The Only Word Better than “Comics” is “Free”

FCBD_nodate

Hey, kids, it’s Free Comic Book Day!

That means it’s time to head out to your Friendly Local Comic Book Store and see what free stuff you can get!

But I hope that, by now, you know that there are some very important limits to what kind of free stuff you’ll be able to take home, right?

You can’t just get any comic book free. The comics publishers send out their own special Free Comic Book Day comics — and those are the only free comics you’ll be able to get. They might be really awesome comics, and they might be very much less awesome comics. But those are the only ones that are free.

If you think you’re going to get any other comics free, you’re out of luck. You can’t go load up on graphic novels and trade paperbacks and every comic in the New This Week rack and expect to walk out without paying.

So seriously — for the sanity of the folks at the comic shop, for the sake of your own dignity — don’t be the entitled douchebag who goes in and demands all the comics for free. You’ll get the Free Comic Book Day comics for free, so just accept that.

Come to think of it, you probably won’t be able to get all the Free Comic Book Day comics either. Quantities are very limited, so most shops will only let you have two or three comics for free, just so they’ll have some left for anyone who comes in late. So it’s better to go in early to make sure the stuff you want is still available. If you go in late, you might miss out on the best comics. You might even miss out on all of them.

And one more thing — could I ask y’all a favor? When you go in to get your free comics, could you go ahead and buy some other comics as well? See, the comic shops have to pay for all those free comics — a lot of them end up taking a beating sales-wise, just for the opportunity to try to pick up the occasional new customer. A lot of folks show up on Free Comic Book Day, get their free books, then vanish out the door again ’til next year. But y’all are good guys, and you know it’s never a good thing for your local comic book shop when they don’t make a little money.

So just for the sake of niceness — buy a comic book, too. Could be an issue or two of a regular comic. Could be a new trade paperback or graphic novel. Could even be a game or a toy or a shortbox. But buy something, just as a way to let your local shop know that you appreciate them offering the free comics every year.

Thanks much, kids — now go out and nab those free comics!

2 Comments

  1. JD Said,

    May 9, 2013 @ 7:54 pm

    Video of what Free Comic Book Day looked like in one corner of the world, at the link.

  2. scottslemmons Said,

    May 9, 2013 @ 8:11 pm

    Thanks, JD. 🙂