Fast Links
Free Comic Book Day 2023 is tomorrow (May 6), and local comic shops are gearing up for the annual tradition. If you didn’t know, Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an event where participating comic shops have a selection of free comic books from some of the biggest publishers in the biz. These comic books have been printed specifically for the event with special FCBD logos on the cover. They can include original stories, reprints, or previews of upcoming issues. Here is everything you need to know to get ready for this year’s big day!
If there's one thing you take away from FCBD, we hope it's this: comics are for everyone.
Celebrate FCBD at your local comic shop and be a part of something bigger!#FCBD2023#ComicsAreForEveryone pic.twitter.com/kkZXBxUJlM
— Free Comic Book Day (@Freecomicbook) May 5, 2023
What Is Free Comic Book Day?
With Free Comic Book Day being a global event, it is likely that your local comic book shop is participating. However, if you are unsure where your local store is or if it is not participating in this year’s event, you can use the “store locator” on the Free Comic Book Day website. Make sure you have a plan if you want to grab a specific offering this year, as issues tend to go fast. Especially based on their rating of Gold (most popular) or Silver (slightly less popular). Naturally, stores will receive limited supplies of these free comics, so it is first come, first serve.
This year’s event has over 40 free comics up for grabs. These issues come from some big-name publishers like Marvel, DC, and Dark Horse. The comics are broken down into Gold and Silver offerings. However, sometimes local shops will only allow a specific amount of Gold and Silver comics per person, so be sure to check in with your local shop. The comics are also categorized based on age rating, with green being for all ages, blue for teens and up, and red for mature audiences only. Here is a quick rundown of what is being offered so that you can plan your Free Comic Book Day accordingly.
Gold Comic Offerings
Here is what everyone can enjoy under the Green label (all audiences):
- Dog Man and the League of Misfits (Graphix/Scholastic)
- Ranger Academy (Boom! Studios)
Meanwhile, this set of Gold comics is strictly for teens and up (Blue label):
- Archie Horror Presents: The Cursed Library (Archie Comics)
- The Avengers / X-Men (Marvel Comics)
- Choujin X / Rooster Fighter (Viz Media)
- Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword (Dynamite Entertainment)
- Seismic Stories (Aftershock Comics)
- The Amazing Spider-Man / Venom (Marvel Comics)
- Star Trek: Day of Blood (IDW Publishing)
Finally, only mature audiences should nab these Red labeled FCBD offerings:
- Conan the Barbarian: FCBD 2023 Special (Titan Comics)
- Fishflies #1: FCBD 2023 Preview Edition (Image Comics)
- The Umbrella Academy / The Witcher (Dark Horse Comics)
Silver Comic Offerings
This year’s Silver comics seem to have a larger Green label offering than the Gold:
- 2000 AD Regened Presents: The Best Comic Ever (Rebellion)
- Animal Crossing / Kirby Manga Mania (Viz Media)
- Baby-sitters Little Sister: Karen’s Haircut (Graphix)
- I Am Stan (Ten Speed Press)
- InvestiGators: All Tide Up (First Second Books)
- Kotto Kotorra (Arcana Comics)
- The Last Comics on Earth (Viking Books)
- Madballs vs Garbage Pail Kids (Dynamite Entertainment)
- Mech Cadets: FCBD Special (Boom! Studios)
- Mexikid: A Graphic Memoir (Dial Books)
- Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas: The Battle for Pumpkin King (Tokyopop)
- The Overstreet Guide to Collecting Comics (Gemstone Publishing)
- Punch Up!: Preview (Oni Press)
- The Smurfs 65th Anniversary: FCBD Special (Papercutz)
- Spidey and his Amazing Friends (Marvel Comics)
- Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures (Dark Horse Comics)
- Sweet Valley Twins: Teacher’s Pet (Random House Children’s Books)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Publishing)
Meanwhile, the Blue label comics include:
- Animal Castle: FCBD Edition (Ablaze)
- Crimebuster Season 1 (Lev Gleason Publications – Comichouse)
- The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers (Fantagraphics Books)
- Shaman King Flowers & Welcome To Demon School Iruma-Kun (Kodansha Comics)
- Marvel Voices (Marvel Comics)
- Runescape: Untold Tales of the God Wars (Titan Comics)
- The Sacrificers #1: FCBD Preview (Image Comics)
- Shadowman: Darque Legacy: FCBD Special (Valiant Entertainment)
- Street Fighter 6 (Udon Entertainment)
- Tom Holland’s Fright Night (American Mythology Productions)
Finally, the Reds:
- FrazettaVerse (Opus Comics)
- West of Sundown (Vault Comics)
You may have noticed that there are no DC Comics in this list. While other publishers split their offerings into Gold and Silver, DC does not. This is because DC has decided to hand out comics through their own distributor (Lunar Distributors) rather than the event’s sponsor, Diamond Comic Distributor. Of course, that doesn’t mean there won’t be some DC comics to grab on Saturday. Here is what you can pick up for free:
- Dawn of DC: Knight Terrors (DC Comics)
- Clark & Lex / Fann Club: Batman Squad (DC Comics)
- Girl Taking Over: A Lois Lane Story (DC Comics)
There you have it. That is everything you can do to plan for an amazing Free Comic Book Day 2023.