You’ve done it now haven’t you? You’ve made it another revolution around the sun. You’ve survived C2E2 this past weekend. Now you face another FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!
Yes! Free Comic Book Day! Saturday, May 4th, 2024 (aka “Star Wars Day”, no I’m not going to say the pun). The First Saturday every May! You know it, you love it, and you have a special place marked on your calendar for it! You have made it to this one because you obviously followed my advice in previous years (that’s gotta be it!)
So how does FCBD 2024 compare to previous years? You get free stuff, that’s how! “But how do I maximize the amount of free books I can get? Is it different than previous years?” you ask. Yes. It is slightly different. We have got you covered.
1. Simply stop in
Everyone who comes in gets to pick 3 books from the FCBD display. Same as every year!
2. Costume!
If you wear a costume, you get 3 additional comics! It must be a comic (or Star Wars) centric costume . No “costume hoodies” or t-shirts. Have some fun and put in some effort and impress others around you!
3. We’re giving you 3 additional books.
“Wait, What?!” That is correct. We are giving everyone who comes in 3 additional books (while supplies last). Everyone who comes in will get a Marvel 3 pack containing FCBD Blood Hunt/X-Men, FCBD Ultimate Universe/Spider-Man, FCBD Marvel Voices. So Just by stopping in, you will end up with a total of 6 FREE BOOKS!
“What Else do I need to know?”
There is a few things. The FCBD Blood Hunt is part of a story kicking off that very same week. Blood Hunt #1 is Marvel’s big event this year & will release on Wednesday May 1st, just before Free Comic Book Day. It will be available in 2 different formats. Standard will be a regular version of the comic. Then there is the Red Band Edition, which will be $1 more, poly-bagged and have more gore and has about 6 additional pages. The FCBD Blood Hunt is not going to be sample pages from this first issue. Think of it as an interlude.
“But it’s Star Wars Day!” Yes. Yes it is. And there will be some FCBD Star Wars content as well! Also be sure to check out the current ongoings as they get closer and closer to the events of Return of the Jedi! Also get ready to celebrate 25 years of Star Wars Episode I The Phantom Menace (and I just saw many of you feeling your hair go grey).
“How do I know what books are approperate for kids?” Have no fear our wonder publishers have that covered: Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) comics are color-coded by age group on the cover to indicate what kind of content is in the comic:
- Green: All ages, appropriate for kids
- Blue: Teen (+), appropriate for ages 13 and up
- Red: Mature, appropriate for adults 18 and up
“I’m hitting multiple shops! Is there anything else I can do to make the trip more worthwhile?” Absolutely! We have brought back our Store Passports! You don’t have one? Talk to an employee and we can get you started! Bring your passport to each shop and have the register employee “stamp “ it! If you manage to hit every one of our Midwest locations you will get a $25 gift card. If you manage to get all of those plus our store in Murietta, CA, that becomes a $50 gift card! “But how am I supposed to do that in one day?” We don’t expect you to. You have until December 31st, 2024 to complete it!
Other items of note: If you plan on visiting multiple locations, plan accordingly. Stay hydrated, bring some snacks for the car ride (just be aware, no outside food or drink in the stores please. We are dealing with a wonderful sponge called “paper”.) Please be prepared to have a small wait (we try to keep the line moving but crowd happen) and be courteous to other guests. Also no backpacks in the store for obvious reasons and if you need to have one, please check it at the counter.
If you have an item you have changed your mind on, do not place it somewhere at random and please give it to one of our employees and they will return it to its proper place. Is there an item (non FCBD) that you are looking for but can’t find, check with an employee. If we do not have an item we can add it to our Special Order system. This costs you nothing except a moment of your time and gets you an extra set of eyes looking for something you may be wanting.
“What other events do you have coming up?” There is always something going on or coming up. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter for any news, upcoming events, reviews and the upcoming week’s releases! (…but you already are, otherwise how are you reading this?)
Hope you all have had a safe C2E2 and we look forward to seeing you this Free Comic Book Day!
