Will Marvel Sustain Their New Schedule?

I’ve been thinking about how different industries are going to be able to shift with the times as the country slowly reopens, and one of my top concerns is movie theaters and shifting release schedules. Some movies can and have been given online releases, but others have to be seen for the first time on the big screen. Not only does it contribute to our enjoyment of the films, it also keeps movie theaters going. If it weren’t for Endgame, independent films wouldn’t have a chance. They don’t make enough to keep a  movie theater open, but they can take a chance on one for a few weeks while Endgame rakes in the billions. Marvel always schedules their movies in phases, and phase 4 would have been starting up right around now if we were living in normal times. They recently released their new schedule (which is obviously subject to change), and I have some thoughts. First, let’s look at the new dates. (This will include some Sony movies since the Spider-verse or whatever we’re calling it loosely ties in to everything)

Black Widow: Nov 6, 2020

Eternals: Feb 21, 2021

Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings: March 7, 2021

Morbius: March 19, 2021

Venom 2: June 25, 2021

Spider-Man 3: Nov 5, 2021

Thor Love and Thunder: Feb 11, 2022

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness: March 25, 2022

Black Panther 2: May 6, 2022

Captain Marvel 2: July 8, 2022

Spider Man Into the Spider-Verse Sequel: October 7, 2022

There’s also Ant-Man 3, Blade, Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and an untitled movie that was scheduled for the new Spider-Verse date. Plus we assume that they had plans to eventually bring the X-Men and Fantastic Four into the universe (probably in 2023) and assumedly there will be a Deadpool 3. That’s a lot of movies to look forward to in the next 2-3 years. 

If you look closely at the above release dates, they’re all pretty damn close together. There’s two movies in March of next year alone and the rest are anywhere between 3-5 months apart. Some of them are even less than that! Plus Marvel plans on tying in the Disney Plus shows and probably will have a different one out pretty regularly over the course of the next year or two. We’re gonna be eating, sleeping, and breathing comic adaptations for the next couple years! 

All this sounds exciting, but I’m also worried that people don’t have the money to afford going to the movies more than a couple times a year. Or maybe it’s not a money issue, but where do we find the time to watch the Disney shows in time for the next movie? I hope all this content is the thing that keeps movie theaters from closing after having to probably shut down most if not all of the summer, but people are going to still be recovering from an economy that hasn’t just slowed, it’s come screeching to a halt. If anyone can survive and make this crazy schedule work, I believe it’s Marvel. I just hope their gamble pays off. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on the matter. Do you plan to watch all these movies in theaters? Which ones will you prioritize? Shout it in the comments, and let’s keep the conversation going both here and on Twitter. (@News_on_Shuffle)