Note: I promised more about The Question, didn’t I? That’s coming, but later. Promise.

And this time, they’re all free.

While I still think that anyone who loves a great story and good art should pick up the first issue of the Justice Society of America reboot, I understand that this is the holiday season and that maybe you haven’t had the time to seek it out. Or maybe you’re in that self-imposed economic limbo that keeps a person from spending money on themselves when there are gifts (now belated) to purchase for others. I understand.

So for you, the frugal or time-deprived, there are the following free-of-charge options …

• The first issue of Animal Man, written by Grant Morrison. Buddy Baker is a down-to-earth fellow who wants nothing more than to be a good father, a caring husband and an all-around decent human being. He’s also a super-hero, one with the ability to borrow the traits of animals. Until Morrison took him under his writing wing, Animal Man was mainly just an excuse to have a guy in orange and purple tights fight off various apes and lions (by behaving like said apes and lions). But this series, started in 1988 as part of DC’s Vertigo line, rewrites Animal Man’s life with a depth and pathos rarely found in the pages of a comic book.
• The zero issue of Starman, written by James Robinson. Jack Knight has no desire to follow in his father’s super-heroic footsteps. He’d much rather run a pawn shop in downtown Opal City, his days spent hunting down collectibles instead of bad guys. Better to leave the Starman mantle to his brother. But when tragedy after tragedy puts his family and his hometown in jeopardy, Jack has little choice in the matter. Robinson‘s control over the direction of his Starman run is unique in recent comic book history. Basically, he was given the rare opportunity to write what he wanted, as long as he wanted to write, with little to no interference from the big wheels at DC Comics. As a result, Starman was one of the best plotted, best executed series that I’ve ever read.
• The first issue of Sandman, written by Neil Gaiman. Sandman was, like Animal Man and Starman, a reimagining of an established DC superhero. But while Animal Man and Starman retained much of their previous abilities, Gaiman opted instead for a more literal interpretation. His Sandman was named Dream (or Morpheus, depending) and given dominion over a kingdom of nightmares and visions. He was given a family of similar personifications, including Desire, Delirium and Death. The subject matter is heady stuff, but Gaiman manages to keep it all quite accessible. Now, we all know how much I like Neil, so this recommendation should come as no surprise. But why isn’t it listed higher? My only hesitation with this recommendation is that the first issue of his acclaimed Sandman series is not entirely representative of the work to come. The story is good, of course, but it is only scratching the surface of how Gaiman would push the genre to fit his own storytelling ends. My advice is to start here, and if you even barely suspect you might like it, find the first trade paperback of the series.
• Finally, and primarilly because I’m sure that several of you are growing weary of my repeated mentionings of it, let me direct you to not one … not two … but the first five issues of DC’s weekly 52 series. Hosted by UGO, these issues will give you an idea of why this series is so fascinating. You’ve got four writers and several artists, all producing a weekly comicbook series with ramifications across the DC Universe. And they’ve not missed a publication date yet.

A list of these and many more free comic book issues is maintained by Loren Collins, keeper of the rather well-written Suspension of Belief blog. Interestingly enough, Collins ran as a write-in Bull Moose Candidate for Georgia’s Fourth District back in November. He only got 64 votes, but that’s surely better than none at all.