PLEASE NOTE: Copies of these comic books will be available in participating comic shops on Saturday July 3rd 2004.
The NBM Sampler: Boneyard, Silk Tapestry, Dungeon: Boneyard and Dungeon didn't impress me much, although they were both appealing in their own ways, but Silk Tapestry was excellent, and I could definitely see getting the book that story shows up in. For a sampler, this one was very strong, giving three stories with enough pages each to get a good idea of what the style and story are like. Another strong sampler book. 
Silver Sponsor Book/This book is for Older Readers (13+).
Back in Black: Brian Pulido Unleashed at Avatar: All of these are written by Brian Pulido, but while you will no doubt get a good sense of the art from the previews, you are unlikely to get any sense of the stories. The design and layout of the book is very well done, but the samples themselves are not self-contained and aren't really enough to judge the works by. It's ok for a free sampler, but not as good as many of the other offerings. 
Silver Sponsor Book/This book is for Adults (18+).
Love Fights #1/Everest: Facing the Goddess Preview: Love Fights is an example of a comic that I would not have liked even given a short sample. It took a fairly long sample to get me to warm up to it, which I did by the time I finished reading the piece. FCBD was made for comics like that. The Everest preview was also interesting, plain pencils with ragged lettering... but you still get an idea of what kind of book it will be. This is another good sampler. Silver Sponsor Book/This book is for Older Readers (13+).
Still to review: Reggie-12, Slave Labor Stories, and Dungeons & Dragons: Crisis in Raimiton.
Not available to me for review: A Bunch of Baboons. Apparently Cancelled: Delicious Seasons.
Already reviewed: Alternative Comics, The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures, Archie, IDW Sampler, Dr Chaos' Comic Cornucopia, Teen Titans Go, Marvel Age Spider-Man, and Image Comics Summer Special, Duel Masters, Adhouse Books Free Comic Book Day Comic, Astonish Comics, Best of Dork Storm Press, Del Rey Manga Sampler, Keenspot Spotlight 2004, Wild About Comics, Johnny Raygun Classics, Sore Thumbs Election Special, Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse, Arcana Studio Presents, and From Pixels to Paper 2004, Amelia Rules!, Top Shelf Tales, and the Adventures of Barry Ween.
July 3rd is the third annual Free Comic Book Day. Visit your local comic shop and ask (politely) for a free comic book.
Check with your local shop to see if there is any special event happening. The shop I buy my comics at is going to have a drawing for a $100 gift certificate. You have to physically go to Corner Comics on July 3rd to enter the contest, although you don't have to be present during the drawing to win. No purchases are necessary to enter the drawing, but you can get an extra entry for every $50 you spend!
