Free Comic Book Day!
May 5, 2022
Hey, do you like reading? Me too!
Do you like free stuff?Me too! We should hang out some more, so I can tell you all about FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!
FCBD was first envisioned in 2001 by Joy Field, a local comic shop owner. During the early 2000s, comic stores were trying to get back on their feet after the famous comic crash of the 1990s, where, due to overprinting and comic inflation, comic books took a dramatic decrease in value. Over the next decade, unable to sell much of their merchandise, hundreds of comic shops would be forced to close their doors for the last time.
However beginning in first years of the 21st century, Hollywood started seeing superhero movies not as just some campy kids fluff, but instead as new blockbuster franchises, starting with the X- Men and Spider-Man trilogies. With the new publicity, many thought that the comic industry could be salvaged. So, Joy pitched the idea, inspired by Baskin Robbins “free scoop day”, in his column of the now defunct Dungeon and Dragons magazine. The idea took hold with with readers and Marvel and Dark Horse, popular comic book publishers, collaborated together in 2002 for the 1st-annual Free Comic Book Day. It’s estimated that over 2 million books were given away to fans and readers that first year, making the day a massive success, and one that would continue for years to come.
