This Saturday (May 3) is the second annual National Free Comic Book Day. There’s no catch (or shouldn’t be, anyway): just go to a comic shop and get free special edition comic books. They’ll include a free Batman, X-Men (yes, FCBD was timed to coincide with X2’s opening), Donald Duck, and others.
I am by no means an FCBD promoter. I just want to see everybody out there enjoy the benefit and joy of comic books. Introduce the kids to it! For more details, check out Free Comic Book Day.com.
It’s the crack-cocaine principle. They give you your first dose for free in the hopes that you’ll get hooked and plunk down your hard earned money for more.
Just do it. Everyone else does and you know you want to.
“But where oh where might I find a store near me that participates in Free Comic Book Day?”
Well, the website linked to by ResIpsa has a Store Locator by zip code. You can also call 1-800-COMIC-BOOK to get the location of a comics store near you.
(This service operates year-round and is not limited merely to FCBD. Conversely, it is possible that some shops listed in the locator service may not participate in FCBD, altho’ this seems unlikely, so if you have to go out of your way, it might be worth a call first.)
I predict great things for this year’s FCBD – when I posted last year’s version of this thread on the SDMB, it got no replies, so we’re already ahead of the game.
I’ll be there! Going there tomorrow night anyway to buy issue #5 of the new Rawhide Kid by Ron Zimmerman. I’ll ask how many customers they expect to show up. I’ll bet the place will be mobbed.
Apparently this is free stuff week for everybody. Seems Ben and Jerry’s stores are giving out a free scoopy today, and Baskin Robbins is doing the same tomorrow night. I believe Domino’s Pizza (I think) is doing a buy one/get one deal tomorrow–which is weird, because they ARE calling it “Free Pizza Day.”
Yes. Get your comics. You need your comics. Comics are not just for kids. Comics are your friends. Remember fun with comics. Comics make you young. Comics are timeless. Comics es muy bueno.
A few hours ago I went to my nearest comic book store to buy #5 of the new Rawhide Kid. Wouldn’t you know it? Right next door is a Baskin Robbins. And it was free ice cream day. People lined up to get theirs and blocking the entrance to the comic book shop. I had to politely work my way through to get inside to buy my comic book. Fellow inside working there said he couldn’t understand the folks willing to wait outside for half an hour just to get their kid a free scoop of ice cream.
Maybe I’ll skip the free comic book day. Don’t care for crowds. I’m already getting six free comic books with an order I placed with an online comic store, so I can be happy with that.
I just got back from several shops with a swag o’ books. I’m a happy boy.
I’ve also noticed that a few shops are GIVING away several cheap books, including the 9 cent issue of FANTASTIC FOUR and the 10 cent issue of SUPERMAN. There’s also a 25 cent NAMOR comic out this week. Gosh, I feel like I’m a kid again–but with an adult budget to blow!
Ah yes, what a great day had by comic book fans everywhere! My local store that I visted, Bedrock City was giving away Transformers: Armada 1, Ultimate X-Men 1 (and a great book, loved the Ultimate series when if first came out) Batman Adventures 1, and an Archie and Veronica story (bleh).
On top of all of that they were having a GIANTLY HUGE SALE! I got a great Spiderman shirt (the button up one with the cool spidey painting all over it) a huge stack of comics (including the Marvel Knights Punisher 1 and 2) and some DC Hero Clicks boosters. All that stuff was less than $60. I felt great.
Just so everyone knows, each publisher provided a specific free issue for FCBD. It wasn’t a free-for-all so any comic in any store was free. My local store allowed us to choose up to six free books from the selections. I picked up:
Leave It To Chance (from Image - delightful series written by James “Starman” Robinson.)
Courtney Crumrin (from Oni - another great book for all ages.)
Robocop (from Avatar - an closer adaption of Frank Miller’s scripts for the 2nd and 3rd movies.)
Dork Tower sampler (RPG humor? Never read it before.)
Slave Labor Graphics sampler (includes Milk and Cheese, and some Gothy-looking comics I’ve never read.)
Alternative Comics sampler (anthology of cartoonists published right here in Gainesville, FL.)
I wanted to sample new things, so I left the kiddie-looking Batman book and the Ultimate X-Men reprint behind for everyone else. I’m looking forward to devouring all my freebies.
It was packed, so I just got the Donald Duck comic and left. They also were giving away free bargain bin comics, but I didn’t have the patience to wait through it.
I’m enjoying this week. I also got my free ice cream scoop and my free newspaper.
Yeah, I was talking about that with my Favorite Comic Shop GuyTM James at todays event. He said that each of the 5 different covers had 1.8 million copies printed each. The second issue had 40,000. The glut was amazing.
I opted for the Batman Adventures (which is even more childish than the Batman I used to read in the '60s…and how the hell did the Penguin get to be mayor?), the Courtney Crumrin (which I had never heard of) and the first issue of a miniseries called Whiteout, which wasn’t one of the specially published freebies, but they were giving it away–and it’s very good. I purchased the newest Lucifer trade paperback–didn’t know that had come out already–as well as the Neil Gaiman Black Orchid book, and a 1967 issue of Plastic Man.
Whiteout and Courtney Crumrin & the Night Things are both excellent miniseries and are available as trade paparbacks which collect the entire series. Each also has an excellent sequel (Whiteout: Melt and Courtney Crumrin and the Coven of Mystics – IMO, Coven is better than the first Courtney series). W: Melt is in a trade; Coven just finished up last week and will presumably be collected within the next several months.
If you find that you enjoy the Whiteout books, the author (Greg Rucka) also has an ongoing series set in a similar vein – but not on the ice – called Queen & Country, the first three trades of which are out, with another on the way this summer.
