FREE COMIC BOOK DAY - Still Cool

There are still some things in America that are advertised as FREE - and are actually FREE. No bait, no switch, no catch. FREE.

 

FREE Comic Book Day (FCBD) is just that. Go to any participating comic book shop on the first Saturday in May, and pick up a brand smackin' new comic book. If you have not read one in years, try it. totally, cool.

 

 

 

The smell of freshly printed, color covered, super studded choices are great. The idea behind this promotion was to get people back into the comic shops. These days, with Internet, mega-cons and mail order comics, the loss of the local store is like an endangered species.

 

I went to such a shop, about 20 minutes down the coast line in a sleepy beach town. They had two tables of titles to choose from. While many shops have put a limit on how many free comic you can take (usually 5), it sometimes becomes hard to just pick a few.

 

I selected some of my favorite titles - a Special Superman issue, Star Wars (of course) and Batman (of course).

 

I am usually attracted to the cover on these, so my picks are influenced by the art work. There were lots of goofy cartoon, from Ren & Stimpy to anime and several unknown titles.

 

Free Comic Book Day offers the opportunity to sample new comics and catch up on old ones.

 

There have been some exclusives made for the event - notably, a boxed HERO CLIX mini figure. This year it was an IRON MAN 3 issue.

 

 

While in past years these were given away free, some stores have chosen to use these FREE giveaways as incentives to solicit their store. This local shop was asking patrons to buy $10 worth of merchandise to get the Iron Man figure.

 

While, I was disappointed, I totally understand. Its about survival for these comic shops which are losing out to Wal-Mart and large book sellers.

 

One of the most anticipated exclusives of the day was The WALKING DEAD comic book. I got one. Mission accomplished.

 

 

I've noticed that some of the past FCBD issues are now listed in the comic price guide. Most are listed at $2 to $3 each (about the current day cover price of a comic), however, some of the rarer titles have made it to the $30 summit ! One example is Scott Pilgrim from a few year back. It was made into a movie and poof - its gold for free.

 

I am looking forward to reading these comics, and looking through the art work.