This Saturday, May 3 marks what has become a virtual holiday for comics fans - Free Comic Book Day! That’s right your local shop will be giving away FREE comics from all your favorite publishers, not to mention other exciting promotions will be available all day. Whether you have dozens of long boxes tucked away in your closet, or you just saw Iron Man the night before and want to experience comics for the first time, there will be something sure to please you at your local retailer.

Aside from the multitude of free comics, many shops also host signings from popular writers and artists, and may even have some special deals that you’ll unfortunately have to spend actual money on. But that recession check is just around the corner, so go nuts! I know I’ll be at my local shop, Comics Kingdom, bright and early to take advantage of some killer deals. Not sure where your closest shop is? This store locator should point you in the right direction.

There’s going to be quite a bit given away on Saturday, so I’ve picked out a few highlights that are guaranteed to be at your local shop. First up is a special issue of Hellboy. Don’t let that horrible movie dissuade you on this one. From the Free Comic Book Day site - To celebrate the release of Hellboy II: The Golden Army, Dark Horse Comics presents an all-Hellboy/B.P.R.D. extravaganza for Free Comic Book Day 2008! Hellboy creator Mike Mignola teams up with Hellboy: Darkness Calls artist Duncan Fegredo for a look into Hellboy’s nightmares; Mignola also teams with his B.P.R.D. team of John Arcudi and Guy Davis for a breathtaking twist to recent events at the Bureau — a preview of the events in the upcoming series The Warning; and Hellboy Universe newcomers Joshua Dysart (Swamp Thing) and Paul Azaceta (Grounded) team with Mignola for another look into the world of their B.P.R.D.: 1946 series for an adventure from the early days of both the Bureau and its most famous member! A perfect jumping-on point for new readers and a terrific treat for seasoned fans of the rich Hellboy mythos!

An icon since the 1950’s, Dan Dare has been pulled out of retirement and into the outer reaches of the galaxy in this new series written by Garth Ennis (Preacher, The Boys, Hitman, John Woo’s Seven Brothers)! I can’t say I’m familiar with this character, but Garth Ennis has one of the most compelling styles in comics, so this is a must have.

I saved the best for last. Considered by many to be one of today’s best ongoing comics, Grant Morrison’s All-Star Superman has revitalized the character and perhaps the genre. Two of the comic industry’s biggest superstars, writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely, the acclaimed team behind JLA: Earth 2 reunite to redefine the Man of Steel for a new generation. The first issue of the Eisner Award-winning series that Entertainment Weekly and Time magazine named one of the best comics of 2007 features the World’s Greatest Super Hero’s rescue of a group of astronauts on the surface of the sun, where he’s exposed to massive amounts of solar radiation. No one could have anticipated how he would be affected — except Lex Luthor!

The first issue can be yours FOR FREE if you get out to a local Free Comic Book Day retailer this Saturday. Don’t sleep!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 30th, 2008 at 10:41 pm and is filed under Comics, Lifestyle Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.