It might be Star Wars Day on Saturday (look at the date), but that’s not the only fun celebration this weekend. It’s also Free Comic Book Day. Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual event put together by the North American comics industry to encourage readers to discover new comics and make their way into indie comic book stores. Consider it Independent Bookstore Day but for comics.
FCBD began in May 2002, and now, it has over 1,000 participating comic book stores. This year is one of the most robust years in terms of the free comics that will be available at participating stores. A total of 48 different free comics across a wide range of genres, audiences, and publishers will be available. While every store has a different policy on how many free comics attendees can take and while every store might have slightly different selections, these are the very things that encourage new and long-time comic readers to explore all of the different participating shops near them.
Among the titles available this year are those in series like Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Hellboy, Pokemon, Snoopy, Disney Villains, Doctor Who, One Piece and more. You can check out the full list of comics on the FCBD website.
While you’re celebrating your free comics, don’t forget to buy some comics and support those shops, too. We can help you with our roundup of the best comics we’ve read during the first quarter of 2024, a look at the YA comics and graphic novels that you’ll want to pick up this spring (many of which are available now!), and the range of awesome comics that hit shelves in April.
Not sure where to find a participating comic book store or want to make it an opportunity to visit a variety of shops? The FCBD website has a store locator, which not only will show you your nearest store but also shows some of the shops hosting special events that day.
Chances are very good you might get to see a Star Wars Day/Free Comic Book Day crossover special, too–be it in the physical comics or in the stores you stop in.
For more information about Free Comic Book Day, check out their robust website.
Find more news and stories of interest from the book world in Breaking in Books.