Free Comic Book Day 2013

Today I am dedicating my blog to a feature on one of my favorite events--Free Comic Book Day!

Traditionally held the 1st Saturday in May(generally coinciding with the weekend of a big superhero movie release)FBCD kicked off in 2002 ,with the intent of drawing in new readers,calling back former readers and as a way of thanking current readers for their support. In the years since it has grown quite a bit. All the big publishers and many of the smaller press ones have contributed book in recent years. Even digital comics giant,Comixology was in on the action yesterday, promoting free books on their site.

 I make no apologies,I love comics. That very 1st FCBD in 2002, I bundled my 1 year-old son into his car seat,buckled in my 10 year-old daughter,grabbed their dad and off we went in search of these free treasures.
These days it is my son and I who make the trek,but it is a fun  annual mother-son activity that we look forward to each year.

These days the early bird catches the worm. Seriously, as word of FCBD has grown into an international event, the goodies go quick. Really quick. Last year we arrived at one store only an hour after opening to find everything gone already. This year we were prepared,arriving before our local Newbury Comics store opened. The lines grew down the plaza within minutes,and once again, when the doors opened the books flew off the shelves. People were courteous and patient. The comic book crowd is generally a pretty cool one. I was thrilled beyond belief the spot one copy of the book I was looking for. Luckily nobody else was.

 Pippi Longstocking Color Special from Drawn & Quarterly

Newbury had a limit of 5 FCBD titles per customer. Retailers have to pay for these titles,so limiting is both fair and necessary. Between the two of us,these were the titles we chose.


Newbury Comics was also having a phenomenal sale. We left with all this for under $20!

$1.00 grab bags!


Graphic novels 25% off of the lowest price...couldn't resist!


We hit our next FCBD stop later, at New England Comics. Comics were limited to 2 new FCBD titles,2 older title freebies,and a free Tick comic. So again, 5. These were our picks together.



Sam breathed a sigh of relief when we found they still had the elusive FCBD Heroclix release (Iron Man 3) behind the counter.


So now we sit back, enjoy all the goodies from our travels and count down until next year's Free Comic Book Day!


Have a great day, and go read a comic book!