Why Free Comic Book Day is STILL Viable !!

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Armand in Comics and Comic News // 1 Comment

As of today’s date we nearly a month away from Free Comic Book Day and we wanted to get some information about why it’s still important for comic book lovers to support this event. We were honored to hear directly from Joe Field the founder of Free Comic Book Day and the owner of Flying Colors Comics & Other Cool Stuff in Concord CA. We asked him a few questions about FCBD and here is what he told us

1. Over the years, how has retailer demand grown because of FCBD? What have retailers attributed this demand to?

2014 is the 13th year for Free Comic Book Day and we’ve seen the event grow in big ways over the years. In 2013, roughly 2000 comic shops in 60 countries all over the world participated. More than 4.5 million comics were ordered by retailers for FCBD!

The reason the numbers are so high is that retailers are responding to how their FCBD events have gone in previous years. Each year, there are more people coming out to FCBD events, so retailers order more of the comics. In 2013 and estimated 1.2 million people came to FCBD events, making it the largest annual comic book related event in the world!

2. Is there a stronger demand or retention for comics after FCBD?

Speaking from my own experience, we keep a pretty close track of the numbers here. Last year about 20% of our store visitors on FCBD had never been to Flying Colors before….and our business for 2013 was up about 15% from 2012. While not all of that gain can be attributed to giving away free comics, I do know that Free Comic Book Day is a vital day to promote comics and to give many readers their first exposure to comics.

Joe Fields, FCBD Founder

3. Will there ever be any FCBD goodies that will involve digital devices?

I conceived Free Comic Book Day to be a day that brings people directly to comic book stores so that they can see all the cool things going on in their local shops. It’s a celebration of comics, comic book fans and the comic book retailers that are on the front lines.

4. We always hear about retailers who ‘lose money’ on FCBD because they still have to pay for something that they give out for free. Do you feel that the day helps retailers’ investment pay off?

I don’t think Free Comic Book Day would have lasted 13 years if it wasn’t working. If you take a look at the comic book business since FCBD started in 2002, it’s a much healthier market. Some of that can be attributed to having a day that celebrates comics and the stores that bring them to readers every week. So to that end, the investment retailers put into FCBD is paying off.

But let’s be honest: Many retailers really make a big event of FCBD while some others may just be thinking that just buying the comics is the golden ticket to riches. The event rewards the retailers that put in a good effort to make the day something special for people visiting their shops.

5. Would sponsorship help offset the price that retailers pay for books?

Sponsorship of Free Comic Book Day would be used to promote the global event to make it even bigger and better. On an event-wide basis, there’s really no viable way to off-set the costs of producing and delivering nearly five million comics.However, individual publishers can always work to get their comics sponsored via advertising with the hopes of reducing the final costs to retailers who will then give them away.

One thing fans can do that would really help retailers is to not only attend FCBD, but bring a friend who doesn’t currently read comics. The more people who come to comic shops on FCBD (and any other day, too) will be a help to keeping costs down while also getting cool stories and art out to more readers!