Who Wants Free Comics?

FCBD2014

I have had a heck of a rough week, and the only thing that’s made the whole thing bearable is knowing that Saturday is coming, and Saturday is Free Comic Book Day.

I know we’re all excited about getting some free comics, but let’s take a moment for a Public Service Announcement.

First and foremost, not all the comics in the store are free. You won’t be able to go into a comic shop, grab their copy of Action Comics #1 and get it without paying. You won’t be able to load up on graphic novels or every comic in the store for absolutely no money. The publishers put out their own special promotional comics, and those are the only ones that are free. Sometimes, those free comics are really good. Sometimes, they’re not so good. Sometimes, they’re really kinda useless. Sometimes, they end up being one of the best comics of the entire year. It’s kinda the luck of the draw, baby — but they are free, so that’s a nice little benefit, no matter what.

You’ll probably only get one or two of those free comics, too — there are only limited supplies of the free stuff on hand. So you don’t want to wait very late to visit your local shop. Show up when they unlock the doors in the morning, and you’ll have your pick of whatever you want. Show up at quitting time, and there may be nothing at all left.

And finally, please remember that, although the comics are free for you, the stores themselves have to pay for them. That’s right — the publishers make the retailers pay money to get the comics that they then give to you for free. That means that Free Comic Book Day is a money-loser for a lot of stores. They do it because they want potential new customers to come in and see how great comics are. So please, do what you can to let your friendly neighborhood comic shop make a little money this Saturday — when you pick up your free comics, buy a few regular comics, too. Single issues, graphic novels, toys, statues, accessories — buy ’em for yourself, buy ’em for a friend, buy ’em for the sake of a future birthday gift.

Your comic shop is being nice enough to give you some comics for free. Return the favor and buy some regular comics from them.

Everyone have a happy Free Comic Book Day tomorrow!

2 Comments

  1. Bert Said,

    May 2, 2014 @ 7:14 am

    I never knew the shops paid for the ‘free’ comics. I’m glad we always let the kids buy a couple, too.

  2. scottslemmons Said,

    May 2, 2014 @ 8:13 am

    Yeah, it’s actually the thing that bugs me the most about it. The shops spend all this money to buy all those books, they usually do extra work to promote it and give customers a great experience, they get lots more traffic than any other day — and they’re almost guaranteed to lose money. I usually end up spending more on Free Comic Book Day to try to make up for what my local shops may be losing…