Free Comic Book Day 2024: When, where, and what DC, Marvel, and other comics to expect from this May's event

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Who’s excited about Free Comic Book Day 2024? We are — and given the amount of top-quality material that’ll be released for the day, you should be too. With just a few weeks remaining until this year’s FCBD, we’re already making up our personal wishlists of the books we’re really liking forward to, and the ones we just can’t live without. Ready to find out what to expect from the likes of DC, Marvel, VIZ Media, Image Comics, and all manner of other publishers across the industry? Get ready to find out everything you want to know about what to expect from next month’s event.

What are the free comics of Free Comic Book Day 2024?

The FCBD Retailer Selection Committee has just announced the titles that will be released for FCBD 2024. You can see the full list below, in a [Publisher]/[TITLE] format.

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Gold Sponsor Comics

• Andrews McMeel Publishing| UNICORN CRUSH
• BOOM! Studios | THE WORLDS OF JAMES TYNION IV
• Dark Horse Comics | HELLBOY/ STRANGER THINGS
• DC | 2024 ABSOLUTE POWER FCBD SPECIAL EDITION
• Dynamite Entertainment | JONNY QUEST
• IDW Publishing | TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
• Image Comics/ Skybound | TRANSFORMERS & G.I. JOE: WELCOME TO THE ENERGON UNIVERSE
• Marvel Comics | ULTIMATE UNIVERSE/ SPIDER-MAN #1
• Marvel Comics | BLOOD HUNT/ X-MEN #1
• Papercutz| DISNEY’S ENCANTO & TURNING RED: THE NEW ADVENTURES
• Random House Graphix | WITCHES OF BROOKLYN
• VIZ Media | POKEMON ASVENTURES: OMEGA RUBY & ALPHA SAPPHIRE/ SPLATOON 3

Free Comic Book Day 2024: Silver Sponsor Comics

• ABLAZE | GANNIBAL (MR)
• Alien Books | THE VALIANTS
• American Mythology Productions | CURSEDVERSE BLIGHTED DAWN #1
• Andrews McMeel Publishing | SNOOPY BEAGLE SCOUT ADVENTURES
• Arcana Comics | ULTRADUCK
• Archie Comics | ARCHIE HORROR PRESENTS THE CURSED LIBRARY PRELUDE
• BOOM! Studios | BOOM BOX 10TH ANNIVERSARY EXTRAVAGANZA
• Dark Horse Comics | STAR WARS/ PLANTS VS. ZOMBIES
• DC | DC BARKHAM ASYLUM FCBD SPECIAL EDITION
• DC | DC BARDA FCBD SPECIAL EDITION
• DC | MAD FCBD SPECIAL EDITION
• Dynamite Entertainment | MALEFICENT #1
• Fantagraphics Books | MARVEL & FANTAGRAPHICS PRESENT ATLAS COMICS
• First Second Books | INVESTIGATORS: CLASS ACTION SNEAK PEEK
• Gemstone Publishing | ROMEO VS. JULIET: A KILL SHAKESPEARE ADVENTURE
• Gemstone Publishing | THE OVERSTREET GUIDE TO COLLECTING COMICS
• Graphix | UNICO AWAKENING
• IDW Publishing | MONSTER HIGH
• Kodansha Comics | INITIAL D/ KAINA OF GREAT SNOW
• Mad Cave Studios | GATCHAMAN #0
• Mad Cave Studios | FLASH GORDON #0
• Marvel Comics | MARVEL VOICES #1
• Marvel Comics | SPIDEY AND HIS AMAZING FRIENDS #1
• Marvel | STAR WARS #1
• Massive Publishing | EYE LIE POPEYE #1
• Papercutz | LOUD HOUSE SPECIAL
• Papercutz | ASTERIX OLYMPICS SPECIAL
• Penguin Young Readers | THE NIGHT LIBRARIAN
• Random House Graphix | KATIE THE CATSITTER-MAX MEOW MASHUP #1
• Ten Ton Press | TONS OF STRANGE
• Titan Comics | CONAN: BATTLE OF THE BLACK STONE (MR)
• Titan Comics | DOCTOR WHO: THE FIFTEENTH DOCTOR
• TOKYOPOP | FAR CRY: CULL THE HERD #1
• UDON Entertainment | STREET FIGHTER VS FINAL FIGHT #1
• Vault Comics | DYING INSIDE
• VIZ Media | ONE PIECE: ACE’S STORY/ STATUS ROYALE

How do I get these comics for free?

Taking part in Free Comic Book Day is pretty easy; you simply have to make it to a participating store on May 4. You can find your closest store by visiting this page. Really, that’s all it takes, although individual stores might have their own rules and requirements. (Some stores limit the amount of free comics any one person can pick up, for example.)

How often is Free Comic Book Day?

Free Comic Book Day is an annual event happening on the first Saturday of May every year, organized by Diamond Comic Distributors designed to promote comic books and comic book retailers to the general public, with over 2,000 stores taking part. The early May date was chosen to allow the event to be timed close to the release of a summer superhero movie’s release; unfortunately, due to the rescheduling of Marvel’s movie releases, this year’s event will no longer be tied to the release of the fourth Captain America movie as was originally the plan. (That movie will be released February 2025.) Of course, that just means there will be more time for everyone to fit in some reading.

Why is Free Comic Book Day a thing?

Simply put, Free Comic Book Day was created to remind people who aren’t regular visitors to their local comic store that there’s no reason they can’t become regular visitors to their local comic store. It was the brainchild of retailer Joe Field in 2001, inspired by Baskin-Robbins’ “Free Scoop Night” promotional efforts at his local ice cream parlor. The first FCBD took place the next year, giving away more than two million comic books from just four publishers — each a reprint, unlike today’s event which commonly features all-new material, and was such a success that it quickly became an annual event.

What are the rules of Free Comic Book Day?

There are no official rules to FCBD, although obviously, there’s the common sense rule that retailers should make each of the FCBD releases available for free. Each comic store gets to make their own rules concerning how many issues visitors can pick up, and the like — but we’ll say this much: it’s not a rule, but simply common courtesy: if you’re headed to a store for Free Comic Book Day, why not buy something as well? It’s only polite.

Will the Free Comic Book Day comics be available online?

The answer to this question depends on the publishers involved. Usually, the majority of FCBD releases end up either available through ComiXology or subscription services such as DC Universe Infinite or Marvel Unlimited, after some kind of delay from the actual event — again, though, how long that delay is is also up to the publishers in question.

You can find Free Comic Book Day and more in a comic shop. Never been, or has it been awhile? Read our guide on how to comic shop.