It’s that time of year again when I beat you over the head with the promise of free comics in exchange for supporting your store.

That second part is why I always try to mention something about Free Comic Book Day. The event itself is honestly in a kind of weird limbo. FCBD is essentially run by Diamond Distributors, who are continuing the event this year despite filing for bankruptcy in January, not to mention other ongoing legal woes.

If you’re new to Free Comic Book Day, it’s more or less what it says on the tin. Your local comic book shop will have a selection of comics that are offered by various publishers for free. Most of these are via Diamond, though some (most notably DC Comics) will be from other distributors.

The catch is that the books aren’t really free. Your local comic shop is still ordering these, albeit at a heavily discounted rate. So while it is cool to show up with the family and get some free books, I urge you to also consider buying a few things while you’re there. The foot traffic these shops get from FCBD can be a huge deal for them, and can really help in these incredibly lean times.

What books your store will get will depend on how much they spent, so check with your LCS to see what’s going to be available. They may also have any number of events, sales, or specials going on. If you don’t know where your local comic shop is, you can check Comic Shop Locator.

And hey, if you already know all that, let us know in the comments what you’re most looking forward to for FCBD. A few books definitely caught my eye, like Marvel’s “Fantastic Four/Giant-Size X-Men” and “Amazing Spider-Man/Ultimate Universe” double-headers, both of which promise to set up the next year of arcs in their respective books, including the highly anticipated upcoming Ultimate Comics event. The same can be said for DC’s “All In/Absolute Universe Special Edition,” which will set up the second year of Absolute stories.

Outside of the big two, BOOM!’s 20th anniversary book has caught my eye, if only because I have no clue what’s in there. There’s also a “The Phantom” #0 coming from Mad Cave, and if you’re a long-time reader, then you know I’m a sucker for The Ghost Who Walks.

You can find the full list of titles being offered on the official Free Comic Book Day website. Details about DC’s selection are available on the DC blog.

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