Free Comic Book Day

The first Saturday in May is the official day for comic books. What is so great about this day is that comic books are given away for free. For the past seven years, participating stores have been giving out free comics; but only on this one Saturday a year. The purpose behind this day is to promote comics to kids. To keep the industry alive, we need the newest generations getting hooked on comics. Kids as young as two and three years old become interested in comics, even though they can't read, because they are familiar with the action hero figures. More than likely, most kids have a superman or batman action figure and they can relate to the comics from looking at the pictures.

The comics given out are special issues. They are printed especially for Free Comic Book Day. They are printed differently than normal comics, and they don't have a barcode on them. Also, most of the comic books handed out have Free Comic Book Day printed somewhere on the cover. At one store participating in the event, they have more than ten different comics to choose from that will be given out for free. This is made possible because each major comic publisher produces a free edition comic. For a comic book enthusiast, this once a year even is like Christmas for them. As many as twelve million comic books will be given out on Saturday.

William Shatner, one of the most memorable Star Trek actors, is taking part in the event. He has plans to announce the release of his own comic book series. He will be doing a comic book signing at a store in Los Angeles where they will be giving out free comics. William Shatner partnered with Bluewater Productions to create a 32 page comic to be given away for free in support of Free Comic Book Day. His series of science fiction comics is called Tek War, and the free comic given out is a prologue to the issue. Hugh Jackman, leading actor in the X-men series, is also promoting Free Comic Book Day. He is starring in the new release X-Men Origins: Wolverine. He believes that comics have the power to get kids to read. They are playing a large part in fighting illiteracy in our country.

Without comic book retailers, this world wide event wouldn't be possible. They pay anywhere from 12 to 50 cents for each free edition comic book, and give them out to free for anyone who walks through their store.