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. Retailer Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, CA brainstormed the event in his "Big Picture" column in the August 2001 issue of Comics & Games Retailer magazine. Free Comic Book Day started in 2002 and is coordinated by the industry's single large distributor, Diamond Comic Distributors. The next event will be on May 5, 2012.
Free Comic Book Day is scheduled on the first Saturday of May. It has often been tied to 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. [1] 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.[2] However, retailers do not receive the issues for free; they pay 12-50 cents per copy for the comics they give away during the event.[3]
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Publishers produce special edition comics geared to attracting 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.
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 years.
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 [1].
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.
| Edition | Date | Associated movie |
|---|---|---|
| First | May 4, 2002 | Spider-Man |
| Second | May 3, 2003 | X2 |
| Third | July 3, 2004 | Spider-Man 2 |
| Fourth | May 7, 2005 | none |
| Fifth | May 6, 2006 | none |
| Sixth | May 5, 2007 | Spider-Man 3 |
| Seventh | May 3, 2008 | Iron Man |
| Eighth | May 2, 2009 | X-Men Origins: Wolverine |
| Ninth | May 1, 2010 | Iron Man 2 |
| Tenth | May 7, 2011 | Thor |
| Eleventh | May 5, 2012 | The Avengers |