Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Does Free Comic Book Day Help Retailers? (freecomicbookday.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the which-side-are-you-on? dept.

An anonymous reader writes: Today comic book stores around the world celebrate "Free Comic Book Day," offering free comic books to anyone who pays them a visit. Celebrating its 15th anniversary, the event is offering 50 free titles this year, including Doctor Who, Serenity, The Simpsons, Love and Rockets, and a brand new comic from Stan Lee. Marvel is giving away both an Avengers/Civil War comic and a separate one featuring Captain America, and there's also comics with Grumpy Cat, The Tick, and even a Street fighter V comic.

But the Los Angeles Times notes there's different opinions about whether the event creates repeat business (though one comic shop owner told them "as far as that one day goes, it's a great day.") Another store owner says he even stopped participating temporarily because "It's just the hyenas looking for free stuff," while a third described it instead as a way to give back to the community of comic book readers.

20 of 47 comments (clear)

  1. Betteridge says... by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 1

    No.

    --
    Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
    1. Re:Betteridge says... by Dutch+Gun · · Score: 2, Informative

      Just getting people in the door once is a tried and true strategy for businesses. The other day I got my vehicle's state emission tests done at a local gas station that's a lot closer than the one I used to go to (thanks Google!). They gave me a free car with it, and I may go back there every once in a while to get my car washed now, as I discovered the basic wash is only three bucks. I'm certain I never would have discovered or used that place otherwise.

      Online retailers or services use the same principle - they'll give you a free gift just to get you to sign up and go through the checkout or purchasing process with no risk to you, just to get you comfortable with the process.

         

      --
      Irony: Agile development has too much intertia to be abandoned now.
    2. Re:Betteridge says... by Gravis+Zero · · Score: 2

      The other day I got my vehicle's state emission tests done at a local gas station that's a lot closer than the one I used to go to (thanks Google!). They gave me a free car with it, and I may go back there every once in a while to get my car washed now

      stealing a car from them and then going back to the same place to have them wash it? bold move, sir.

      --
      Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
  2. Ladies, if you're looking for husband material, by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    This is *the* place to be today!

    1. Re:Ladies, if you're looking for husband material, by fredrated · · Score: 1

      lol!

    2. Re:Ladies, if you're looking for husband material, by JoeMerchant · · Score: 1

      Hey, I took my 12 year old to two comic shops today, at both there were a surprising number of females - and they were of equal life-mate quality, especially the ones in costume.

  3. Yes 100% Yes by huckamania · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Anything that promotes literacy will help comic book sales. I'm taking my 3 kids and hitting at least one shop. Reading is the most important thing anyone can learn to help them with the rest of their lives. Getting them early is important.

    1. Re:Yes 100% Yes by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Funny

      Reading is the most important thing anyone can learn to help them with the rest of their lives.

      Understanding human relationships is also important. Everything I know about women, I learned from reading about Archie's problems with Betty and Veronica.

    2. Re:Yes 100% Yes by phantomfive · · Score: 1

      I guess it's a shame you weren't introduced to comic books as a kid.

      --
      "First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
    3. Re:Yes 100% Yes by nomanisanisland · · Score: 1

      I just took my three sons to a local store an hour ago - I'd always meant to go but never did until today, and my sons were impressed with the store's offerings. They didn't care that much about the comic books - more about trading cards and action figures and such. Meanwhile I bought a ~$25 book (Asterix and Obelisk omnibus), and my sons said they want to go back when it's less busy (the store was packed), so I'd say yes it's a great idea!

    4. Re:Yes 100% Yes by Peganthyrus · · Score: 1

      Yay for Asterix! Leave that one where the kids can get to it.

      --
      egypt urnash minimal art.
    5. Re:Yes 100% Yes by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Comic books aren't the best material for building reading skills. They're mostly composed of short two-to-three sentence snippets of dialogue, and children should be comfortable reading that sort of thing by the third grade. The next step is learning to read sentences with several dependent clauses, the kind that can stretch on for three or four lines, and you won't find those in comic books because they are simply too long to fit into speech bubbles. I'm not saying comics don't have meaningful and powerful plots -- they often do -- but the prose is simplistic as a result of the format.

      Sure, they aren't material to build up your vocabulary and whatnot, but they reinforce the idea that you can read for fun. Reading is a fun activity, and while comics may not be the best imaginative material, they still can imagine the action leaping off the page.

      It's like all the english teachers complaining about Harry Potter books ruining kids because they're not getting some aspect of learning done. You know what? Reading isn't all about learning - it's all about recreation. Sit down with a good book, normal or comic, and just enjoy the story and relax, unplug, unwind.

      It's also something you can give a kid that doesn't involve a screen (if you don't use the digital comics - paper ones are still plentiful).

      Reading is fun. The problem is school often makes reading a chore. If they want to sit down and read a comic, I say that's perfectly acceptable to me. If that comic transitions them to traditional books and novels, even better.

      And yes, today's comics cover everything pop-culture. No longer are you limited to superheroes or Archies - there's a comic about everything you want. Nearly 10 years ago I wandered into a newly opened comic book store that was nearby and got hooked. It's why Comic-Con is now billed as a pop-culture thing and not just comic books, because comic books are pop-culture. Videogames, movies, etc., they all have a comic book tie-in nowadays.

  4. Re:This day is for Cows, not comics by Calydor · · Score: 1

    Look. Trolling is an art.

    This is not art.

    Art would have been calling it Cowic Book Day.

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  5. Re:The key is not to be a dick by Calydor · · Score: 2

    Neither party should need to be kissing the other's ass literally or metaphorically for general manners to apply. Refer to the title of this comment thread for details.

    --
    -=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
  6. Re:Brings back memories of by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    thank you come again

  7. Superhero Comics != Comics by Qbertino · · Score: 1

    It bugs the hell out of me that apparently, at least the most outspoken US comic fans, just seem to think of superhero comics whenever they talk abour comics.

    A little enlightenment:
    Superherocomics are a smaller subgenre of comics in general, and, if I may say so, a rather shallow one at that. Comics encompass a huge superset of superhero comics, the bulk made up of so-called franco-belgian comics, covering a huge variety of genres and target audience demographics. Resulting in the fact that comics are considered a notable cornerstone of culture in France and Belgium. Count in japanese Manga (academically debateable, I know) and US Superhero comics are nothing but a fraction of all comics.

    A free comic day handing out only superhero comic is nothing I'd be interested in.

    I'm a notable multi-decade comic afficiando, know my way around pretty well and touched a superhero comic in years.

    --
    We suffer more in our imagination than in reality. - Seneca
  8. Re:Never heard of it before by retchdog · · Score: 1

    Unfortunately it doesn't take you three hours to post on slashdot. :(

    --
    "They were pure niggers." – Noam Chomsky
  9. One thing you'll never see in a comic book by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 1

    A person named Clint.

    1. Re:One thing you'll never see in a comic book by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      A person named Clint.

      Do you mean like Clint Barton (a.k.a. Hawkeye, Ronin) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawkeye_(comics)

    2. Re:One thing you'll never see in a comic book by WinstonWolfIT · · Score: 1

      Interesting. How does that look in smudged block case. ..