Each and every week, I, “Free Comics!” Henchman 21 and “No seriously, Free Comics!” Empress Eve read a lot of comics. Seriously you guys, a lot of comics. Maybe too many comics. I mean, it is possible”¦ theoretically. Naturally, we look forward to some more than others. I mean, who doesn’t? So, let’s take a look into the depths of our pull lists, grab some comics, and we’ll let YOU know what the top books to look forward to are for Free Comic Book Day, May 3, 2014. Single issues and trades (Well, not trades today), they’re all here.

What’s this? Two GoD Lists in one week? It’s true, we’re here for a special edition because May 3, 2014 is Free Comic Book Day! It’s that most special day of the year when comic book stores around the country open their doors and hand out pre-selected FREE books to readers. Not only are there free books, but a lot of stores will be having special store signings and other events. So go find your local store and see what events they have planned.

What I’m going to do right now is run down some of the books being handed out, highlighting the must don’t-have-to-buy books. Remember though, that the stores actually have to pay for these comics that they are giving you for free, so do them a favor and maybe buy a couple of regular comics to give them a hand. With that public service message out of the way, onto The GoD List!

Henchman 21

DC The New 52: Future’s End #0 (DC Comics) This is the official start of DC’s newest weekly series, Future’s End. Batman Beyond makes his debut in DC’s New 52 universe, and it’s up to him to save the world from the forces of Brother Eye. An all-star writing team of Jeff Lemire, Brian Azzarello, Dan Jurgens, and Keith Giffen present this story set five years in the future of the DCU. From the sound of it, this seems like it will be kind of similar to 52, the DC weekly series that was the most successful for the company. This will probably be the hottest free comic book given away this year, but there should be more than enough copies to go around.

Atomic Robo & Friends (Red 5 Comics) Perennial Free Comic favorite Atomic Robo is back for another year of science action, and if you’ve never read the series, writer Brian Clevinger and Scott Wegener always offer a fun all-ages comic that should be at the top of everyone’s list of books to get. Every Atomic Robo issue has featured a self-contained story that captures what the book is about and will make you want to pick up other books in the series. So pick this up and then buy the trade of the latest volume that just came out this week while you’re at it.

Rocket Raccoon and Guardians of the Galaxy (Marvel Comics) Marvel is pushing all the Guardians of the Galaxy characters this Free Comics Book Day, with not one but two books featuring characters that will be in their next film. The Guardians book features a new story by regular series writer Brian Michael Bendis that adds Venom and Captain marvel to the team. That issue also has a Spider-Man back up that is supposed to lead into a Spider-Man event happening later this year. The Rocket Raccoon book is sadly not a preview of the Skottie Young series that is coming out in the next few months, but seems to have a story written by Joe Caramagna with art by Adam Archer, and should probably still be a lot of fun and not as continuity heavy as the Guardians book might end up being. Either way, you’ll get a taste of what you’ll be seeing and hopefully enjoying in August when Guardians of the Galaxy hits the cinema.

KaBOOM! Summer Blast (BOOM! Entertainment) If you or your kids watch Adventure Time or Regular Show or pretty much anything on Cartoon Network, they should enjoy this issue which features a bunch of series from KaBOOM’s line. There’s a bunch of kid-friendly stories in here, but most of them will be enjoyable for older readers too. There’s also a debut of an all-new all-ages series, so that should be interesting as well.

Transformers Vs GI Joe #0 (IDW Publishing) It’s the preview for Tom Scioli and John Barber’s Transformers Vs G.I. Joe comic, which you should all be planning to pick up anyway so you may as well get in on the ground floor. I mean, it’s Transformers Vs G.I. Joe, what more do I need to do to get you to pick this up?

The Armor Hunters Special (Valiant Entertainment) If you’ve heard about Valiant’s comics but haven’t picked up any yet, this is one you’ll want to pick up. This issue features the lead-in to Valiant’s 2014 event, The Armor Hunters, and as a mix of a bunch of Valiant characters that all have their own books. You’ll get a good feel for the main players in the Valiant Universe, and also see what some of the hubbub is all about, bub.