Free Comic Day!

turkeywrap writes "Today is Free Comic Day! Go to your local comic store, pick up some free comics, and support the comic industry. Check and see if there are any special signings or events at a store near you." Ack! I'm in Warren at Penguicon this weekend, and nowhere near my precious comic store! I guess I'll have to pay for my comics ;)

Comments

X-Men comics

[richmlpdx]

After watching X2 last night (good movie), I'm feeling inspired to checkout the actual comics. Is there a bound edition with large parts of the series available or would I have to hunt and peck to find each individual comic book?

Re:X-Men comics

[Anonymous Coward]

Check your local bookstore, it's quite likely you'll find some trade paperback collections of X-Men comics in the graphic novel section. Essential X-Men, X-Tinction Agenda, and several others.

If you're new to the comics, I'd recommend the Essential X-Men (there are more volumes released since then as well) as a good starting point.

The big downside: it's in black and white, and not printed on the best quality paper. If you want the full experience, you would still need the comics. (except for some like the X-Tinction Agenda which were reprinted in better quality trade paperbacks)

Re:X-Men comics

[RdsArts]

Actually, yes. Marvel has been releasing complete collections of the early XMen comics, along with other comics, for a while as bound, telephone-book sized collections. I can't remember the name, I believe it was "Absolute Xmen," but they may have gone out of print by now. (The first printing was some time around 1997)

If your looking for them, go into a comic shop, and ask them about the Xmen "trade paperback." (A trade paperback is just a collection of the comics in one large volume)

Re:X-Men comics

[ghack]

There are many such bound series available...but since we are talking upwards of 1000 comics in the X-Universe...

To start off, I would look at Uncanny X-Men Masterworks http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0785 108459/qid=1051974731/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/104-108143 4-6039167?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

And the New X-Men Masterworks is also a good place to start http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0871 35988X/qid=1051974807/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/104-108143 4-6039167?v=glance&s=books

There are several volumes available, and are a good way to begin your journey into the X-Universe

Re:X-Men comics

[Dionysus]

Marvel has something called the Visionaries line of paperbacks. Has most of the important backstories. I would pick up the Byrne Visionaries, and maybe if there are, Claremont Visionaries. You could also get the Phoenix Sage trade paperback (next movie is going to deal with that storyline), and Days of Future Past. Also check out "God Loves, Man Kills" graphic novel.

Re:X-Men comics

[grum]

One suggestion is to go looking for the original "God Loves, Man Kills" X-Men graphic novel. It's from the 1982, and the storyline is fantastic and puts a lot of the more recent stuff to shame. As well, I have heard from friends that the main villian has been reworked to appear in the X2 movie (Stryker).
I believe Marvel has just reprinted the story in normal comic book form as well.

Support the industry

[Anonymous Coward]

pick up some free comics, and support the comic industry

How do they make a profit? Volume.

Last time I picked up a few "free" comics

[Anonymous Coward]

They told me to never come back to the store again.

Business modell:

[trikberg]

pick up some free comics, and support the comic industry 1. Give away free comics 2. ?? 3. Profit!

Heh.

[GigsVT]

And tomorrow it's free jewlery day! Just show up at your local jewelery store with a gun! :)

obligatory link

[exhilaration]

"Er, excuse me. No banging your head on the display case please, it contains a very rare Mary Worth in which she has advised a friend to commit suicide. Thank you." - The Comic Book Guy from the Simpsons

Woo hoo!

[Gefiltefish]

Free comic day? This is terribly exciting!

But the event I can't wait for is next Saturday: FREE COLONOSCOPY DAY!

Should be a UN day

[IroNick]

There should be a "UN World free comic day", so we could do this all over the world. This could very well be the UN proposal the US actually would agreee with... ;P

Re:Should be a UN day

[Guppy06]

It would be a Zionist conspiracy to distract the world from their crimes against humanity in Palestine. That, or it would be a unilateralist act that flies in the face of "international law." But I can see it now...

The Security Council would push for a role for UN "Peacekeepers" to hand out the comics, the General Assembly will elect to put a price tag of $1.50 on the free comics (to cover the administrative overhead, of course), and comic book publishers will have to spend years in negotiations with various NGOs to hammer out the details.

After agreeing to five or six different documents all titled "Roadmap to Free Comics," the first few issues would be distributed around 2025. Aside from a few compilations of Bazooka bubble gum wrappers and reprints of Radio Shack's "Whiz Kids," the comics include such insightful ("inciteful?") titles as "Fidel has Feelings Too" and "Triumphs of the Ba'ath Party." The comics themselves are thicker than one would expect because each speech bubble contains the same text in six different languages, with the order of the languages rotated every frame so that no one language is seen as superior to another. The credits at the beginning of each comic contain around 1500 names each, to ensure that nobody involved in the UN effort is left out. In support of UN efforts to combat illiteracy, each illiterate person would receive two comics instead of just one.

After the diplomatic fiasco in which several thousand "Peacekeepers" were killed and/or tortured while trying to carry out their humanitarian comic book efforts, someone will point out that distributing all this paper violates certain environmental agreements. After an additional two or three years of debate, it is decided to pass the blame and the clean-up costs to those truly responsible the Comic Holocaust (as it will by then be referred to): the comic book publishers. After his high-profile capture, Stan Lee awaits trial at The Hague, while France and several other EU supporters introduce a draft it likes to call "The Comprehensive Comic Book Test Ban Treaty."

True economy...

[Anonymous Coward]

Go to your local * store, pick up some free *, and support the * industry.

...in your face, RIAA!

Support industry by taking free stuff with you. And you thought, business is hard to understand...

Free, but there's a catch.

[Recovery1]

It's not exactly free. I noted milk and cheese comic a few months ago in prevus and asked my local guy to order it for me with the rest of the ones I usually pick up. He apologized and told me that he couldn't do it. In order to get it (the free comic book that is) he had to either by $70 of comics in some way, either by purchasing these "free comics" or by sales of other books from the supplier totalling $70. He never explained it and I never thought to ask further.I kind of wish I had now. .. so I don't get my milk and cheese. So depressing. I think I'll go to the fridge now and get the milk and cheese out and make cool action figures that go sour in the sun.

MURDER MAYHEM MERV GRIFFIN!!!!

Do kids still buy comics?

[Anonymous Coward]

Are these still popular? or is it mostly guys in their late 20's and up. I know the comic book stores I frequented as a youth have closed.

Beer or speech?

[anonymous cowfart]

Is that "Free as in beer" or "Free as in speech?"

Free comic book day and web comics?

[BobWeiner]

This is a great way to bring in new readers into stores. I applaud it, even though I stopped collecting (on a regular monthly basis) years ago.

On the other hand, the web has plenty of free comics -- it'd be great to somehow find a way to tie in web comics to this event.

Free Bob!

My favorite...

[Cyno01]

CBG: No you may not, the bathroom is for paying customers only, if you purchase an item you may use the bathroom. Millhouse: Uhhh, how bout that. CBG: That is a rare photo of Sean Connery signed by Roger Moore.

Mostly Free

[Anonymous Coward]

The idea is to get people interested in comics that may have not looked into them before.

The official blurb:

**

On Saturday, May 3, thousands of comic book shops around the world will celebrate the unique American artform that is comic books. The day has been dubbed "Free Comic Book Day," and its goal is to introduce as many people to the wonders of comic books as possible.

There are comics for children, for families to enjoy together, for adults, and especially for people who think they would never read a comic book. Come by on May 3rd and let us change your mind - for free!

Regular updates, information about comic books, and lists of participating publishers
(and their comics) are all online at http://www.FreeComicBookDay.com.

**

It is Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), and yes, there are free comics to be had. Stores like ours do have to pay for these promotional issues, and we give them out for free to get people interested in comics. Here are the titles to be given out today:

Alternative Comics #1 - FCBD Edition
Archie & Friends - FCBD Edition
Avatar Graphic Novel Sampler - FCBD Edition
Batman Adventures #1 - FCBD Edition
Christa's 100% Guaranteed How-to Manual For Getting Anyone To Read Comic Books! - FCBD Edition
Courtney Crumrin & The Night Things - FCBD Edition
Frank Miller's Robocop / Stargate Sg1- FCBD Edition
Keenspace.com 2003 - FCBD Edition
Keenspot Spotlight 2003 - FCBD Edition
Landis #0 - FCBD Edition
Leave It To Chance - FCBD Edition
Metallix #1 - FCBD Edition
Peanutbutter & Jeremy #4 - FCBD Edition
Rocket Comics: Ignite - FCBD Edition
Skinwalker #1 - FCBD Edition
Slave Labor Stories - FCBD Edition
The Best Of Dork Storm Number 1 - FCBD Edition
Transformers: Armada - FCBD Edition
Ultimate X-men #1 - FCBD Edition
Walt Disney's Donald Duck Adventures - FCBD Edition
Way Of The Rat Movie - FCBD Special #1

If you need help trying to find a store, please check out:

http://www.freecomicbookday.com/fcbd_locator.asp

Enjoy!

A-1 Comics, Inc.
1850 Douglas Blvd., Suite 514
Roseville, CA 95661

E-Mail: a1roseville@a-1comics.com
Web: http://www.a-1comics.com

Phone: (916) 783-8005
Fax: (916) 783-8040

Manga?

[MagPulse]

Do any of these comic book stores sell manga? I don't go for American comics, but I love manga. Even my local Barnes and Noble devotes a shelf to them now, though at $10 they're twice as expensive as the original Japanese versions that I get at Mitsuwa.

Sorry but...

[Anonymous Coward]

I stopped supporting the Comic industry in the mid 90's, after they clearly abused consumers. Starting with Valliant (now dead) who printed outrageous amount of comics, hyped it, but kept most of it in warehouses until the price went up. Some comics could be 10 to 50$ after a few weeks/months, then suddenly appeared on the market in large quantities. Today most are available for a few cents. As a young kid I spent a fortunes on comics, not to collect them, but because I enjoyed reading them.

Remember that "Death of Superman" hype? In less than a month it was going for 60$, then 100$ and some places went as high as 200$ BUT It was the most! printed! comic! ever! (6 million prints? or was it only 2?) but you could NOT find it anywhere for months. Every distributor, reseller and stores just kept stacks of hundreds in the back waiting for the hype and rarity to increase the price. You can get it for a dollar today.

I got angry at the comic industry when, in that period, I had a summer job in a comic book store. I went to the warehouse and saw 1$ comics every store in many towns where selling for 10-50$. Titles like Solar man of the atom, X-O Man of war, Superman (death), Batman (broken back), and many many more.

I consider them dishonest and on the limit of fraudulent. At a minimum, ethically very wrong. My (not so) hard earned cash goes to only a very few rare paperback reprints of the 'best'.

On a side note at least I could learn to better my English with all that reading!!! ;)

Re:Sorry but...

[Anonymous Coward]

Nope, you've got it wrong, Valiant never horded their comics in warehouses. Here's the real story: Back when Valiant first started publishing, their books were printed in limited supply because no one bought them, they were just an unknown startup. Then once they started getting popular, people chased after the older books which drove them up in price. Seeing that the old books were worth so much, a bunch of speculators entered the market, buying hundreds of copies of the newer Valiant books hopinh to flip them for $100 or more in a year. Valiant just increased their print run to meet demand. Of course, these books didn't increase in value any because everyone that wanted them just bought for the cover price, and the speculators were stuck with a bunch of comics that they had to dump to almost no buyers. See Turok #1, it's the classic example. You can buy this comic today for a nickle. Cover price? $3.95!!

Anyway, Valiant wasn't all bad. Harbinger up to 25 was great, so was X-O up to about 30, and the origional Rai series rocked. Actually the older Harbingers and Rais are still worth something, not as much as before of course. See Ebay.

Re:Sorry but...

[SageLikeFool]

The comic book industry as a whole has cleaned up its act on this issue for the most part. I think most of it had to do with the push to make comic books a collector's market that happened through the 90's with the mass of foil-chromium-0-issue-bad-girl-centric comics dumped on the market during that time. The effort by publishers to create and control the collectability of their products really killed the comic market in the late 90's which is something it is still bouncing back from.

Luckily, most publishers have seen the error in this and have gone back to the point where the writing and art are at the main sellers of comics, along with the characters themselves. It is far more honest and far less flash this way.

That being said, I personally think if you consider yourself a reader more than a collector then buying the collected editions or trade paperbacks of the series' you enjoy is deffinately the way to go. You will usually save a few bucks buying the trade paperback version versus what you would spend on the single issues as well. Unless of course it is only available in a hardcover version, which I personally despise.

Re:Sorry but...

[rtechie]

I'd like to echo your statement because I'm in exactly the same position. In the early 90's I bought lots of comics, many of wich used obvious scam tactics to attract "collectors" like variant and special covers, multiple covers, "special issues", etc. The industry likes to blame the "speculators" but they deliberately encouraged this speculation, quite blatantly. They are ENTIRELY to blame for the collapse of the comic book industry. (It's similar to what happened with Magic: The Gathering, the speculation was clearly BY DESIGN.)

But the big thing was the price. When I started most comics were between $0.75 and $1 and now a great many comics are between $3 and $4. And that's for NORMAL 32-page monthlies. Special issues and mini-series can be even more. I've seen comics with a COVER PRICE exceeding $10. In fact it was the Rune/Warlock crossover (I'm a huge fan of Adam Warlock) with a cover price of $8 for each issue of a TERRIBLE limited series that finally drove me away. Despite claims to the contrary, higher printing costs simply do not justify the higher prices.

The big problem is that the American comic book industry seems content to stay in an increasingly niche market. Most kids no longer buy comic books. Let's say that again, MOST KIDS NO LONGER BUY COMIC BOOKS. That the main reasons are price, competition from other media (movies, tv, video games, etc.), and the fact that comic books aren't marketed to kids. Most comic books are sold at speciality comic book stores that sell mostly to teenage and young adult males. Marvel and DC seem content to stick to this small audience (despite the obvious mainstream appeal of superheroes). While many independents would like to branch out, they don't have any money so they'll ALWAYS be niche.

Like an increasing number of comic book fans, I only buy trades nowadays, mostly of older comics. Frankly, I think the entire industry should move to trades, in a manner similar to the manga industry in Japan.

Re:How about a BOOK?

[ThomasFlip]

95 percent of children these days don't read anything and don't have the desire to read a book. Comic books are a great tool to help them transition into real literature. And even if its not true literature at least they are reading something !

I posted this elsewhere, but anyway

[lightPhoenix]

Allow me to make some recommendations of comics to pick up alongside the freebies. if you do Free Comics Day. One should not discount this form of communication, as I find the storytelling to often be better than movies and tv.

-The latest issue of Shonen Jump. This is a manga compilation from Japan. It has the familiar (Dragonball Z, Yu-Gi-Oh, YuYu Hakusho) to the odd (Sandland, Shaman King, One Piece) and it's like 5 bucks for a small phone book of stuff. An incredible investment. Plus, it's a magazine so there's bunches of other stuff.

-Ultimate X-Men. It's like at issue 33, but it's a reset of the X-Men universe. Should be approachable by everyone. The current storyline is Return Of The King and involves Magneto, nice stuff.

-Fables. A new story started this month with the 'mundies' investigating all the fables that have fled to NYC. Bigby Wolf, Blue Beard, Snow White, The 3 Bears, they're all in the story and adapting to modern life. Great stuff.

-Astro City: Local Heroes. Very approachable, a series of one shots that talk about life in a super hero city. It's... The Steriotypical super hero city where they make up a normal part of daily life. It's explains superhero life better than Superman ever could.

-Transformers. They just started a new series with issue 1 this month. Dreamwave is doing a great job on the art, and well with the toys long dead they can make a story that isn't puddle deep. The War Within is another 6 issue series that you might be able to find and it goes back to the first civil war. Awesome design, with Prime, Megatron and Grimlock taking the spotlight. It goes unsaid to ignore Armada.

-Fray. For you Buffy fans in the house, Joss is writing the story of a Slayer in the future. Good stuff, it's 8 issues long with 7 out already, so you might take a look. The character is cool and really isn't like Buff or Faith.

-Girl Genius. Some of you magic players might recognize the art of Phil Foglio with this title. It's a steampunk setting, with mostly good and funny storytelling. Sparks have the ability to build great contraptions, and the main character is a fairly useless clutz without a Spark... So it seems. It regularly makes me LAHL.

-AgentX. This is Deadpool actually, still kicking... Well, for a couple more issues. Anyway, if you like 3 Stooges and violence, then read this. Definetly one of my favorites. Actually, it was even better with a previous artist that had a strong anime f flavor that hit the spot just so... But oh well.

-Queen and Country. British intelligence agent, a really serious tone. They handle shitty situations and make the world a better place. Makes for better storytelling than most movies, as it covers Tara's exploits.

And, if you so want to invest in something bigger:
The Authority: Relentless. A Trade Paperback of Warren Ellis' first 8 of 12 issues on The Authority. They're a super hero team, but in a much bigger way than the X-Men, JLA or such. They've changed what superhero teams can do by making it so much bigger. They save Earth, kill 'god' and stop interdimensional invasions. The dialogue is great and villains don't just mwahaha.

If you goto the store, you'll notice my lack of DC/Marvel titles. Yeah. Keep that in mind. They're alright, but they're mainstream. If you want something that will change your opinion about comics, they are most likely not it. Anyway, hopefully this should give some good leads as to see what comics can be more than just Supes and the X-Men.

Why I gave up on comics

[Sabalon]

I had some from the early 80's - X-men and Justice League stuff...interesting sci-fi stories.

In around '92 I started getting some again (a whole bunch of us in college got into it at once). I think I jumped in at the start of the demise.

Anyway, it got annoying that it seemed the stories were going to crap, there was less story because half the pages were "look at the splash" or "we needed three pages to draw her breasts". Also, every other issue was a "special" one with 20 covers, all special in some way. That's fine - I'd buy one copy (in it for the story), but that one copy's price would be inflated because of the special cover.

Other annoyances were the infinite number of cross-title tie ins, the infinite spin-off's and title involving a character (ie. Batman, Dark Knight, Detective, Bat this, bat that, bat screw the customer). Even Image was starting to get bad about this..and valiant to a degree.

In the end I just said enough was enough and stopped...oddly enough the only thing it did do was got me REALLY into Cerebus.

This is why comic books are important

[starvingartist12]

This is why comic books are important

"I'd never actually seen a comic in person before that, and though even then I knew they were lame, I was fascinated by the kind of stories that used both pictures and words."
...
"Truth is, I was a slow student initially, because we were always going from town to town, and the curriculum varied tremendously across locations. (I was also near-sighted, something my father didn't want to admit, so I didn't get glasses until late Junior High School.) So in a very real way, comics taught me how to read, taught me a love of language, and storytelling, and most of all, an appreciation for heroes, for chivalry and bravery and a refusal to surrender."
...
"In addition to the elements just noted, I learned my sense of morality, my sense of right and wrong, from comics. That may sound stupid and naive, but it's true, and that understanding is what propels me to this day."
...
"And there was never any question in his mind about doing the right thing. You just do it. And that, to me, became very important to my moral development. I still tend to see things in black-and-white terms, and if I come into a situation where the only way to keep my job is to do something I don't agree with on principle, I'll quit. It's cost me any number of jobs over the years, but I can't do otherwise. Wouldn't be right.

My family, of course, didn't see it that way at the time, and when my grades slipped, my father blamed it on comics, and as I sat there, he took all the comics that I'd so carefully stored and protected, kept in pristine condition, all my number one issues of X-Men and Spider-Man and the rest ... and tore them in half, one after another, until they were all gone. It still makes me angry. But the other thing about comics is that this was where I first began to appreciate the process of storytelling. I was kind of oblivious at first to the idea of writers, but over time I gradually began to figure it out, that somebody sat down and wrote down these words. And I was entranced by that."

Just who was this person? It's none other than J. Michael Straczynski, writer and creator of Babylon 5, Crusade and Jeremiah (He's currently enjoying getting a chance at writing Amazing Spider-Man for Marvel) =)

My thoughts on this day...

[BeninOcala]

Well, today i went to two different comic book stores in my area. I called ahead a time to make sure this wasn't some sad post /. April fools joke. Sure enough it was legit. First shop i called said he did not have the so called "Free Comic Day Comics". He then told me to come in and check out what he did have for free. When i got there he pointed me to atleast three large tables with boxes marked .50 cents. He told me five issues are free rest make me a deal. I looked for atleast a good half hour, BSing with others who had came in just to shoot the Sheet. I picked out about 11 mags. Brought them up to him he told me happy birthday and gave them all to me for free. Ask me if i wanted a bag i said sure. Out i went to the next store...Smaller selection but he had the offical Free comic day comics...Wasn't that great but hey its free...Asked him what other deals he had...all .50 comics are now .10 for today...found around 20 that interested me, paid my $2.46 and walked out....so hey it was a cool day for me...got around 30 or so comics for a few bucks, they will last quite awhile when i read em on the shitter....take it easy all