Israel will be participating in the 18th annual Free Comic Book Day on Saturday.
Tel Aviv comic book store Comikaza, and the two Comics and Vegetables stores, in Tel Aviv and Ra’anana, will be featuring 51 special-issue free comic books, as will local comic book shops around the world.
The Free Comic Book Day comics are selected by comic book retailers, rather than publishers. As such, the selection is very diverse, covering a wide range of genres and publishers to be inclusive of every aspect of the comic fan base.
While the biggest comics publishers – Marvel and DC – are present, they’re only putting out two comics each.
Other major publishers such as IDW, Image, Dark Horse and Boom! Studios – which often publish stories outside the superhero genre typically associated with the medium – are each putting out two free comics as well. Other smaller publishers such as Titan, Aftershock and Dynamic have comics rolled out as well, with Kodansha, Viz Media and Tokyopop – publishers typically associated with Japanese manga rather than Western comic books – adding even more diversity to the selection.
One of the largest publishers in the world, Archie Comics, is only offering one comic.
The stories available include traditional superhero stories (such as Marvel’s Avengers), while also delving into teen drama (like Archie’s Riverdale), comedy (2000AD’s Funny Pages), Science Fiction (Titan’s Robotech), fantasy (Boom! Studios’s Lumberjanes) and popular licensed properties (Dark Horse’s Minecraft).
Free Comic Book Day was established in 2002 by comic retailer Joe Field and takes place every year on the first Saturday in May.
The event is international in scope and retailers are listed on the event’s website.