Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day is coming to Sydney. On May 7 comic book outlets and bookstores will celebrate all things spandex and supernatural by giving away free editions of comic books to anyone who dares to enter their stores.
“Anybody who walks into our store on Free Comic Book Day gets to choose a book from the selection and gets it for free, easy as,” Jim Papagrigoriou, a spokesperson for Kings Comics on Pitt Street said. “Most of the major publishers produce a free comic book to give away every year, basically just to give them an idea of what comic books are out there or to highlight events and movies that are coming up.”
This year Marvel Comics, publisher of Thor and Captain America comics will be giving away free issues to tie in with the release of the recent and upcoming releases. DC Comics will be giving away issues of The Green Lantern which is also getting a Hollywood makeover.
Not a fan of capes and tights? Mr Papagrigoriou said the selection of books on offer would appeal to readers of all ages and stretched right across the spectrum of the medium.
“From superhero comics to Archie comics, Inspector Gadget, Kung-Fu Panda there is just about something for everybody,” he said.
The event began in 2002 as the brainchild of Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics in Concord California and has grown into an annual event which takes place on the first Saturday in May across North America and around the world.
Mr Papagrigoriou said the event was a great way to get people into the store to have a look around and find out a bit more about the medium.
“It’s not just about more sales,” he said. “A lot of people were not aware that some of their favourite TV series, books etc were in comic book form as well…comics that show that comic books aren’t just about capes and tights, it’s not all about the spandex. There are comic books for horror and sci-fi fans and just about anything.”
Free Comic Book Day is May 7. Check with your local bookstore or comic retailer to see if they will be participating.
