Free neighborhood Spider-Man
The 17th annual Free Comic Book Day is Saturday at comic shops.
On Saturday, Free Comic Book Day will celebrate its 17th year with about 5 million comics set to be given away at comic book shops around the world.
More than 2,300 comic book shops across North America and around the world are signed up for the annual event.
Joe Field, the owner of Concord, California, comic shop Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff, proposed the idea for Free Comic Book Day in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer magazine and later worked with Diamond Comics Distributors, comics publishers and retailers to create the first official Free Comic Book Day on May 4, 2002.
The day has been held every year since, and with one exception has always been the first Saturday in May.
“Free Comic Book Day is a great event for everyone, from newcomers to longtime comic book fans. With the wide selection available this year, there’s something for everyone to get excited about! This event is the perfect opportunity to discover a giant community of like-minded pop culture fans,” Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson, said in a news release.
The 50 free comic book titles available this year are designed to appeal to a broad range of tastes. This year’s diverse selection includes superhero stories, like “Marvel’s Avengers” and “Amazing Spider-Man,” as well as “DC Super Hero Girls;” popular kids titles such as “Star Wars Adventures” and “Pokemon,” and TV tie-ins featuring series like “Riverdale,” ‘Doctor Who” and “Bob’s Burgers.” Every major comic book publisher, including BOOM!, Dark Horse, DC, Dynamite, IDW, Image and Marvel Comics participates in the event. “Barrier” from Image and “Black Hammer” from Dark Horse are aimed at more sophisticated comics fans.
Frequently film tie-ins have helped push publicity to Free Comic Book Day.
This year, an “Avengers” comic is available for Free Comic Book Day the weekend after “Avengers: Infinity War” opened in theaters.
The 50 free comic books available this year include tie-ins to big-budget films, kidfriendly favorites and indie fare. Stores will have a limit on the giveaways per person, and popular items will tend to go early in the day.
Comic shops locally will host creator signings, feature photo opportunities and offer other special events throughout the day. Diamond Comic Distributors, the primary distributor of comic books to North American comics specialty shops, oversees the event.