Editor's Note: I'm a little bit bothered by this. THE COOL PART: Since FCBD was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic there may be a lot of printed books sitting in the Diamond Distribution or the various publishers' warehouses. So, here's a way to get them back out there. Cool. Readers can get some free comics all summer. THE NOT SO COOL PART: Free Comic Book Day is not free for the comic shops. They have to buy those books. Now, not just to support a single day event --- but all summer long. So the smaller shops will be expected to spend more than they really budgeted for (after being closed for months with little or no shop income) or risk looking bad in the eyes of their loyal customers. To top it off, I heard (but have not verified) that this decision was made before comic shops were notified of it - - so they found out about the same day as the public announcement. A SOLUTION: I don't think regular customers should expect a free book every single week. If you do, maybe you can make a donation to the shop -- or at least give them 50 cents or one dollar for the book. That's what I'm going to do . . . . . . . .

INFORMATION PROVIDED COURTESY OF FREE COMIC BOOK DAY . . . . .

Free Comic Book Day 2020 Becomes Free Comic Book Summer! | View online

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ISSUE: JUNE 18, 2020

STORE LOCATOR

Free Comic Book Day 2020 to Take Place July 15 through September 9

Free Comic Book Day, the comic book industry’s largest annual promotional event, is traditionally scheduled to take place the first Saturday in May each year. However, the impact and spread of COVID-19 prevented the event from being celebrated at its normal time this year. Now, the beloved event has been rescheduled and reworked to take place throughout July and early September in order to accommodate social-distancing and store capacity regulations across the country, effectively making it Free Comic Book Summer!

Scheduled to take place between July 15 and September 9, retailers will receive five to six Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) titles in their weekly shipments during each week of the promotional window. Release of these titles may vary from shop to shop, as retailers are encouraged to release the books as they see fit for their unique circumstances. Retailers may release one free title a day, make all of that week’s free titles available at once, or any other plan that works for them. Free Comic Book Summer is designed to be flexible and customizable so retailers and consumers can get the most out the event.

“Every year, Free Comic Book Day is our big event to thank current comics fans, welcome back former fans and invite those new to comics to join the fun,” said Joe Field, originator of FCBD, and owner of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, CA. “In this very different year, Free Comic Book Day is more like Free Comic Book Summer... and there’s so much fun to discover in this year's FCBD comics! So many cool stories are available for this stretched-out Free Comic Book Day 2020. I'm confident long-time fans and newcomers alike are going to find a story that'll make them want to visit their local comic shop every week! Fans, bring your friends and family and head to your local comic shop every week starting July 15 through September 9 to check out the new, and fantastic, free comics available that week!”

Free Comic Book Summer will feature 45 of the previously announced titles from publishers like Marvel Comics, Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Dynamite Entertainment, DC, and more! The 45 titles are designed to appeal to a broad range of tastes and run the gamut from superhero stories, to TV and movie tie-ins, to sci-fi adventures, all-ages tales, and beyond. There will also be two educational support titles from the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and Gemstone Publishing.

A complete listing of all 45 FCBD titles, including the 10 Gold Sponsor and 35 Silver Sponsor comic books, can be viewed online at www.freecomicbookday.com.

A release schedule of when titles will be hitting comic shops is available below!

COMICS AVAILABLE ON JULY 22
Valiant Entertainment | VALIANT 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
AfterShock Comics | DARK ARK: INSTINCT
Drawn & Quarterly | MANHWA: CONTEMPORARY KOREAN COMICS
Marvel Comics | SPIDER-MAN/ VENOM
Titan Comics | HORIZON ZERO DAWN #0

COMICS AVAILABLE ON JULY 29
Archie Comics | ARCHIE BLUE RIBBON PRESENTS
Dark Horse Comics | STRANGER THINGS/ MINECRAFT
DC Comics | BATMAN OVERDRIVE/ BATMAN: ONCE UPON A CRIME
Dynamite Entertainment | THE BOYS #1
Golden Apple Books | RICHARD FAIRGRAY’S MONSTER SHOWCASE
RH Graphic | STEPPING STONES/ MAX & THE MIDKNIGHTS

COMICS AVAILABLE ON AUGUST 5
Artists, Writers & Artisans | THE RESISTANCE
BOOM! Studios | LUMBERJANES: FAREWELL TO SUMMER
New England Comics | THE TICK
Penguin Workshop | ZOO PATROL SQUAD: KINGDOM CAPER
TOKYOPOP | BIBI & MIYU/ THE FOX & THE LITTLE TANUKI
Image Comics | INVINCIBLE #1

COMICS AVAILABLE ON AUGUST 12
Dark Horse Comics | NORSE MYTHOLOGY/ CRITICAL ROLE
Albatross Funnybooks | HILLBILLY: THE LIZARD OF RUSTY CREEK CAVE
Drawn & Quarterly | LITTLE LULU: NO BOYS ALLOWED
Oni Press | SUPER MERCADO MIX TAPE
Titan Comics | BLADE RUNNER 2019

COMICS AVAILABLE ON AUGUST 19
Macmillan/ First Second Books| INVESTIGATORS: TAKE THE PLUNGE SNEAK PEEK
Fantagraphics Books | DISNEY MASTERS: DONALD DUCK
Papercutz | THE LOUD HOUSE FCBD 2020 SPECIAL
UDON Entertainment | STREET FIGHTER #100: RYU VS. CHUN-LI
Comic Book Legal Defense Fund | CBLDF & BOOM! DEFEND COMICS
Gemstone Publishing | THE OVERSTREET GUIDE TO COLLECTING - FCBD 2020

COMICS AVAILABLE ON SEPTEMBER 9
VIZ Media | THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS / SPLATOON: SQUID KIDS COMEDY SHOW
Humanoids | ENTER THE INCAL
Kodansha Comics| SUE AND TAI-CHAN PREVIEW

Click here to see all of the comics!

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Saturday, June 20, 2020

FCBD 2020 Becomes FREE COMIC BOOK SUMMER

Free Comic Book Day 2020 to Take Place July 15 through September 9

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