When free means awesome

I've always appreciated Free Comic Book Day, an event the industry pushes each year to recapture lost readers and entice new audiences. But next year's event on May 1 has me particularly jazzed.

Building on the success of its newly rebooted "G.I. Joe" comics line, publisher IDW is conducting a very interesting experiment. The company is going to offer an alternative title resuming the original G.I. Joe vs. Cobra story that Marvel Comics halted in December 1994 with Issue 155. For its contribution to Free Comic Book Day, IDW is publishing Issue 155.5, which leads directly into the Issue 156 relaunch.

This concept is made even more intriguing by the participation of original G.I. Joe comic writer Larry Hama. It's long been known that the Marvel story didn't end the way Hama wanted, with the axe falling rather abruptly and Issue 155 having little to do with the issues that immediately preceded it. Although a previous attempt was made to tie up the storyline's many loose ends, this full relaunch could yield a better product. I can't wait to see it.