It’s the first weekend in May, which means that comic shops are getting ready for one of the biggest days of the year – FREE COMIC BOOK DAY! Let’s take a look at what you can get from your local comic book shop tomorrow!
First celebrated in 2002, Free Comic Book Day was an initiative by the comic book industry in North America to get new readers into comic book shops. Dozens of publishers provide books for the big day, which customers can pick up at no cost, with the hopes that they spend some money on other things in the store and maybe get hooked on something new.
For all but two of the years of Free Comic Book Day’s existence, the event has been paired with the premiere of a new comic book movie (they’ve ALWAYS been Marvel movies, by the way). This year won’t break that tradition, as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 opens tonight. Tomorrow, you can grab some comics and then head out to the theater!
Because I’m not usually able to get to a shop right when it opens on FCBD, I generally miss out on some of the releases I want to pick up. I expect this to be the case again tomorrow, but here are some of the books I’ll be looking out for:
Secret #1 –Â Tying in to Marvel’s big SECRET EMPIRE series, all the heroes of the Marvel Universe have to come together to defeat the threat of Hydra, which now has Captain America on its side, thanks to cosmic shenanigans. The book will also include a preview of PETER PARKER: THE SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN, a new companion series for everyone’s favorite web-slinger.
Buffy: The High School Years – An all-ages book taking us back to the days when Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a 16-year-old student at Sunnydale High School, the book promises a “monster-slaying, citizen-saving adventure with Buffy.” The back-up story in this Dark Horse Comic is a new Plants vs. Zombies tale, with the Plants and the Zombies both fighting something called Sheriff Tarnation.
DC SuperHero Girls Summer Olympus Preview – Another all-ages book, which prints a story from an upcoming graphic novel featuring the female heroes of the DC Universe in an attempt to appeal to young girls. Now that I have a new baby girl, I’m looking forward to picking this up to read with her. Since the other DC Comics book this year is a reprint of Wonder Woman #1, Greg Rucka’s return to the character for the Rebirth era, a comic I’ve already paid for, this may be my big DC Comics get for the day.
Keyser Soze – The focus of one of my favorite movies – 1995’s The Usual Suspects – gets his own comic book story in this offering from Red 5 Comics and Bad Hat Harry Productions. It’s a tale of Keyser Soze’s early years and I’m pretty excited about this. The book comes with a back-up tale featuring The Rift.
Street Fighter V Wrestling Special – The women of Street Fighter take part in a Japanese Women’s Wrestling League. This offering from Udon Entertainment seems like such a weird mash-up, but it’s intriguing enough that I want to check it out.
For a full list of Free Comic Book Day offerings for tomorrow, check out the website and plan for a trip to your Local Comic Book Shop tomorrow! Once you’ve picked up your books, be sure to let us know what you picked up on Facebook and Twitter!