Free Comic Book Day 2016!

There's only one comic I'm eager to get my mitts on during the annual fest tomorrow, and that's a copy of The Phantom from Hermes Press sporting a handsome Jim Aparo cover. There seems to be little vintage material this year, with most of the big guys doing their usual and understandable attempt to hook into their next big event.

But I will confess that of the new material there is ROM The Spaceknight. This seems a perfect chance to see if the classic toy/hero has been refitted neatly for a new era, I know I really enjoyed the original run of this surprise hit back in the ancient days.

Free Comic Book Day has become something of an institution and I've found a bunch of fun comics over the last decade and a half. Too bad there's not more vintage stuff for the antiquated fanboy.

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Free Comic Book Day Eve!

I'll have to make a point to get out tomorrow for the 2015 edition of Free Comic Book Day, a most successful promotional idea and one that's lasted longer than I expected frankly.

I'm eager to get hold of the Phantom preview from Hermes and the Captain Canuck book from somewhere in the "Great White North". Both should be quite entertaining. The great Don Newton hopefully will sooner than later get his due.

Usually there's a Fantagraphics offering I'm hankering to get hold of, but sadly this year they are hyping some reality comics about Hip Hop. I'm not a huge fan of Hip Hop and reality comics leave me cold. Previews of this series seem well crafted, but not my cup of tea.

Might try to wrangle a look at the latest effort to revive the Red Circle heroes. How many of these reboots and revivals have there been? I've frankly rather lost track. This newer darker direction looks interesting though, and the Francavilla cover is sweet.

And Bongo can always be counted on to offer up a fun comic which nails the interests of the longtime fanboy. Good clean fun -- that's what Free Comic Book Day is all about.

I am also impressed by this Overstreet Comic Book Marketplace promo with Captain Action on the cover. I usually get one of these as they have at least one little article of value. This is an unusually good Thibert cover. 

To see all that's up for grabs tomorrow check out the official website for the FCBD. 

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Free A Comic Book Today!

It's a terrible thing to find comic books in captivity. They yearn to be free, to be in the hands of those who are eager to enjoy the four-color majesty they present. So it's nice that once a year, those who keep the books in captivity allow them to interact with the larger population, to show the books and the people that they ought to be together more.

Joking aside, Free Comic Book Day from a fan's perspective is a damn fine idea. I like to get some free books and I rather like seeing so many kids in comic book shops, lairs reserved in the modern day to aging hipsters, nerdy geezers, and the dreaded "teenager". To see actual children, little boys and girls happy to get their mitts on a comic book is just plain cool.

This year I only picked up two books, the offerings from Fantagraphics (always good and this year featuring Don Rosa) and Hermes Press (their second Buck Rogers offering with a wide array of Buck from different eras). Now that publishers have gotten so savvy about making FCBD a launching pad for upcoming storylines, we see fewer vintage offerings from the bigger houses, but it's the old stuff which makes me eager to get off my butt and trek to the store despite some very large crowds.

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In The Days Of Free Comics!

It's Free Comic Book Day, and personally I'm only looking for a few items this time, but I'm eager to be surprised. I crave a copy of the Fantagraphics offering of Prince Valiant and I'm looking for Buck Rogers from Hermes Press, but that's about it this year.

Hopefully there's a gem out there I have yet to see. It's going to be a bit hectic this morning, so I'm hoping I can get in to visit the shops. Enjoy your own FCBD.

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Free Comic Book Day 2012

It's Free Comic Book Day today. This year's event has been overshadowed by the debut of The Avengers movie, and that's odd since movie releases close to or on the day traditionally have added to the zest not overwhelmed it. Maybe it's the fact that FCBD has become a regular event, somewhat commonplace in fact.


Whatever, there are several comics I'd love to get my mitts on. Donald Duck and Family from Fantagraphics heads the list, but Dan Spiegle's My Favorite Martian is one I'm eager to read too. Also Barnaby seems like oddball fun.

One thing I noticed new this year, was the FCBD website features free preview downloads for the "Free" comic books. This seems a bit wacky to me since the Free comics are themselves largely previews. Strange.


Nonetheless, have a good time and support your local comic book shops.

UPDATE: I went and had a fine time. I kidded my wife no end, because for the first time she ended up going along with me, and though her mission was most certainly not to enter a comic book shop, she did ride along and we had a great lunch. I got all the free comics I went for along with a couple more from Bongo and Gemstone. The business seemed way up to me, much to my surprise, and one shop was so filled to the brim with customers that I didn't even attempt to stand in the long long line despite a pretty good discount and a volume of American Flagg I'd been craving of late. Good day, the FCBD tradition seems to be just that, a tradition.

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FCBD 2011!

It's Free Comic Book Day, the national geek holiday today. This promotion has been pretty successful I'd have to reckon. With the relative success of comic book superheroes in the theaters, and a more general awareness of comics, a day like today really does some good to further heighten that awareness.

I love it when I go to stores and see little kids lined up to get comics. You hardly ever see kids in comic book shops anymore unless it's today. The average buyer I stumble across these days are either perpetual teenagers of indeterminate age or surly and crusty old geezers like myself. Kids not so much alas.


Personally I want to get my mitts on the Fantagraphics Mickey Mouse offering and the John Stanley collection from Drawn & Quarterly. I'm out of town today, so I'll be visiting shops out of my regular zone. You might say I'm celebrating the day abroad.

Have a good 'un!

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Free Comic Book Day!

Free Comic Book Day?

I didn't know they were in captivity!

(Hah! I crack myself up.)

It's that time of year again when the kiddies invade the comic book shops across America to get their annual doses of free comics literature.

I love this idea, it really gives comics a high profile for one day a year. I know that retailers have various opinions and I see some of those criticisms, but driving potential business into the stores cannot be all bad.


I've waited this week to pick up my stuff so I can partake of some of the festivities. There are two shops in my immediate area and both do Free Comic Book Day pretty well. There's not much in the way of freebies, I'm looking for, maybe the John Stanley reprint, and The Library of American Comics.


I miss the Gemstone Disney freebie; those have been the highlights for me, and to the credit of Free Comic Book Day really motivated me to follow Gemstone's lush Disney packages more closely. So I can say flatly that FCBD changed my buying habits, and generated more business for the stores.


For my money, I hope to catch a few discounts and maybe some Charlton back issues. But to honest, the recession has forced my local stores to be pretty aggressive with their pricing for most of the year, so I don't expect big changes. The bargains have been there right along this past year, and I only wish I had more disposable income to gather up my share.


But it should be fun, or at least interesting. I hope you have a good FCBD yourself!

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