Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday (May 3 2008), and if you a comic book reader, then its not for you. Or at least it shouldn’t be. If you new to the comic book shop scene, Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), is as the name applies, a day when you get free (as in beer) comics. All you have to do is go to your local comic shop, and if they are choosing to participate, you’ll get a free comic (or two, or ten, pending the stores rules).
The idea of FCBD was pretty ingenious. A retailer in California suggested, in the Diamond retailer newsletter, that the direct market stores should take a page from Baskin-Robins and other chains that offer free sample days. Instead of ice cream, retailers would hand out comics. Legend has it, that this retailer even suggested that the first FCBD be held on May 4 2002, the day after the first Spider-Man movie premiered. A handful of publishers decided to participate and reprinted books that they felt would be appropriate for the event (for example, Marvel reprinted Ultimate Spider-Man #1) and sold them to retailers at a discounted price (approximately 10 to 25 cents an issue). Retailers where then encouraged to give the books away for free, in a method they felt was best. For example, some retailers would give a free book with purchase, others would give out a maximum of two books, and others would let you take as many as you want. Make not mistake though, had Spider-Man flopped, this could have easily been the first and last FCBD.
Six years later, and FCBD has become a strong enough event that is no longer needs to be tied to the release of a big screen comic adaptation. Today, some publishers are taking full advantage of the day as a promotional tool and are publishing books that contain original material and/or premiering new characters. This year, over forty different titles were offered to Retailers to pick from for this FCBD. A complete list of the potential giveaways your store may have can be found here: http://www.freecomicbookday.com/the_comics.asp
With a day seeming so geared to the comic book fan, why would I suggest that this day is not for you? I’m not saying that you shouldn’t go out and get a free book, after all, by issuing original material, the publishers are practically telling you to come out and take advantage of the event. You are also a fan, and a supporter of the industry and deserve the thanks that this day provides. Despite being an industry for over 25 years (I’m counting the current direct market only here), this is still an industry that needs a lot of support to survive and thrive. Because of this, I am saying that, this day is more then just about getting free swag for yourself, this is a day about sharing your love of the medium with others.
With that in mind, here is a couple suggestions you should heed for the day (I’ve personally seen each of the following happen)
- If you have children, take them to the store with you on this day, and let them get a free book.
- If you have friends who have always been interested in comics, but never have taken that first step to go into a shop, bring them into the shop with you.
- If you have cousins, siblings, neighbours with kids, grab a book or two for them.
- If you see some one in the store looking confused, or trying to pick out a book that hey may like, help them out.
- If the store is running low on a title that may be popular with the younger market, don’t take the last copy. Especially when there is a child right next to you who wants it.
- If a store has some rationing practice in effect (likely to ensure that they have free books for the duration of the day), don’t openly complain about it and the store.
- While your at it, don’t openly insult other people’s comic choices on this day either. So what if they are picking up All-Star Batman and Robin, it may not be what you consider the best comic out there, but at least they are picking up a book. That being said, in this scenario, you may want to suggest that they grab another books to go along with that particular choice…
- If you see someone picking out a book for their child that you know is appropriate, tell the parent and offer them an alternative suggestion. Bone, Marvel Adventures and the Johnny DC line are always good bets.
So how am I goign to spend my Free Comic Book Day? I’ll be at a shop in Toronto, helping to hand out free books, and trying to expose as many people as I can to a hobby that has brought me much joy over the past 16 years. And in the process of doing all of this, I’ll hopfully be reminded about what made me fall so hard for comics in the first place.