Attention comic book fans. May 7 is the day you’ve been waiting for all year — Free Comic Book Day!
Now in its 15th year, Free Comic Book Day — always held on the first Saturday in May — is exactly what its name suggests. It’s a day when you can visit your favorite participating comic book specialty shop and walk away with a free comic.
According to FreeComicBookDay.com, many shops in the United States and around the globe participate.
“This is as important to people who collect comic books as Valentine’s Day is to most people, since comic book collectors love comic books,” Ralph Watts, owner of Comics and Paperbacks Plus, told FlipSidePA.com.
Depending on which comic book shop you visit on Free Comic Book Day, you could leave there with more than one free book.
“If you walk into the store, you’ll get two free books for just walking in on that day,” Watts, who has two shops in Pennsylvania, explains. “If you give us your email address, you’ll get one more book, and if you wear a costume, then you’ll get another.”
Watts said he sees 500 or more people in his store on Free Comic Book Day. Overall, an estimated 5 million free comic books will be given out on May 7.
Of course, you don’t get a free choice of everything in these stores — where some of the titles are collector’s items worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars. (The first comic book appearance of Batman, published by DC Comics in 1939, sold for $1 million, according to Cheetsheet.)
Each comic shop offers a selection of publications for free.
“Participating stores generally have a select few titles they give away — among the potentially free comics this year at shops in your neck of the woods are books featuring characters like Spongebob Squarepants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Cleopatra in Space, the Avengers, Pokemon, Lady Justice and Doctor Who,” Money explains.
Comic shops say Free Comic Book Day is a way to boost interest in their shops and comics in general, while also bumping up their sales numbers because customers who snag a freebie often pony up cash for other comics.
Anxious to get your hands on a free comic book? Click here to find a participating comic shop near you.
Are you a comic book fan? Do you participate in Free Comic Book Day? Sound off below or on our Facebook page.
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