You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login
Exactly. For me, the trip to my favorite local comic shop is NEVER wasted! My local shop (So Cal Comics in San Diego) saves comics all year that don't sell and then puts them out for free in addition to the FCBD comics the publishers send. One year I got the Death of Superman run for free (not in mint, of course). They have independent dealers booths in the parkinglot selling art, sketches, toys, etc. I usually make a morning of it with my boys where we get free comics, maybe pick up a toy or two, buy some books on my 'to buy' list that I'd procrastinated buying (like, this coming FCBD I can see myself picking up the Annotated Watchmen that DC put out recently that wasn't a must-by, per say, when it came out but something I want eventually). They always have a virtual 'museum' of golden and silver age classics. It's not uncommon to see an Action Comics #1, or Detective Comics #27. Plus seemingly all the most meaningful 'big moment' books (first appearance of Wonder-Woman, Thanos, The Flash, TONS of #1's, etc). A few years back I saw someone purchase the first appearance of The Flash for quite a lot of money (I watched them haggle over thousands of dollars). The comic shop is awesome anyway, but it's always extra fun on FCBD, even knowing the free comics aren't a big deal at all. NEVER a waste of time!
Hey, that is where I went this afternoon too!
Interesting to see BARRIER #1 on there under Image, it's a great limited series but so far I think it's only been released digitally on the Panel Syndicate "name your price"
Free Comic Book Day 2018, which happened on Saturday, May 5, was a successful day for most participating comic shops, as retailers enjoyed well-attended events and a profitable business day. The event saw amazing attendance with an estimated 1.5 milllion attendees, as retailers give away 5.3 million comics at 2,428 different locations. Coverage of the day, included National Public Radio (NPR), The Los Angeles Times, and The Hollywood Reporter and #Freecomicbookday was the #1 hashtag on Twitter for much of the day. In all, the annual first Saturday in May celebration generated an estimated $5.0 million in free publicity for comics and comic book shops!The results of a recently completed FCBD 2018 Retailer Survey show increased sales and traffic for many stores and highlighted the creativity and effort retailers apply in planning and executing their events. According to the results of the survey, over 90% of retailers rated the day as "Extremely Positive" or "Positive.” Forty-two percent said that they had 500 customers or more, with 20% saying they had more than 1,000 people visit on FCBD, which is almost double the number from last year's event!Fifty-nine percent of retailers also responded that May 5 was their best sales day of the year.When asked to describe the ways in which they promoted their FCBD events, retailers responded with a wide variety of inventive marketing tactics such as social media campaigns, event cards, cosplayers, exclusive FCBD sales, creator signings, partnering with libraries and theaters, costume contests, and more!Retailers put a great amount of effort into planning and promoting their FCBD events, and the successful turnout reflects their efforts, as well as fans’ excitement for the event!With retailer and consumer feedback received, planning has already begun for Free Comic Book Day 2019, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 4.