Free Comic Book Day

Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to help bring new readers into independent comic book stores. Brainstormed by retailer Joe Field of [http://www.FlyingColorsComics.com/ Flying Colors Comics] in Concord CA in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer magazine, it was started in 2002 and is coordinated by the industry's single large distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors. The next event will be on May 2, 2009.

Free Comic Book Day is scheduled on the first Saturday of May after the release of a major theatrical film adaptation of a well known superhero property, in order to take advantage of the film's heavy promotion and related press about the comic book medium. On Free Comic Book Day, participating comic book store retailers give away specially printed copies of free comic books, and some offer cheaper back issues and other items to anyone who visits their establishments. Retailers do not receive the issues for free; they pay 12-50 cents [cite web | url = http://comicsworthreading.com/2007/03/05/free-comic-book-day-free-for-whom/ | title = Free Comic Book Day Free For Whom? | publisher = Comics Worth Reading | date = 2007-03-05 | accessdate = 2007-04-03 ] per copy for the comics they will give away for free.

Effectiveness

Typically each major publisher produces one special edition comic geared to most likely attract new non-comic readers. There is a wide diversity of comics available, from traditional comics' fare like Archie and Disney, super-heroes from Marvel and DC, manga from Tokyopop, as well as work from independent publishers.

The 6th annual event on May 5, 2007 featured comics from 40 different publishers, including the following ten titles that were available at all participating retailers:
*Archie Comics – "The Adventures of Little Archie"
*Bongo Comics – "Bongo's Free for All 2007"
*Dark Horse Comics – "The Umbrella Academy", "Pantheon City 2007", and "Zero Killer"
*DC Comics – "Legion of Super Heroes in the 31st Century 2007"
*Dynamite Entertainment – "The Lone Ranger / New Battlestar Galactica Flip Book 2007"
*Gemstone Publishing – "Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse 2007"
*IDW Publishing – "Transformers the Movie Prequel" #1 2007"
*Image Comics "Astounding Wolf-Man #1 2007"
*Marvel Comics – "Amazing Spider-Man Swing Shift 2007'
*Tokyopop – "Choose Your Weapon 2007"

In its first six years, more than 2000 retailers in more than 30 countries have given away more than 12 million Free Comic Book Day special-edition comic books. The success of the promotion rests with each participating retailer. Most participants agree that FCBD has been part of a healthier comics' market and growing comic book sales over the last several yearsFact|date=August 2007.

FCBD has garnered tremendous press coverage in all media. The first event was May 4, 2002, just a day after the opening of the first "Spider-Man" movie. Linking the event with movies was somewhat controversial, as some believe that it implied the comic book medium was simply a promotional arm of the film industry. However, successful FCBD events in 2005 and 2006 did not have specific date tie-ins to comics-related movie openings, proving that the event is more than capable of standing on its own, while the 2004 event was linked with the July opening of the second "Spider-Man" movie and was deemed less successful for falling outside of the regular school year. The current public relations associate for the event is Elissa Lynch [http://www.freecomicbookday.com/PRess_inq.asp] .

Free Comic Book Day has three main purposes:
1) To introduce everyone to the joys of reading comics.
2) To call back former comic book readers
3) To thank current comic book buyers for their continued support.

Previous events:
The 7th annual Free Comic Book Day was May 3, 2008.
The 6th annual Free Comic Book Day was May 5, 2007.
The 5th annual Free Comic Book Day was May 6, 2006.
The 4th annual Free Comic Book Day was May 7, 2005.
The 3rd annual Free Comic Book Day was July 3, 2004.
The 2nd annual Free Comic Book Day was May 3, 2003.
The 1st annual Free Comic Book Day was May 4, 2002.

Related Events

In conjunction with Free Comic Book Day on May 6, 2006, TwoMorrows Publishing hosted a promotional Free Magazine Day. Visitors to their website were able to order any in-stock issue of their magazines "Back Issue", "Alter Ego", "Draw!" or "Write Now!" for free.

References

External links

* [http://www.freecomicbookday.com/ Free Comic Book Day]
* [http://www.myspace.com/freecomicbookday Free Comic Book Day Myspace]
* [http://www.diamondcomics.com/ Diamond Comic Distributors]
* [http://www.comicsretailer.com/ Comics Retailer magazine]
* [http://www.capeday.com/ CAPE: The world's largest FCBD event]
* [http://www.myfreecomicbookday.com MyFreeComicBookDay.com] Making "Free Comic Book Day" a daily choice.