For one day this year, Superman, Batman and Spider-Man will join
forces. Free Comic Book Day will sweep the nation Saturday, leaving
at least one comic in the hands of every man, woman, child and
college student who walks into a comic store, or at least the ones
participating in this year’s nationwide event.
Created to coincide with the upswing in interest generated by
recent comic book movies such as “Batman Begins” and
“Spider-Man 2,” the day is a joint promotional effort
between Diamond Comic Distributors and direct-market comic
stores.
As the target audience for comic books has grown older,
publishers are looking to reignite interest in the younger
generation with free comics appropriate for all ages. The
publishers hope to recapture the youth market already dominated by
video games, television and movies.
“It is a great opportunity to twist your neighbors’
and friends’ arms and to come, to share something with them
that costs little to no money,” said Mike Wellman, co-owner
of The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach. “But it is becoming a
bit of a routine.”
The event is often a mixed bag for comic book retailers. Many
local stores, such as Meltdown Comics and Collectibles on Sunset
Boulevard and Earth 2 Comics and Collectibles in Sherman Oaks, will
feature autograph signings by popular creators, but it’s the
comic books themselves that provide the problem.
Not only are the giveaway comics offered by publishers often
merely reprints of older issues, the “free” titles cost
retailers money, so more and more stores are deciding not to
participate.
“It’s sort of a misnomer for us. We have to pay for
it anyway,” said Tony Edwards, manager of Golden Apple Comics
in Hollywood. “If the publishers went back and made these
comics cheaper to us, it might make other stores
participate.”
Some publishers are responding to the criticism. Marvel Comics,
Oni Press, Bongo Comics and others are releasing new stories of
their more popular or accessible titles.
“The fact that they got me and an artist to do an all-new
story shows how important (Marvel) thinks Free Comic Book Day
is,” said Brian K. Vaughan, the critically acclaimed writer
of the comics “Runaways” and “Y the Last
Man.”
The event is a chance to provide the same “spark”
that got Vaughan, who will be appearing at Meltdown on Free Comic
Book Day, into comics in the first place.
“The first time I went to a comic store the guy behind the
counter handed me 10-15 free comics, and it was the most amazing
day of my life,” he said. “It might have cost him $3,
but it hooked me.”
Mark Waid, the writer of the current DC Comics series
“Legion of Super-Heroes,” will sign at Earth 2. He
notes that the day provides comic stores a chance to increase their
customer bases.
“It drums potential readers into the stores, into these
destination marketplaces,” Waid said.
The day is a chance for fans and creators alike to celebrate the
medium, one store at a time.
“We try to create something,” said Wellman,
“Everyone is doing (Free Comic Book Day), so you have to do
something to step above and beyond and rise above the noise. At the
end of the day it’s up to us to get people into our
store.”