The first Saturday in May is one of our family's favorite days of the year:
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. This year will be the fourth year in a row now we've enjoyed going to the local comic book store and coming home with a bundle of
#FREE comics for my kids to enjoy. This year the event on May 2, 2015 is also kicking off
Children's Book Week so it is has added an additional emphasis on providing kid-friendly comic books for the retailers participating in Free Comic Book Day. We've always found a nice selection of titles being given out that were appropriate to for parents to read to preschoolers or for young readers to flip through on their own that have included in past years
Sesame Street,
Strawberry Shortcake, and the
Smurfs among others in past years.
To help encourage new customers to visit their stores and to reward existing ones for their loyalty, Free Comic Book Day provides a selection of comic books that provide a sample of a publishers work or an interesting one-shot story to promote a particular character or series. While all of these comic books are absolutely
FREE, each retailer normally has their own guidelines for the event. Some stores let people take one of each of the 50 specialty issues being handed out until they run out, while others place limitations on how many you can pick up. I frequent two local establishments that each have different rules. One of the comic stores lets you pick 3 out of the 50 then you can take another 3 if you show up in a super hero themed costume and also grab one more issue if you bring a can food item to donate to a local food bank for a possible total of 7 freebies. The other retailer lets each person choose 4 comics from the list of Gold Sponsor publications and 4 from the list of Silver Sponsor publications for a total of 8 comic books with no other strings attached. If you don't normally visit a particular comic book store you may want to call ahead to confirm they are participating, their hours, and what the rules are for how they are distributing their Free Comic Book Day publications.
CLICK HERE to search for a participating comic book store near you.
If you are like me and bringing younger children along to Free Comic Book Day, here are a list of some of the comic books that have been rated "All Ages" which means they are kid-friendly and in most cases targeted towards children.
BONGO COMICS -
THE SIMPSONS
Get in line for the foremost Free Comic Book Day four-color giveaway of
the year! When Bart brings one of Professor Frink's recent discoveries
to school, it leads to some hair-raising hilarity Then, Lisa finds a
doorway to an ancient past, CBG gets a hip -new girlfriend, and Homer
tries his hand at some home improvement. And much more.
Rating: All-Ages
BOOM STUDIOS -
10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
2015 is BOOM! Studios' Tenth Anniversary year, and to help us celebrate
we've gathered short stories from several current and new all-ages
titles for Free Comic Book Day, offering an oversized, full-color issue
that showcases 10 all-ages-friendly titles from our Archaia, BOOM! Box,
and KaBOOM! imprints. The
BOOM! Studios Ten Year Celebration 2015 Free Comic Book Day Special features a cover illustrated by
Mouse Guard creator David Petersen and will contain the following stories:
Jim Henson's Labyrinth
"Wisdom and Idioms"
Written and Illustrated by Cory Godbey
An all-new short based on Jim Henson's
Labyrinth. The Wiseman and his bird try to find some humor in the magical world of Labyrinth.
Iscariot
Written and Illustrated by S.M. Vidaurri
Young Carson discusses magic and time with a wizard in this special
preview of the upcoming Archaia original graphic novel written and
illustrated by
Iron: Or, the War After creator S.M. Vidaurri.
Mouse Guard
"Service to Seyan"
Written and Illustrated by David Petersen
An excerpt from
Mouse Guard: Baldwin the Brave and Other Tales. Gwendolyn learns about her mother Alma and the great warrior hall of Seyan.
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake: Card Wards
Created by Pendleton Ward
Written by Jen Wang
Illustrated by Britt Wilson
A brand-new
Fionna & Cake short from writer Jen Wang (
In Real Life) and Britt Wilson (
Adventure Time with Fionna & Cake)! Fionna and Cake are on the search for an opponent for Cake to play against in Card Wars.
Regular Show
"Coffee Shop Special!"
Created by JG Quintel
Written by Kevin Church
Illustrated by Coleman Engle
Based on the hit Cartoon Network animated series, Eileen and Margaret make Muscle Man his special drink.
Peanuts
"Dogstoevsky"
Created by Charles M. Schulz
Story by Charles M. Schulz
Pencils by Vicki Scott
Snoopy looks to finally become the World's Greatest Author, but Lucy's help may not be the helpful push he needs.
Garfield
"Fast Feline"
Created by Jim Davis
Written by Mark Evanier
Illustrated by Andy Hirsch
Nothing can keep Garfield from a good meal, even if it means having to beat the fastest cat to get it.
Lumberjanes
Created by Shannon Watters, Noelle Stevenson & Grace Ellis
Written by Noelle Stevenson and Grace Ellis
Illustrated by Brooke Allen
When the Lumberjanes aren't taking care of pesky critters or crazy
demigods, they're making fun crafts like friendship bracelets.
Friendship to the max!
Munchkin
"Table of Contents"
Written and Illustrated by John Kovalic
Fight the monsters, steal the treasure, and backstab your buddy! A
wandering monster table appears in this short from the illustrator of
the hit card game
Munchkin, John Kovalic.
Help Us! Great Warrior
Written and illustrated by Madeleine Flores
Based on the hit webcomic and new miniseries from Madeleine Flores. Great Warrior gets attacked on the road!
Rating: All-Ages
PERFECT SQUARE -
POKEMON
All your favorite Pokémon game characters jump out of the screen into
the pages of this action-packed comic! Legendary Pokémon Xerneas and
Yveltal 's battle against each other is destroying Vaniville Town. Can X
and Y save the town in Pokémon X o Y?!
Bonus Feature: More action in Pokémon Adventures and Pokémon Adventures Black and White!
Rating: All-Ages
UNITED PLANKTON PICTURES -
SPONGE BOB SQUARE PANTS
his year's SpongeBob Comics FCBD offering features a 22-page story by
Boxtrolls director and Grickle cartoonist Graham Annable. In "Tangy!"
Plankton's new special sauce made from jellyfish jelly has strange
effects on SpongeBob and Bikini Bottom's residents. The only one
unaffected, the only one who can save them all, is a very reluctant
Squidward. Plus more undersea sequential stories by James Kochalka,
Maris Wicks, Gregg Schigiel. and other awesome aquatic artists!
Rating: All-Ages
RED 5 COMICS -
BODIE TROLL
With a mix of playfully irreverant humor, attention-grabbing art and
incredible heart, BODIE TROLL is a perfect first comic to give to a
non-comic-reader of any age. In an all-new exclusive adventure, things
turn ugly for cute BODIE TROLL when he gets hijacked into that most
agonizing of events - a little girl's tea party! Plus, an all-new
adventure from the world of DRONE and previews of 2015 Red 5 favorites
and new faces.
Rating: All-Ages
GRAPHIX -
CLEOPATRA IN SPACE
When a young Cleopatra (yes, that Cleopatra) finds a mysterious tablet
that zaps her to the far, really far future, she learns of an ancient
prophecy that says she is destined to save the galaxy from the
tyrannical rule of the evil Xaius Octavian.
Rating: All-Ages
ACTION LAB ENTERTAINMENT -
GRONK
Gronk is a monster...and not a very good one! Follow Gronk's continuing
adventures as she learns about the world around her from her "teacher",
Dale, in this all-new Gronk story from fan favorite Katie Cook!
Rating: All-Ages
CAPSTONE PRESS -
MARCH GRAND PRIX
A Free Comic Book Day 2015 sneak peek of the new, turbo-charged graphic
novel by Kean Soo, author of the award-winning series JELLABY! March
Hare wants to be the fastest and furriest racecar driver around. But
first, this rabbit racer must prove his skills at the speedway, on the
streets, and in the desert. With pedal-to-the-metal illustrations and
full-throttle action, MARCH GRAND PRIX is sure to be a winner! Featuring
a full tank of bonus materials: creator Q & A, pinup art, and much
more.
Rating: All-Ages
ARCHIE COMIC PUBLICATIONS -
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG / MEGA MAN
GRAPHIC INDIA -
CHAKRA THE INVINCIBLE
Based on the animated shorts seen on Angry Birds ToonsTV with over 25
Million views worldwide, 'Chakra The Invincible' is the latest superhero
from legendary creator, Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, X-Men, The
Avengers, X-Men, Iron Man, and more. This all-ages comic features short
stories of Chakra The Invincible for kids and superhero fans of all
ages.
Rating: All-Ages
DC COMICS -
TEEN TITANS / SCOOBY-DOO
DC Entertainment's all-ages FCBD special edition has two tales for readers of all ages! The Teen Titans are back in
Teen Titans Go! Chapter 10, and
Scooby Doo Team Up! #6 features the Super Friends! Readers will want to follow the adventures of the Teen Titans in
Teen Titans Go! Volume 1, and Scooby Doo's adventure with the Super Friends will continue in the forthcoming collected edition of
Scooby Doo Team-Up! Super-hero adventures for readers of all ages have never been so much fun!
Rating: All-Ages