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Today is 'Free Comic Book Day' (npr.org)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the as-in-beer dept.

An anonymous reader writes: "Walk into a comic shop this Saturday, May 6, and you'll get some free comic books," reports NPR. "You can find your closest shop by typing your ZIP code into the Comics Shop Locator on the Free Comic Book Day page... While you're there, buy something... The comics shops still have to pay for the 'free' FCBD books they stock, and they're counting on the increased foot traffic to lift sales."

There's many familiar characters among the 50 free titles this year, according to Gizmodo. Marvel's free comics are a Guardians of the Galaxy tie-in by Brian Michael Bendis and a Secret Empire prequel, "which has seen Steve Rogers transform from a patriotic superhero to the fascist leader of an invasive Hydra force that has taken over the U.S." Meanwhile, D.C. Comics will re-release "the excellent second issue of the current Wonder Woman Rebirth series," and there's also comics based on Rick & Morty, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

31 comments

  1. Comics! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Now THIS is news for nerds.

    1. Re: Comics! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      The real news is that Slashdot posted it the day of instead of the usual 3 days after the fact.

    2. Re: Comics! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They got rid of that slogan you STUPID FUCK

    3. Re: Comics! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I guess it's news for inconsiderate jerks now.

    4. Re: Comics! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Eh, he/she is correct though. They got rid of the "news for nerds, stuff that matters" a long time ago. Now it's "bitch about Apple, bitch about Trump, 'they took our jerbs', etc"

  2. Re: Ideological slant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It can be neither. I'm not into superheroes and never have been, comics or otherwise. I like to read Simpsons and Futurama comics.

  3. Re: read and LEARN! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I find your views intriguing and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

  4. Re:Ideological slant? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

    The vast majority of the titles existed long before the election - some before hubby Bill entered office.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  5. Re:Ideological slant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    That may be true, but Thor was a man back then and Loki was the trans-horse.

  6. Re:Ideological slant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    There are a whole range of comics for all political views, you got stuff like X-Men and Green Arrow for left wing comic fans, and stuff like My Little Pony and manga about Japanese school girls for Trump supporters.

  7. Why I don't read comics anymore by PRMan · · Score: 2

    "which has seen Steve Rogers transform from a patriotic superhero to the fascist leader of an invasive Hydra force that has taken over the U.S." Yep, this is why I don't read comics anymore.

    --
    Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
    1. Re:Why I don't read comics anymore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Have you never seen all that "superman is a dick" stuff?

      He slaps jimmy or lois on the cover or something then people get shocked and just have to buy and read it to see what the deal is, it turns out he's mind control or it's a dream or something.

      This is the same thing, but happening slower because of "decompression". (Which, incidentally, is why I don't read comics anymore. What would be a single issue back in the day is stretched out into a several issue story arch lasting months of years. Their inability to tell a complete story in a single issue is infuriating.) They did successfully get us talking about a captain American story, when was the last time that happened?

      Plus, the US hasn't exactly been on it's best behavior since 9/11. People are disillusioned. The DNA of the snowden leaks were all over the Winter Soldier movie. Shit, how would you feel if you were writing the Captain America comic recently? I see so much shit that's clearly blatantly unconstitutional, it boggles the mind. If I was writing it, I'd feel a responsibility to address some of this and not just ignore it.

    2. Re:Why I don't read comics anymore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's how it is this time. Hydra has taken control of some all-powerful sentient mcguffin cube in this one.

    3. Re:Why I don't read comics anymore by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Ah somebody's upset that Captain America has been pointing out the flaws in America since the 1970s, eh?

      I bet you haven't even read the comic.

      I bet you don't like Superman: Red Son? Mirror Universe Kirk? Owlman? Abe Lincon, Tyrant of the Potomac? Well, that makes you a fool.

  8. Bogus (last year) by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2

    I took my kids to a Newbury Comics last year. We happened to be in the same shopping center (not a special trip).

    What they had were four thin, special-purpose, mostly-ads, obscure comics to choose from, none of which interested my kids. One of them took one anyway, and it was almost entirely devoid of any kind of plot. A few action panels, but nothing like a beginning, a middle, a conflict, a resolution, and an end. Just unknown characters doing a few things that didn't make sense out of context.

    My advice: skip it and buy your[self, kids] a real comic book.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
    1. Re:Bogus (last year) by Hognoxious · · Score: 1, Flamebait

      four thin, special-purpose, mostly-ads, obscure comics to choose from, none of which interested my kids.

      Were you on the internet within minutes, registering your disgust?

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    2. Re:Bogus (last year) by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      cant say the same this year, the books were great and a large selection for kids and adults alike

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
  9. Re:Ideological slant? by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    Richie Rich and Scooge McDuck are still around.

  10. Free comics... by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 1

    If your local comic bookstore haven't disappeared like your local bookstore.

    1. Re:Free comics... by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      If your local comic bookstore haven't disappeared like your local bookstore.

      Surprisingly, the comic store business is fairly robust, at least in North America. There's a few (somewhat evil) reasons for this.

      First, in North America, there's pretty much only one distributor - Diamond Comics. You want to be in the comic book business, you deal with them. This eliminates a lot of big box stores from participating since if you want comic books, most of the North American publishers have exclusivity deals, and Diamond isn't always easy to deal with (plus, Diamond usually ships so it arrives just before, so distribution centers will have a hard time).

      Second, bookstores may be able to get deals with publishers, but only for regular books - or graphic novels, outside of Diamond's control. But these are bookstores, who are used to dealing with ultra-tiny publication houses, something big box stores cannot handle. A store like Walmart cannot deal with mom and pop publishing houses and neither can mom and pop publishing houses deal with Walmart (the extra work involved in prepping inventory and reporting and all that is just too much).

      Third, Amazon can get comic books - probably by being a Diamond retailer like a normal comic shop, but it's harder to browse Amazon's stacks than your local comic shop (and everything your comic shop can carry for that month is in a publication called Previews by ... Diamond, so even if they don't have something, they almost always can get it in for you).

      Fourth, a comic store is a "hang out" place - a social environment. People hang out at comic stores, and the owners know that happens and genuinely encourage it. One of the biggest reasons to go to the comic store is not just the product, but the people. Lots of people come weekly even if the only comics they're getting is a book or two to spend half an hour or more.

  11. It's also... by shino6 · · Score: 1

    World Naked Gardening Day(nsfw).

    Be careful when combining the two.

  12. Re: Ideological slant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This just in: being into high school girls is now weird. Someone better alert the porn industry.

  13. Biggest question by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Will they be giving away copies of "Adventure of Goatse Man"?

  14. you people need a comic book free day... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    come join us in the human race where there's no cartoon heroes out in outer space.

  15. Re:Ideological slant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Are these actual "comic book" comic books, with superheroes and such, or just thinly disguised left-wing ideology written by people bitter that Hillary lost?

    Oh, somebody upset that the so-called greatest hero of our time is an illegal alien. Or the one using steroids?

    Or maybe you don't like that Batman is a sex-abusing pedophile? That Iron Man is an alcoholic? That Wonder Woman is a bondage queen?

  16. Re: Ideological slant? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    JC's, not JK's.

  17. Obelix & Co by eternalpseudonimo · · Score: 1

    I suggest http://booksliteraryreviews.bl...