CONCORD, CALIFORNIA - August 04: A large banner for Free Comic Book Day is displayed at Flying Colors Comics on Wednesday, Aug. 4, 2021, in Concord, Calif. (Dai Sugano/Bay Area News Group)
Got questions about Free Comic Book Day?
Well, you’re in the right place — because we’ve got answered about the event we like to call “Contra Costa County’s gift to the comic book world.”
What is Free Comic Book Day?
Basically everything you need to know is in the name: It’s a day when comic book stores across North America give out comic books for free.
When is it?
It happens the first Saturday in May, which in 2023 translates to May 6.
Are all comics free on this day?
No, so quit salivating over thoughts of getting that “Kamandi” No. 1 for gratis. The ones being given out for free were printed specially for the event.
Where can I find a list of comics being given out for free?
Just go to freecomicbookday.com/catalog and you can learn more about all Free Comic Book Day titles. (P.S. The one we’d most want to pick up is the “Umbrella Academy” offering — although, if we were to be completely honest, we do like the Netflix show a bit better than the actual comic. But both are pretty great.)
How do I find a participating comic store?
Just go to freecomicbookday.com/StoreLocator, type in your zip code and you’ll have your own kind of localized treasure map to Free Comic Book Day.
But what if we already made plans to see “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” this weekend?
Umm, what’s your question here? You can do both. It’s a really, really big weekend for comic book fans. And our movie critic Randy Myers says that the movie is great.
How long have they been doing this?
The first Free Comic Book Day was held in 2002.
Why do you call it “Contra Costa’s gift to the comic book world”?
Because Joe Field, the owner of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, is the one who came up with the idea for Free Comic Book Day.
Any stores you recommend?
The Bay Area is blessed with so many great comic book stores. Yet, the ones we frequent include Flying Colors, Comics Conspiracy in Sunnyvale, Waterfront Comics at Suisun City and Heroes in Campbell.
We’ve run out of pertinent questions regarding the event, so we’ll fill up the space by asking something else very important: Who would win in a fight — the Thing or Mr. Fantastic?
The Invisible Woman, of course.
Originally published at Jim Harrington