Go visit your local comic shop and getcha free comics!

Yes indeed. This Saturday is the greatly anticipated annual Free Comic Book Day. The first Saturday in May your local comic book shop (most, anyway) give away free comics as part of this great promotion. The idea is to get people into the store to see that comics are still a great source of storytelling entertainment, and hopefully pick up a few new readers along the way.

This year’s slate of free comics looks terrific, including familiar faces and some new and unique title ideas. I see the reboot of The Green Hornet from Kevin Smith is one of the lot… I wonder if this is the first appearance of the Green Hornet in comics since the days when NOW Comics had the licensing rights to the character.

Anyway, get down to your local comic book shop this Saturday and bring a couple of kids with you… if you can get them to put down the xBox/PS 3 remote long enough that is… and show them some great graphic storytelling.

According to Diamond Distribution and Hypergeek.com, everybody’s favorite speedy/brilliant cartoonist Sergio Aragonés has created the artwork for the first “Free Comic Book Day” commemorative T-Shirt. The shirts will go on sales in comic books shops in April, 2010, with proceeds going assist the FCBD promotion and $1 from each sale going to Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Here’s the press release:

(BALTIMORE, MD) — (December 18, 2009) — Legendary artist and creator Sergio Aragonés has lent his considerable artistic talents to create the first-ever Free Comic Book Day Commemorative Artist T-shirt.

“We wanted to create a unique annual event T-shirt and who better to start with than Sergio?” commented FCBD spokesperson Elissa Lynch. “We think he’s done a beautiful job of capturing the excitement and personalities found in comic shops and on Free Comic Book Day.”

Perfect for celebrating this year’s Free Comic Book Day, the FCBD Commemorative Artist T-Shirt is the start of a new tradition, with a new artist to provide artwork for the special design each year.

“I’m very proud, of course,” said Sergio about being the first FCBD artist. “The art is not based on any one comic book shop, it is my imagination—it is how I think shops look like, full of young readers, moms, super heroes reading and buying comics.”

This year’s shirt from the fan-favorite Groo creator and MAD Magazine legend will be available in white, black, and purple, in sizes ranging from Small through XXL. Proceeds from the sale of the shirts will go to support FCBD10’s marketing and promotional efforts, with $1 from each T-shirt sale also being donated to Sergio’s elected charity, the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

T-shirts will be available in comic book shops starting early April, 2010.

For additional information about these commemorative T-shirts and other FCBD10 merchandise, be sure to visit your local comic book ship and pick up the January issue of Diamond’s PREVIEWS catalog, in stores on January 6, 2010

Look for more FCBD news and updates on the FCBD website, www.freecomicbookday.com.; become a fan at Facebook ; and follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/FCBD10.

To be more accurate:

I remember seeing this exact sign on a wire rotating rack at the Ben Franklin “five and dime” store when I was a really little kid. My dad would buy me Batman, Superman or Captain Marvel comics and I’d take them home, read them over and over, copy all the drawings and then draw my own adventures with kid versions of the characters. Great fun.

Today is “Free Comic Book Day“, and I’ll be bringing my own son with me to the local comic shop to see what’s out there that’s cool and interesting. Free Comic Book Day is when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into their stores. This year over 40 comic titles are being given away. Most of these are full sized comics, not some cheesy 8 page promo. Some are promoting some new title or spin off, some are special issues of an existing title or feature a familiar character. They are all a great way to get a taste of some comics you might otherwise not shell out the cash for.

My boy Tom just turned thirteen so his taste in comics has changed from the kid versions “Teen Titans” and “Justice League” to more adolescent/adult fare. It will be interesting to see what catches his eye.

This is a great promotion that is gaining momentum. It’s good for the comc book industry, and gives a chance for many terrific comic book writers and artists to shine. So go on out to your local comic book shop today and get in on the fun.

Huzzah! It’s Free Comic Book Day!

Whaddya mean, “What is Free Comic Book Day”???? D’OH!

“Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores”, that’s what it is! It’s a great promotion and encourages people to read and experience comics. There is a wide range of different kinds of titles, from popular superhero fare (Superman and the X-Men have special FCBD issues this year) as well as some less mainstream stuff (Hellboy and Alex Ross‘s Project Superpowers, among others) and some humor and kids titles (Jughead, Bongo (the Simpsons) and Tiny Titans to name a few). The coolest thing is that there is a number of small press and quirky, oddball but terrific sample titles to get as well. One that stuck out to me was Love and Capes, a title drawn by a friend of my buddy Keelan Parham‘s and fellow caricaturist acquaintance Thom Zahler. Check out Keelan’s recent blog post about the title, and visit the Love and Capes website. Cool to see that is a part of FCBD, and I will definitely be grabbing a Love and Capes if my local shop has any copies.

Not all the comics are available everywhere and not every place that sells comics is participating. The Free Comic Book Day website has a store locater and other info on what’s going on for FCBD in your neighborhood.

Here’s a link to a set of FAQ’s about Free Comic Book Day. Now get out and support your local comic book shop!