Free Comic Book Day

Everyone in the world is interested in participating in Free Comic Book Day on the 1st Saturday in May every year.

More than 2,300 stores are given free for all people around the country by famous publishers, for examples, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Dark Horse Comics. It is a proof that fantasies have come true!

Free Comic Book Day is a regional promotion in North American in order to bring more new readers and enthusiasts come and visit to comic stores.

It is the first time Free Comic Book Day has been found since 2002. During this time, Free Comic Book Day also received a lot of encouragement from the largest distributor in the comic book industry, named Diamond Comic Distribution. The interesting fact is that Free Comic Book Day has spread widely in Europe, Asia and Australia.

History of Free Comic Book Day

In 2001, Joe Field working at Flying Colors Comics in Concord, California realized a trend in comic book sales that corresponded with the release of a new superhero movie in early summer. Field wrote Big Picture, a column in the magazine's August issue. It is recommended to receive a positive response from fellow retailers by beginning Free Comic Book Day. During that time, Jim Valentino, Image Comics’ publisher had recommended the first Free Comic Book Day on the same weekend as the release of the 2002 Spider-Man, to capitalize on the massive publicity of the series film and media related press coverage of comic books, and thus the first event was celebrated on Saturday, May 4, 2002, the day after the film's release. July 2004 was the first time that Free Comic Book Day was not celebrated; however, it was commemorated on the first Saturday of May the following year.

Every year, retailers participate in Free Comic Book Day in order to give away special copies of the manga for free. Some people offer some special deals and creator contracts for people who come and visit their premises. However, retailers do not be free for problems; they have to pay from 12 to 50 cents/ copy for the comics they give away during the event. In addition to comic books, some stores also give free some little lovely things including small posters and other gifts. An important thing is that retailers play the decisive role in the success of the promotion. It is agreed that Free Comic Book Day plays an important part in creating a big market of comic to be healthier and that comic sale have been increasing over the past few years.

Tradition of Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day is an important effort of the comics industry every year in order to get more attention from many new readers. Moreover, it is also useful in protecting both the art of comics and graphic novels. As usual, the comic books are freely the first issues of a new plot or advertisement of future comic events. There are 46 available titles for free. In addition, a committee including comic book retailers was founded with aim to select the titles. 11 comics belonging to Gold Sponsor and 35 comics belonging to Silver Sponsor are theirs; therefore, great new titles and genres can be discovered by enthusiasts and novices.

An interesting thing is a big discount on comics regularly at manga stores. Free Comic Book Day is voted as the busiest day with the biggest sales in this industry. More and more people come to comic stores than other days, because many people never enter comic stores on others.

How to celebrate Free Comic Book Day

• Find your local store here

There are more than 2,300 manga stores that take part in Free Comic Book Day every year. You are pretty much guaranteed to make new friends (real and imaginary). And you will walk out with a free comic!

• Browse before you go

Some large bookstores have a big system of online databases that can show the comics on Free Comic Book Day, as well as summary and preview pages for each. It is a great way to find out what you would like to have ahead of time.

• Discover cosplay

It is hard to think about a better time and/or place to show off your costume, especially when Halloween is still six months away. Let think of it as a fun and safe environment to try something different.