Free Comic Book Day 2012
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is annually on the first Saturday of May, and is a day which publishers print a bunch of free comics for stores to give away to reward comic readers, and hopefully get some new comic readers too! It started in 2002, thanks to the efforts of Joe Field, owner of Flying Colors Comics in California, and has grown every year since. The last few years have seen the explosion of social media pushing the event, as well as ever-more popular tie-in movies coming out around the same time that push comics into everyone’s consciousness. Well, 2012 was the best FCBD we’ve ever had!
We had lines of people outside our stores before we even opened, and lines out the door at several points as people queued to get inside. We also broke records for how many people came, how quickly we gave away some comics (we ran out of some comics before an hour was up!), and two of our stores set all-time sales records!
We had excellent appearances by two great comic book writers, Jeremy Whitley and Jorge Aguirre, sightings of Venom, Fantomex, and a stakeout by the Ghostbusters, and even some comic book-themed cake! A stand-out free “comic” by Archaia even came out in hardcover!
We really appreciate everyone coming out and bringing your friends, I hope you all found some great new free comics to read, and thank you all for being such great customers. Share your thoughts on FCBD with us on here or on Facebook, and we will definitely see you all next year with even more free comic books!
A table covered with free comics in College Park – BEFORE anyone has arrived!
Big Planet Comics founder Joel in Bethesda. FCBD was also his birthday this year! Happy birthday Joel! (pic by Mike Rhode)
The initial surge of customers in Bethesda! (pic by Steve Weisel)
We can’t even get the door closed in Vienna!
The stacks are getting cleared out in College Park!
Delicious comic book cakes by Sweet Bobbies Cake Creations of Maryland!
The Ghostbusters didn’t seem too worried when they showed up in Vienna. Apparently Venom doesn’t register on the PKE scanner.
Jorge Aguirre (writer of Giants Beware!) and Fantomex and Jeremy Whitley (writer of Princeless) spend some quality time together in Vienna.