Normally, a comic-book novice’s first steps into the fictional universe of capes and capers requires a toll of $2 to $4 a trip, but one day a year, the gates are thrown wide open.
Since 2002, the first Saturday in May has been celebrated by stores around the country as Free Comic Book Day.
Retailers pay a minimal fee per issue, usually 20 to 50 cents, for specially printed comics to be handed out free to encourage new readers into the hobby.
“It’s promoting the industry and the hobby,” said Ray Nichols, owner of Comic Hound in East Ridge, which has ordered 1,000 issues this year. “It’s going to bring out some people who like comics but don’t necessarily collect comics.”
“I think it’s worth the cost. Every year, it gets a little bit better.”
This year, 33 titles will be available from major publishers including Marvel Comics, IDW Publishing and DC Comics as well as independent companies such as Oni Press and Th3rd World Studios.
Many of these comics are reprints of existing storylines or sampler books collecting short stories of multiple characters from a publisher’s ranks. A few mark the beginning of an entirely new storyline, like last year’s Green Lantern issue “Blackest Night No. 0” or “War of the Supermen No. 0.”
Examples of the latter often become coveted collectors items, said Shane Grubb, owner of Dicehead Games & Comics, which has ordered 4,000 comics to hand out between its Chattanooga and Cleveland, Tenn., store locations.
Dicehead has participated in Free Comic Book Day since 2003, and if the event brings in even a few new enthusiasts, it’s worth it, Grubb said.
“Sure, its great advertising for us, but at the end of the day, we want kids to read,” he said. “I wouldn’t have a store today if I wasn’t into comics as a kid, and long term, if we don’t get more kids into it now, I won’t have a store in the future.”