I just wanted to remind everyone that this coming Saturday, May 1, 2010, is "Free Comic Book Day." For those who don't know, "Free Comic Book Day" is a nationwide promotion where retailers and the larger comic book industry hand out free comics books to the public in an effort to help promote the industry and to bring new readers into shops.
"Free Comic Book Day" is always held on the first Saturday in May and has been since it started in 2002. To give you an idea how this promotion works, it's important to point out that you can't walk into a comic book store, pick any issue off the shelves and walk out without paying for it. Instead, retailers make available specially printed copies of free comic books chosen by the publishers to anyone who enters the store. Often times these issues are re-prints of titles that the publisher wishes to promote, however there are instances where a publisher, typically an independent company, will issue a brand new book hoping that the added exposure will build a fan following for their new title. In addition to the free comics, retailers often offer discounts on other comics and trade paperbacks and some even have creators at their store to sign books and do sketches. It's a good day for comics and comic book fans. I try and hit multiple stores because each one offers something different. Be mindful, however, that the store may limit how many comics you can take in an effort to ensure that everyone who comes in can get a free comic.
If you head out to a shop this year, and you have a few bucks to spend, try to pick something up besides the free comics. This promotion wasn't set up just to promote comics, it was also set up as a way to get people in stores to help retailers with sales. Although the comics are free to the customer, the retailer does have to pay for them, so they do take on a good deal of cost to offer this promotion to you.
To get a look at the titles available this year, check out this link: http://www.freecomicbookday.com/comics.asp
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