FCBD 2008

So I just stumbled upon what I assume to be the official site for Free Comic Book Day 2008.

http://www.freecomicbookday.com/

Some interesting titles are planned to be offered. I hope to take my nephew to the local shop to pick up a few issues and maybe a toy figure.

Will HeavyInk be participating in any way? (Sorry if this has been answered already elsewhere.)

-b.

I think atomic robo is going to be in a free comic…...

I’m hoping to get my hands on the Atomic Robo & Friends issue and that one called Maintenance looks really interesting.

The Atomic Robo FCBD issue should feature a beautiful HeavyInk ad! Plus, it’s FREE!

I’m not even gonna look at the list this year, since I inevitably turn up at a shop and never find everything I want, since no store seems to order everything. So I will just go in and be pleasantly surprised.

Also hoping for a big FCBD sale…some quarter bins would be sweet…I’m in the mood to go back issue diving.

Will HeavyInk be participating in any way?

Not this time around, alas… we threw some ideas around about what we could do, but had too much else on our plates to actually get any of it done. We’re tracking it as a project for next time around…

Oh yeah, all new Atomic Robo and Neozoic stories in Red5’d FCBD book. I’m really happy with how they came out. If you guys like the books you’ll really love these, I think.

I’m taking a longer lunch break from work on Saturday for the sole purpose of trying to get the FCBD edition of Atomic Robo. I just hope they have a copy…..

It’s a silver level so you may want to save your self a trip by calling and asking what level the store is at

oh man….I didn’t even think about that. Looks like I’ll be calling around tomorrow to all the comic book stores within my zip code…which is about 3.

Yeah that might be an issue. However, orders for Robo’s FCBD book dwarfed orders for the initial series. So chances are fairly good that most stores will have at least a few.

I got the ones I wanted – All Star Superman, the X-Men issue, and the Hellboy stuff, plus some things like Dan Dare, Devil Claw, Atomic Robo, and (ostensibly for my 4 month old daughter who can at least be enthralled by the colors on the pages) Tiny Titans, Owly and Friends. Had an interesting time, listened to a debate about the merits of CGC between the shop owner and a CGC VP (turns out CGC is located a few minutes from where I live)

good times!

The comic store by me had a whole bunch of Atomic Robo, and the guys in the store were very enthusiastic about it. Cant wait for the next issue!!!!

The Atomic Robo FCBD issue should feature a beautiful HeavyInk ad! Plus, it’s FREE!

The very last page in all its glory

I went to my local shop to pick up some boards and there was some FCBD stuff strewn around near the entrance, but nothing at all related to Atomic Robo. :(

Also, in an epic fail on my part, I forgot what today’s date was and didn’t realize it was FCBD until it was too late to hit the other store within driving distance that might actually have it.

My FCBD was really lame…..
Not only did they not have Atomic Robo, but they were doing a “one free comic per customer” thing. Lame.

On a brighter side, the FCBD HellBoy issue was really good.

Yeah, mine wasn’t that awesome either. I got the X-Men issue, but no All Star Superman, no Atomic Robo. But it wasn’t a total loss. I got to take my 4 year old nephew to the store for the first time. And he loved it. So that was cool.

-b.

she really enjoyed Tiny Titans…

“Not only did they not have Atomic Robo, but they were doing a “one free comic per customer” thing. Lame.”

Just to explain to ya’ll a bit more about how FCBD works…

There are GOLD level books ard SILVER level books. Some, but not all comics are GOLD level comics. All participating stores get GOLD level comics.

Atomic Robo was not a GOLD level comic, it was a SILVER level comic. Mr. Atomic Robo man may be able to tell you more about how they choose which gets GOLD and which gets SILVER bet I know the choice of who gets to be FCBD period is a lot of politics. They’re trying to pick comics that everyone will like, and only a few that are for specialized groups that rake in the most dough (whiney boys 8-15 coughcough).

So if the comic you want isn’t there, it’s FCBD’s fault. Step 1) Put your money where your mouth is. Stop buying three xmen titles a week and stop downloading Atomic Robo. Step 2) Politely email FCBD requesting GOLD status next year. The time to start is now with these paper filer.

About the 1 comic per customer? The stores do not get to ask for how many comics they want. They are given, by the grace of… burocrats. If they don’t think they’re going to make it through the day… they’ll slow down the giving out. They do this so that, well, if they do have Atomic Robo, some butt doesn’t take tons of copies and then a poor sad girl who had to wait till she gets off work doesn’t get one at all. FCBD allows every store to distribute them as they please. If the store wanted to, they could give them just to their subscribers (they just must be free).

Please remember that FCBD actually is for the NEW readers. The comics, as a whole, suck because it’s all watered down in case some southern baptist kid grabs it off the shelf. These comics aren’t meant for you. They’re meant to make cuuute little pictures like the one above. <3>

These comics aren’t meant for you.

Visions of Eddie Vedder standing on the corner of my local shop singing “This is not for you!” :)

I don’t know about the other stuff that daynah said, but I first got into comics in June of 2006. So I missed FCBD that year. But last year and this year, both times it has been about spending the morning/afternoon with my nephew. Last year he was 3 and was afraid of the Stormtroopers guarding the door. But this year we went to a different store (no Stormtroopers) and he loved it. I hadn’t been in the store in a bit so I was hoping to look around a little, but no. :) He had his own agenda, and promptly told me he wanted to see the comics for kids right away.

I bought him his first HULK figure, and he picked out on his own a toy Wonder Woman for his 2 year old sister. I then was showing him a picture of Thor and his hammer, and he asked if Thor sometimes uses a screwdriver. I totally cracked up.

He picked up a couple of the free books, and I also got him a Spider-Man book on Sandman, one of his favourite villains, next to Venom of course.

So despite the fact that I was looking forward to reading my very first All Star Superman which I have heard is great, I counted the day as a success. I even got to chat to the cashier about Atomic Robo. :) All in all we had fun.

-b.

For those crazy completists bumming that they weren’t able to get their Atomic Robo fix on FCBD, Brian says:

Third, apparently the Robo & Neozoic FCBD issue was one of the fast movers at most stores and a lot of people missed out on picking up a copy. Do not despair, Team Robo looks out for the reader! We guarantee that story will be available at no additional cost to you and in a format that will make it available to our international friends as well. It might take until February or March ‘09, but it’ll be there.

So, just considerate it an exercise in patience…

Aww how nice, Robo-Brian.

To amend my post, which in hindsight looks a bit rough. The free comic books are for new readers, not those who already subscribe, yes. But FBD dooes help pull subscribers (and those pesky downloaders) into the stores which often hold special sales that day.

FCBD is a big day for 501st, yes, the storm troopers. http://www.501st.com/ There’s also the Klingon Imperial Costumers Guild http://groups.yahoo.com/group/klingoncostumes/ and stores will dress up their employees, especially if there’s a female employee. Cough.

We guarantee that story will be available at no additional cost to you and in a format that will make it available to our international friends as well. It might take until February or March ‘09, but it’ll be there.

The Atomic Robo team is truely one of the greatest out there.

“Put your money where your mouth is. Stop buying three xmen titles a week and stop downloading Atomic Robo.”

Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I need to marry you now. Just, thank god you said it instead of, say, Robert, because that’s not legal here in Florida.

Whereabouts in FL are you, Brian!(?)

I got lucky, I guess…I couldn’t decide between going to the closest store to my house, which is about the size of my living room, or the big mega comics/figures/card game/LAN gaming spot a little further away. I kinda thought at first that the small one nearby wouldn’t have the biggest or best selection, but I also reasoned that they aren’t a high-traffic store to begin with (only open 4 hours a day on weekdays, 8 on Saturdays) so I might be able to get some good stuff. In the end, my laziness won out and I went to the closer, smaller store. They had a ton of nearly everything and the only restriction was that we could have 1 of each book. I had missed/overlooked Atomic Robo until I was nearly to the register with my paltry purchases, when I saw it and a dim light (don’t ask which one, they’re all dim) went on and I said – I think I have to have this one too, and I did. And it was good. Here endeth the ramble.

I wasn’t even aware that Atomic Robo could be illicitly downloaded. Doesn’t matter though. I would rather hold it in my hand than having to read it off my computer screen.

In response to Daynah,
Yeah, I see your points (about technically they aren’t free. It’s costing someone money somewhere). It’s just that after I got back from the comic book store, everyone else I’ve talked to that went to their own local shop talked about getting a handful of issues. Oh well. It’s one of the drawbacks of living in a small town. Not a big deal in the long run (or even in the short run).

Don’t take this the wrong way, but I think I need to marry you now.

Get in line, Brian. :) I wonder how many proposals daynah has gotten on HeavyInk?

-b.