One of my family's favorite days of the year is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. Traditionally the first Saturday in May, my kids as well of myself are always geeked to visit local comic shops and return home with a bundle of books to spend the rest of the afternoon flipping through. We've been participating in this event since my kids were toddlers and were bummed that due to the pandemic what had become a family tradition that my children and I looked forward to doing together every year was cancelled for 2020.
I have some big news though ... drum roll please → FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is returning for 2021! Yes the event will be back for its 20th anniversary! To provide some more time for the pandemic to peter out though its traditional May date is moving to August. While the date may be changing though local retailers handing out tons of FREE comic books isn't changing. So mark your calendars for Saturday, August 14 to take part in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2021.
This event is meant to get people to visit these local small businesses which many were severely negatively impacted by the pandemic. I paid my favorite shop a couple hundred dollars up front during the worst of months for a store credit on my future purchases to help with their cash flow. If you appreciate the experience of holding in your hand and reading a physical printed comic book it is essentially to keep these small businesses alive.
So while FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is a fun and exciting experience, please keep in mind stopping into these shops from time to time to spend some money so these fantastic places will continue to be there for us. After all this event doesn't make sense to have if the foot traffic it brings to these brick and mortar storefronts doesn't help the profitability of its sponsors. All right that is the end of my PSA.
This year's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY will be giving away 50 titles. Check out this video for a run through of all of them:
What is nice about FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is there is normally a selection of comic books that are interesting to all ages. There are some aimed for young readers, others targeted to middle grade ages, most are for teen audiences and even a few specifically for adults. Here are a few of my favorite FREE COMIC BOOK DAY selections in 2021 for each of those groups:
YOUNG READERS
MIDDLE GRADE READERS / TWEENS
TEENS
ADULTS
Unfortunately, this year there won't be a Free Comic Book Day edition of The Tick. Doah! Other than that seems to be solid lineup of titles that will be available this summer.
Can't get to your local comic book shop because of pandemic-related closures? Here are some alternative activities to provide you with some comic book fun until life resumes back to normal. I'm sure we could all use the escapism that comic book stories provide right now!
FREE DIGITAL COMIC BOOKS
Until print editions are back in stock, some comic book publishers are providing some of their issues to read for FREE online. Marvel for example has made a number of complete story arcs involving popular characters such as the Avengers, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Spider-Man available to read during the month of April for FREE via its Marvel Comics app.
Image Comics is the publisher whose titles I've been reading the most lately. Their comics have great artwork and stories with mature themes and plots aimed for readers 16+ years old. They have made the first issue of all their series available to read for FREE online. If you like what you've read than additional issues in a series can be purchased through their website. Some of my favorite comic book titles from Image are Manifest Destiny, Moonshine, Oblivion Song, Undiscovered Country and The Realm. In fact, Oblivion Song by Robert Kirkman, the creator of The Walking Dead, is my FAVORITE comic book being published right now. There are more than 150 comic books to read for free right now at imagecomics.com.
Top Cow Comics has their #1 issues available to read online too as well as a few graphic novels that collect an entire first story arc to read from some of their series including Postal, Think Tank and Eden's Fall. My favorite series from Top Cow Comics are Port of Earth and Eclipse which both have their #1 issues available to read at topcow.com.
I'm always on the lookout for good Middle Grade reading level books for my 11 year old twins. If you are in search of stuff for tween aged kids to check out WRAPPED UP by David Scheidt. Thise comics revolve around Milo who appears to be just a normal 12-year-old boy… except for the fact that his parents are mummies, his best friend is a gnarly old wizard, and his babysitters are witches! David has made available the first two volumes of WRAPPED UP for FREE to help keep kids reading during the pandemic. Just download them as pdf files from the links he provided on Twitter. Each volume is 160 pages of spooky fun!
Kids and kids at heart can enjoy a weekly newsletter from DC Comics full of family friendly activities and sample content of material from the publisher meant for young readers. The newsletter we received this week included a video with artist Kirk Scroggs showing how to draw the character Swamp Kid, a recipe for Bat-Signal Cookies, a preview of the graphic novel ZATANNA AND THE HOUSE OF SECRETS, and some Justice League coloring pages. CLICK HERE to sign up for the DC KIDS CAMP newsletter that will be delivered each week through the pandemic crisis. Other activities and videos are also shared throughout the week on Twitter at @DCComicsKids
Check to see if your local library offers residents a subscription to Hoopla. This app available for Android and Apple devices allows people to read e-books and digital comics on mobile devices for FREE. The service has a huge selection of comic books available to read. You can download up to 7 items per month.
Comic books are bundled as graphic novels so that you can read an entire story arc or mini-series as one download. I just read the recent DCEASED mini-series that zombified the DC Comics universe on Hoopla and just downloaded a story arc of Manifest Destiny to read next. Take advantage of this great service if you are eligible to use it through your library.
HUMBLE BUNDLE
There is a pay what you want James Bond Humble Bundle deal available right now! Don't wait to jump on this offer because it will only last a few days. For just a $1 you can unlock 4 graphic novels from the Dynamite Comics James Bond comic books. $8 dollars unlocks another tier with four more graphic novels and $15 adds five more. Wow this is a great deal!
With Humble Bundle you can pay as little as $1 for an impressive number of comic books. Plus you can divvy up the amount you spend between the comic book publisher, a designated charity and the Humble Bundle platform. The charity for this James Bond bundle is the National Coalition against Censorship. So if you spent $8 dollars for the middle tier you could give the charity $6 and the other two entities $1 each or you could give the National Coalition Against Censorship $1, Humble Bundle $1 and Dynamite Comics $6.
You also don't have to just give the minimum. So purchasers could give extra money to help out the charity or publisher. Maybe someone will donate $25 dollars for the full package spending a little extra to help out the charity and the publisher during these tough economic times. What is great about Humble Bundle is you decide!
I've purchased Star Trek and Dungeon and Dragons comic books from Humble Bundle in the past. Plus I just bought this James Bond Humble Bundle for myself too. I spent $15 to get a great bundle of James Bond comic books from Dynamite comic books that have a normal retail value of almost $200.
Different bundles pop up throughout the year so always keep an eye out for what comic book deals you can find at HumbleBundle.com.
BINGE WATCH NETFLIX
Daredevil the man without fear may not be a part of the Marvel cinematic universe, but he has jumped from the pages of comic books onto a Netflix television series. There are three seasons to binge through on the streaming service. Plus a fourth season where he joins a superhero team up known as the Defenders. A criminal defense attorney by day and vigilante by night, Daredevil is always fighting for justice within New York City's Hell's Kitchen.
Dark Horse Comics popular Umbrella Academy has also leapt from comic book pages to television screens with its own Netflix original series. This story revolves around a group of young adults with superpowers who were brought together and adopted as kids by a rich, eccentric father. Now grown up but with emotional scars from their childhood of superhero training, they work together to solve a mystery surrounding their father's death and a pending global apocalypse.
One of IDW Publishing's most popular comic book series Locke & Key has also made it to Netflix. Based upon the comics by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, this television series follows the adventures of three siblings who move into a house filled with reality-bending keys. As they discover the secrets of the keys they must also protect them from supernatural threats haunting the family.
DC UNIVERSE MOVIES
While recent live action movies featuring DC Comics superheroes have been pretty much a bust with a few exceptions did you know there is an extensive library of animated movies which are fantastic! These aren't cartoons for kids but rather PG-13 and R rated movies that are like viewing live motion comic books. If you are a comic book fan and haven't seen these movies yet you really need to check them out!
The most recently released movie in this DC animated cinematic universe is SUPERMAN: RED SON. It takes a look at an alternate reality where Superman landed on Earth as a baby not in the heartland of America but rather in Mother Russia. Instead of standing up for the American Way, Superman is instead the enforcer of Soviet dominance. How would the world have changed and will he be friend or foe to the heroes and villains of the DC Universe?
You can watch SUPERMAN: RED SON via digital services like Movies Anywhere or buy on Blu-ray from Best Buy. This is the 37 installment in the DC Comics original animated movies series. Other movies in the series include Batman vs Teenage Mutant Turtles, Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths, Green Lantern: First Flight, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay and Wonder Woman: Bloodlines.
Did you do anything fun as part of Batman Day? DC Comics marked Saturday, September 21, 2019 as the day it officially commemorated Batman's 80th anniversary. The Caped Crusader's first appearance was in 1939 within the pages of Detective Comics. Since then Batman has become a pop culture icon that has been featured in movies, television shows, video games and much more. To commemorate this milestone year, there were a number of ways people could celebrate Batman Day.
My family participated in a number of Batman Day activities for some weekend fun starting off with a visit to Time Travelers Comics, Cards & Collectibles. Participating comic book shops were handing out free commemorative issues of BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER and THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 in honor of Batman's 80th birthday. THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS special edition also included a cut out mask of the issue's villainous version of the Dark Knight.
Next we headed over to the LEGO STORE at Somerset Collection. They were hosting a free LEGO vehicle building session where you could build a Batmobile to take home with you. While these LEGO toys looked more like a mini-van with bat wings than the sleek vehicles seen in Batman's adventures, my kids were still geeked about this experience. My son said his LEGO Batmobile was AWESOME because he could adjust its wings to be a walking mech robot, an airplane or a car with turbo boosters. While my daughter appreciated her mini Bat-vehicle was a challenging puzzle to put together because building with LEGO is half the fun of playing with them.
While at the mall, we stopped by the Grand Opening of BROWN BAG POPCORN. We bought a mixture of their Cocoa Popped, Double Dribble and Caramelicious gourmet popcorn flavors to bring home and snacked on them while watching the Batman and Robin episodes of THE NEW SCOOBY DOO MOVIES television show which we have on Blu-ray. Brown Bag Popcorn is a perfect treat for a family night in watching classic cartoons.
From our taste testing experience, have to say Brown Bag Popcorn is delicious! Plus all the profits from this store support a charity called Say Detroit founded by newspaper columnist and novelist Mitch Albom. Following the example of Newman's Own Foundation, Albom has created businesses that support the community through creating jobs and funneling 100% of profits to charitable causes. So not only does Brown Bag Popcorn taste good but by buying it you are helping people do good works too!
Before we watched those Scooby-Doo cartoons I mentioned though, we spent some time playing the BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES LEVEL PACK FOR LEGO DC SUPER VILLAINS VIDEO GAME. While most of the LEGO DC SUPER VILLAINS video game focusses on playing through an adventure from the perspective of super villains from the DC Comics universe, this level lets you play as the Caped Crusader in a setting with characters and locations based upon BATMAN THE ANIMATED SERIES. We always have a super time playing LEGO video games!
While playing LEGO Batman on our Xbox One, we also were blasting some Gothem City themed tunes on Spotify. DC Comics worked with Spotify to compiled the Ultimate Batman Playlist of music from Batman-related films, television and games for the super hero's 80th anniversary. From songs by Prince and R.E.M. to orchestral tunes by Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer, these are perfect tunes to put you in a Batman frame of mind.
Holy Scooby Snacks Batman! This dad blogger had a great time on Batman Day. Best of all it involved spending some quality family time making for a super day of weekend fun.
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Bat Signal projected on Detroit's Renaissance Center
Comic book retailers in Detroit and around the country will be celebrating the 80th anniversary of Caped Crusader adventures on Saturday, September 20, 2019 with BATMAN DAY. While supplies last, participating comic shops and book stores will be distributing 2 FREE Batman comic books. Pick up a Batman Day Edition of BATMAN: NIGHTWALKER or THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS #1 with a Batman Who Laughs cut-out mask! Plus many of these locations are hosting Batman themed activities, discounts, and giveaways.
BATMAN NIGHTWALKER
Based on the New York Times bestselling novel by Marie Lu, this upcoming graphic novel adaptation brings to life the dark mysteries behind the gates of Arkham Asylum. Nightwalkers are terrorizing Gotham City, and 18-year-old Bruce Wayne is next on their list. Read a preview excerpt from this young adult genre graphic novel printed as a Batman Day special edition.
THE BATMAN WHO LAUGHS
This is a reprint of the 2017 one-shot story spinning out of DARK NIGHTS: METAL and comes with a special card stock cover that has a cut out mask of the Batman Who Laughs. That mask will be great for some Batman Day selfies!
BATMAN SOUNDTRACK
While flipping through the pages of your free comic books enjoy streaming the perfect soundtrack for some Batman reading. Spotify has compiled the Ultimate Batman Playlist of music from Batman-related films, television and games. From songs by Prince and R.E.M. to orchestral tunes by Danny Elfman and Hans Zimmer, these are perfect tunes to make you feel you've been transported to Gotham City while immersing yourself within these Batman Day comic books There is even a ditty featuring Mark Hamill in his joker persona from the Batman animated television shows.
BAT SIGNAL
As darkness sets look up into the night sky as Bat Signals will be illuminated on landmark locations around the world honoring the 80th anniversary of this pop culture icon. Berlin, London, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Montreal, New York, Paris and Tokyo are a few of the spots where you should keep an eye out for a glimpse of the Bat Signal. Follow along with the Bat-Tracker as the Bat Signal makes its way around the globe celebrating Batman Day.
There is one day we always make sure to visit our local comic book shop on → the first Saturday in May. That is because it is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!! It has become a family tradition for my kids and I to enjoy a day geeking out enjoying comic books together thanks to this annual event.
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY in 2019 will be taking place on Saturday, May 4. Publishers are printing up 50 selections to be distributed for free by participating comic shops this year. There is something for everyone in the family to enjoy with comics meant for young readers, teens as well as some content aimed specifically for adults being given away on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.
May the Fourth is also unofficially STAR WARS DAY. May the Fourth be with You! So of course they have a STAR WARS comic book that you can get for free. This comic book is from the IDW Publishing's STAR WARS ADVENTURES comic book series which is written at a middle grade reading level to have age appropriate content for elementary school aged kids. While written for a pre-teen audience, these stories should be appealing to all ages in my opinion from flipping through pages of these comic books I've previously bought for my son and daughter.
In this FREE COMIC BOOK DAY Star Wars story, Han Solo and Chewbacca race against pirates in a search for one of three identical droids that contain the location of a legendary treasure. But what they don't know is two of the droids are booby trapped! Trickery and double-crosses abound in this original story set before events in the movie A New Hope!
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is a morning that I've come to look forward to bonding together with my kids being excited about super heroes and science fiction. My children love the activity of perusing through the free comic book selections and picking out a few favorites to bring home with them. Then we spend a couple of hours reading through and chatting about everything we brought home with us. From spending time in line chatting with other comic fans to discovering new characters and stories in these books, we always have a super time participating in FREE COMIC BOOK DAY.
Don't miss out on getting some free comic books! Swing by a comic book shop on May 4th! CLICK HERE to find out if there is a participating location near you.
For the last few years comics publishers and retailers have treated people to a selection of FREE books the weekend before Halloween. Yes you aren't being tricked, I said free comic books! We enjoy including our local comic book shop into our family's trick-or-treat routine this time of year and my kids always have a great time participating in HALLOWEEN COMICFEST. This year's event is taking place on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2018 at comic book shops located across the United States.
HALLOWEEN COMICFEST 2018 will feature a selection of 34 comic books with 22 of them being full sized and 12 being mini-comics. There will be something that will be of interest for everyone with ratings on the comics ranging from adult (Mature) on A WALK THROUGH HELL to all-ages family friendly fare including HALLOWEEN WITCH and MONSTROUS. All ages means a comic book should be suitable for everyone from preschoolers to grandparents to enjoy. The full sized comic books have more of a teen focus with titles like FRANKENSTEIN, GOOSEBUMPS,SPIDER-MAN and THOR while the mini-comics will be appealing for younger children with stories like JOHNNY BOO AND THE SPOOKY BOO, ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE ADVENTURES and VAMPLETS: THE UNDEAD PET SOCIETY.
The specially published HALLOWEEN COMICFEST comics will be handed out at participating stores throughout the day on October 27th. CLICK HERE to use your zip code to locate a participating comic book shop near you. Make sure to dress up in costume and say trick or treat to get your freebies! Take a picture while you are trick or treating at the comic book shop because there is also an online photo contest for best costumes that appear at the event. You could win a $100 or $500 comic book shopping spree!
A trip to our local comic book shop on the first Saturday in May has become a family tradition for me and my kids. It's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!!! This event is a great way for parents to spend a morning bonding together with their children over super heroes and science fiction. My kids love perusing through the selections and picking out a few favorites to bring home with them. Normally I find some that catch my interest to bring home for myself as well. Then we spend a couple of hours reading through and chatting about everything we brought home with us.
This year FREE COMIC BOOK DAY will be on Saturday, May 5, 2018. It has become a hugely popular annual event hosted by comic book retailers and publishers to entice new customers to visit brick-and-mortar stores and reward existing ones for their continued patronage. Selections being handed out for free range from specially printed one-shot stories published just for
this event to reprints of previously published work that promote a particular character or
series. There normally is something for everyone with comics meant for young readers as well as those aimed for more mature audiences.
This year there are 50 comic books that can be selected from at participating locations. Note that each comic shop has its own rules for the event so in some circumstances you may only be allowed to take one or two books and in others it is first come, first serve and people can take one of each of them. CLICK HERE to find a participating location near you.
After looking through the list of available comic books on the event website, my son and daughter are hoping they'll be able to pick out these titles for sure on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY: Miraculous Adventures, Pokémon, Star Wars Adventures, and Howard Lovecraft' Big Book of Summer Fun. Comic books are first come, first serve and based upon what quantities each participating comic book shop ordered for the day so you never know for sure what you'll actually be able to pick up; but that adds to the excitement of the day as well as you search through what is in stock.
As usual there are a few books I'd like to pick up for myself to read as well during this year's FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. They include Image Comics' Barrier, Relay, Silver and The Tick.
Don't miss out on getting some free comic books! Swing by a comic book shop on May 5th! For more information, visit freecomicbookday.com
Add a trip to your local comic shop into your planned Halloween festivities this year. Participating locations will be giving out FREE comic books to trick-or-treaters who stop by for Halloween ComicFest 2017. Don't miss out on this spook-tacular comic book promotion!
Not every comic book retailer participates so check the event's shop locator to find participating locations. Then call ahead to see what the shop's plans are because some are handing out the freebies on Saturday, September 28 and others are distributing the them actually on Halloween. Also rules vary from location to location. Some spots require costumes to be worn by everyone who wants a free full sized comic while others are only giving out mini-comics to children. One location may allow people who stop by to grab one of each of the Halloween ComicFest selection of comics while another may allow someone to select just one item to take home.
This year's Halloween ComicFest giveaways include 18 full sized comic books that are meant to be read by a variety of ages ranging from young kid-friendly to mature for adults only. Baby Teeth from Aftershock is one of those titles absolutely not meant for children. It tells the story of a pregnant 16 year old who is giving birth to the Antichrist that will unleash eternal suffering upon all humankind. A horror story for those folks out there who like scary things for Halloween. Archie Comics also has a Sabrina the Teenage Witch issue with content that is more like a horror movie than the silly sitcom that aired on television.
Teens will appreciate the Ghostbusters comic book from IDW they are giving away during Halloween ComicFest. Dark Horse has also provided a Teen rated Hell Boy story that involves two of the most horrible figures from British folklore ... Rawhead Rex and Bloody Bones. DC also is throwing in Batman: Night of the Monster Men into the mix while with a new Thor movie from Marvel expect to find something featuring the God of Thunder as well when trick or treating at a local comic shop during Halloween ComicFest.
For younger readers, Aspen Comics is providing an all-ages choose your own adventure story featuring some zany animals. There is also a DC Super Hero Girls comic that little girls will be delighted to read being handed out during Halloween ComicsFest.
Children and kids at heart will enjoy the twelve mini-comics that are also being given away during Halloween ComicsFest 2017. These mini-comics feature content that families will love to read but parents won't be afraid of their kids seeing. Titles include Archie's Madhouse, Casper the Friendly Ghost, Donald Duck Halloween Scream, Hotel Transylvania, and Pokemon. These mini-comics can also be purchased in 25 packs if you are interested in giving them out at your own doorstep on Halloween.
My family makes an effort to join in the Halloween ComicFest fun every year and my kids always enjoyed the treats they bring home with them. Don't miss out on having a terror-fic time yourselves!
Happy Batman Day! Four years ago, DC Entertainment organized a special day promoting their most popular comic book character's 75th anniversary with freebies and special deals from partnering retailers. That celebration of the Caped Crusader has become an annual event, but this year's festivities have a new twist to them...everyone's favorite villainous Harley Quinn has taken it over!
2017 marks the Clown Princess of Crime's 25th birthday. Harley Quinn's character was first introduced in 1992 when she debuted on Batman: The Animated Series. Her role in the DC Universe has expanded since her introduction in that animated television show to include her own comic book, inclusion in video games including the Batman: Arkham series and a starring role in the Suicide Squad movie. Harley Quinn has become a fan favorite in her own right.
FREE COMIC BOOKS
Stop by a participating comic book shop TODAY to pick up a FREEHarley Quinn Day comic book. They are giving out 3 to choose from. A DC Super Hero Girls comic for young readers, which I plan to take my daughter to go pick up, as well as reprints of Batman #16 and Harley Quinn #11 are also being given away.
DC Super Hero Girls Batman Day 2017 Special Edition #1 features a chapter of the upcoming all-ages original graphic novel DC Super Hero Girls: Out of the Bottle, starring Harley Quinn and written by Shea Fontana with art by Marcelo DiChiara and Agnes Garbowska and a cover by Yancey Labat.
Batman Day 2017 Special Edition #1 reprints Batman #16, the first chapter of "I Am Bane," written by Tom King with art by David Finch. This issue's cover art is by Ryan Sook and features Batman and Harley Quinn in an homage to The Dark Knight Returns #1.
This issue also includes a new, three-page original story written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by Bret Blevins.
Harley Quinn Batman Day 2017 Special Edition #1 reprints Harley Quinn #11, the first chapter of "Joker Loves Harley," written by Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti with art by John Timms and a cover by Amanda Conner.
CLICK HERE to find a participating comic book shop, bookstore or library near you that is giving away these comic books.
ACTIVITY SHEETS
Enjoy Harley Quinn Day with FREE activity sheets, coloring pages and character masks you can download and print out from DC Entertainment. Just CLICK HERE to get the 2017 Batman Day Activity Kit for yourself.
In honor of Harley Quinn Day, Build-A-Bear is debuting today a plush animal based upon the character. You can also get a Joker version to go along with your Clown Bear of Crime.
Experience the world of Batman playing the DC LEGENDS video game on your mobile device. Get exclusive Harley Quinn content today when you play the game! DC LEGENDS is available through Apple App Store and Android GooglePlay.
