Free Comic Book Day A Guide To Annual Free Comic Book Giveaways And Comic Shop Locator Services

Free Comic Book Day is a single-day annual event where participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. The annual event happens the first Saturday in May each year. For more information on the event, visit freecomicbookday.com.

Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. was established in 1982 to provide comic book specialty retailers with wholesale, non-returnable comic books, graphic novels and related pop-culture merchandise. After more than 30 years of service, Diamond has become the world's largest distributor of English-language comics and related merchandise at the nexus of comics and pop-culture. Since Diamond is a wholesale distributor, it only sells to retailers who have accounts with Diamond.

For the past 23 years, comic shops across the U.S. and Canada have hosted this annual one-day event to encourage current, former, and would-be comic fans into its doors with the promise of free comics from publishers such as Marvel, DC, Image Comics, and others. That's been orchestrated by Diamond the whole time, and while it's still set to occur this year on May 3, 2025, Diamond - which owns Free Comic Book Day and organizes it - has been relatively absent from organization and promotion of it this year, with some of the slack being picked up by the individual publishers where the comics come from, and the individual retailers where the comics go. Free Comic Book Day was created by comics retailer Joe Field, who handed it over to Diamond in the early '00s for organizational and operational purposes.

Diamond operates the Comic Shop Locator Service, a store locator website that allows consumers to find comic book shops in their area. Simply enter your ZIP code and you'll get detailed information on the stores closest to your location. If you are a consumer and would like to find a comic shop near you, please visit the Comic Shop Locator Service website. You'll be provided with comic shops in your area. You'll be provided with contact information for comic shops in your area.

Diamond Comic Distributors faces Chapter 11 bankruptcy; assets up for auction in March. Free Comic Book Day rights among the significant assets available for sale. Diamond's divisions include book, game, and collectible merchandise distribution. Potential buyers can claim companies like Gentle Giant and Diamond Select Toys. On the chopping block is the comics distribution company (Diamond Comic Distributors), as well as its booktrade distributor, gaming distributor, and loads more. The two overlooked bits of it to me besides the obvious are Free Comic Book Day and the Comic Shop Locator service.

For Sale: Free Comic Book Day. Free Comic Book Day, and its assets (including the website), are up for grabs in Diamond's auction, and it'll be curious to see which companies and which individuals step up to control it. Including the rights to the established Free Comic Book Day. Diamond Comic Distributors- Division of Debtor Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., that distributes comic books, graphic novels, toys, games, and other pop culture-related merchandise. Diamond Book Distributors – Division of Debtor Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., that distributes English-language graphic novels, manga, games, and merchandise. Alliance Game Distributors – Division of Debtor Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., that distributes board games, card games, role-playing games, miniatures, and other gaming products. Collectible Grading Authority (CGA) – Division of Debtor Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., that provides professional evaluation, authentication and grading services of vintage and modern toys, video games and other related collectible assets. FandomWorld Division of Debtor Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., that operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform offering a range of collectible merchandise for sale. FreeComicBookDay.com Division of Debtor Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc., that operates an annual promotional event where participating comic bookstores give away free comic books to drive product awareness and attract new customers. Diamond Select Toys & Collectibles, LLC Manufactures collectible toys and animated style statues based on licensed intellectual property from companies like Disney, Marvel, and Warner Bros. - Gentle Giant Ltd.

Diamond comics deliveries and toy shipments have been arriving on Mondays in the last few weeks. Our last comic and toy shipment arrived in one box. That totally blew my mind. Why? For years, we would receive two boxes, one for comics and maybe one for a calendar or something that should have easily been combined in one box. This one had a lot of toys and that week's comics in one box, and it was a welcome first for Diamond.

What will the future hold? I hope, of course, for positive change. For example, Free Comic Book Day is actually going back to its roots and trying to get new people into comics, instead of just a day that Diamond makes money by selling comics that stores have to give out for free. Hopefully, Diamond will still be in the comic business so smaller publishers can survive. Who knows, the whole Diamond story from November to now has so many twists and turns that an editor would have said it was too far-fetched for a comic book story. It is still not over.

PREVIEWS is Diamond's monthly mag-a-log (catalog and magazine) of comic books, graphic novels and other pop culture merchandise which is on sale every month in comic book shops nationwide. Each month, PREVIEWS includes listings for almost every comic book and graphic novel scheduled to be on sale, approximately two months in advance. How can I buy the merchandise featured in PREVIEWS? You can order the merchandise featured in PREVIEWS from any comic book shop that has an account with Diamond. If you don't have a local comic shop, you can use the Comic Shop Locator Service to find one near you.

Comic books have changed significantly since they first found their way into pop culture so many decades ago. In today's comic shops, consumers can find comic books featuring everything from classic super-heroes like DC Comics' Batman and Marvel Comics' Spider-Man to titles featuring nearly every subject under the sun. Visit a comic shop near you today to see all that today's comics have to offer!

Conclusion

Free Comic Book Day represents a significant annual promotional event within the comics industry, designed to attract both existing and potential fans to local comic book shops through the distribution of free comics. The event is owned and organized by Diamond Comic Distributors, which operates as the largest distributor of English-language comics and related merchandise in the world. The event is complemented by the Comic Shop Locator Service, a tool that helps consumers locate comic book retailers in their vicinity. As of the provided information, Diamond Comic Distributors is undergoing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, with its assets, including the rights to Free Comic Book Day, scheduled for auction. The future of the event and the supporting services remains uncertain, pending the outcome of this auction.

Sources

1. Diamond Comic Distributors - Frequently Asked Questions
2. The Popverse - Comics: Diamond Comic Distributors' Auction Includes Free Comic Book Day
3. Bleeding Cool - Diamond Comic Distributors Assets For Sale Include Free Comic Book Day
4. Bleeding Cool - Comic Store In Your Future: Keep On Smiling Through The Comics Chaos
5. Diamond Comic Distributors