Annual comic book giveaway is here
Some retailers will offer free copies of a new "Simpsons" comic.
Free Comic Book Day comes but once a year, and this year it’s Saturday May 2. The North American comic book industry holds the event every year on the first Saturday in May.
Free Comic Book Day is coordinated by Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. Diamond distributes most major U.S. comic book distributors, including Dark Horse Comics, DC Comics, Image Comics and Marvel Comics. Free copies of comic books produced by all of these companies could be available at your local comic book store.
Comic book store locator
You can find comic book retailers by going to the official Free Comic Book Day web site and using the comic book store locator. Just plug your zip code in to the search bar on the left hand side, about halfway down the page.
Comic book stores who choose to participate in Free Comic Book Day can make their own rules, and many retailers limit free comic books to one per person. So you might want to bring a credit card, just in case you see something you can’t live without. But don’t take out payday loans in Idaho to buy comic books — your significant other will freak.
Behind the scenes
Most retailers limit customers to one free comic book apiece because the stores do not get free comic books. Retailers generally have to pay 12 to 15 cents per comic. That might not sound like a lot of money, but think about it. It’s FREE Comic Book Day. Imagine how many people are going to be crowding into those stores Saturday.
History of Free Comic Book Day
The first Free Comic Book Day took place in 2002. The promotion several times has landed on the same weekend as “the release of a major theatrical film adaptation of a well known superhero property,” according to Wikipedia. This year, Free Comic Book Day coincides with the release of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.”
The first Free Comic Book Day landed on the same weekend as the first “Spider-Man” movie, and since then the giveaway has proved to be a wildly successful marketing tool.
Marketing frenzy
Free Comic Book Day and the movie release pair up so they can benefit from cross-marketing. However, Free Comic Book Day has another agenda besides drawing people into stores. Generally most of the major publishers produce a special-edition comic for the purpose of drawing in non-comic book readers.
To date, more than 12 million special-edition comic books have been given away on Free Comic Book Day. Throughout the country more than 2,000 retailers have participated. The 2005 and 2006 giveaways weren’t tied to the release of a comic-themed movie, but still garnered massive media coverage and widespread store participation.
Free Comic Book Day 2009
The North American comic book industry says Free Comic Book Day has three purposes:
- To introduce everyone to the joys of reading comics
- To call back former comic book readers
- To thank current comic book buyers for their continued support
In short, Free Comic Book Day is for everyone, so enjoy!
