You may have thought of Kris Kringle jingling in your mind, but over at Diamond it’s already planning for balmy May and Free Comic Book Day on May 4th. The Gold levels sponsors have been announced and here they are!
Commentary: KID COMICS out the yin yang FINALLY. Giveaway that attract readers you can grow. We figured it out. Plus: The Walking Dead. Also, top secret from Marvel and DC. And STAR WARS for May The Fourth Be With You.
The Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) Committee has announced its Gold Sponsor comic book selections for the comic book industry’s top annual event, Free Comic Book Day, scheduled for Saturday, May 4th, 2013. Next year marks the twelfth anniversary of Free Comic Book Day with another great year of incredible titles that feature fan-favorite comic book characters and encourage new readers to explore the fun and excitement that comics can offer.
Chosen by retailers on the FCBD Committee, there’s a free comic book for everyone’s taste: from Superman, Star Wars, and The Walking Dead to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sesame Street, Smurfs and a super-secret Marvel Comics title.
“Once again, comic book publishers have given fans what they want—great characters, great stories—all in a free comic book!” said FCBD spokesperson Leslie Bowser. “Retailers on the FCBD Committee had so many excellent titles to choose from that they expanded the Gold sponsor titles to twelve gold books for this year, instead of the usual ten. We’re sure fans will be pleased with the line-up and we look forward to hosting them again at local comic book shops across the nation and worldwide.”
A complete listing of all fifty-three FCBD titles, including the twelve Gold and forty-one Silver comic books, can be found in the January issue of Diamond Comic Distributors’ PREVIEWS catalog, on sale at all comic book shops on January 2, 2013. Look for a separate announcement next Thursday, December 13, on FCBD’s 2013 Silver Sponsors and their comic book titles.
Free Comic Book Day 2013: Gold Comics
APE ENTERTAINMENT
KIZOIC PRESENTS: SESAME STREET/STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE
(W) Georgia Ball, Jason M. Burns (A/CA) Amy Mebberson
On side one, Elmo, Cookie Monster, The Count and Super Grover teach you about the magic of reading comics! It’s GUARANTEED to chase the clouds away! On side two, join Strawberry Shortcake and friends on 3 berry sweet adventures! Includes “The Blue Flu”, “The Hunt for Blackberry’s Treasure”, and “Blueberry’s Book Tour”.
It’s a bushel of fun!
ARCHIE COMICS
THE WORLD OF ARCHIE DIGEST
(W/A) Various (CA) TBD
Archie! Betty! Veronica! Jughead! The world’s most famous teenagers for over seven decades are all here in this FREE digest! Packed with non-stop laughs and gaffs that the Riverdale gang is known for, we challenge you to find a Free Comic Book Day offering with more pages than this! The perfect introduction to the world of Archie and friends, this digest is filled with stories from some of the best creators in the business! This is the one to pick up on Free Comic Book Day!
BONGO COMICS
BONGO COMICS FREE-FOR-ALL! FCBD 2013
(W/A/CA) Matt Groening, Various
Bongo rings in another Free Comic Book Day with a comical cornucopia of four-color comics and games. First, Bart becomes a model citizen for a day…with disastrous results. Then, Jimbo and the gang escalate and elevate their juvenile delinquency to new heights. Stick around for a bedtime tale with the dim but adorable Li’l Homer and go in search of the Happy Little Elves with Maggie. (STK525407)
BOOM! STUDIOS: KABOOM!
KABOOM! SUMMER BLAST
(W/A/CA) Various
An explosion of All-Ages awesomeness from KaBOOM! this Free Comic Book Day! Sure to be one of the most popular offerings this Free Comic Book Day, the KaBOOM! Summer Blast is 48 pages chock-full of the most popular all-ages comics on the stands today! Featuring excerpts from Adventure Time, Peanuts, Regular Show, Bravest Warriors, Garfield, Ice Age and some brand-new surprises, these series will keep readers young and old coming back to your comic shop again and again!
DARK HORSE COMICS
STAR WARS/CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT/AVATAR
(W) Joshua Williamson, Various (A/CA) Ryan Hill, Various
All-Ages Adventure! Star Wars joins fan-favorite villains Darth Vader and Boba Fett! Then explore the upcoming Dark Horse series, Captain Midnight, where the search for the missing superhero is on! And the smash hit Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Mai as she deals with her broken heart…
DC COMICS
FCBD 2013 SUPERMAN SPECIAL EDITION
(W/A/CA) TBD
Sorry, but you’ll have to come back next month for full details!
IDW PUBLISHING
TMNT NEW ANIMATED ADVENTURES
(W/A) Various (CA) Dario Brizuela
Jumping from screen to page, it’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles New Animated Adventures! This unique series captures the heart of the smash Nickelodeon television show with brand-new stories. Full of action, excitement and laughs, this is the perfect all-ages comic to get you seeing green!!
IMAGE COMICS
THE WALKING DEAD FCBD 2013 SPECIAL
(W) Robert Kirkman (A/CA) Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn
This special Walking Dead issue contains a new Tyreese short story, a fan-favorite character who just made his television debut in The Walking Dead Season 3! It also reprints short stories featuring Michonne, The Governor and Morgan. This special issue is a must-have for fans of The Walking Dead — as none of these stories will be reprinted in the trade paperbacks!
MARVEL COMICS
MARVEL FCBD 2013: CLASSIFIED!
(W/A/CA) TBD
Prepare for an epic that is out of this world as the biggest and best Super Heroes in the Marvel Universe come together for something that will leave fans demanding more? Marvel Comics has something special planned for Free Comic Book Day 2013… but for now it’s CLASSIFIED! Keep checking back to freecomicbookday.com for future updates!
NBM PUBLISHING/PAPERCUTZ
THE SMURFS
(W/A) Peyo, Various (CA) Peyo
The Smurfs return to Free Comic Book Day with two stories never-before-seen in the U.S.! Gargamel has tormented the Smurfs time and time again, always vowing his revenge on the small creatures. But what happens when he is forced to tangle with someone bigger than him — a nasty Ogre? Find out in “The Ogre and the Smurfs!” Also featuring comics from two of the hottest new Papercutz series, Annoying Orange and Ariol, a new series from Emmanuel Guibert!
UNITED PLANKTON PICTURES
SPONGEBOB COMICS FREESTYLE FUNNIES
(W) Derek Drymon, Maris Wicks (A) Graham Annable, Various
United Plankton brings you a completely original collection of SpongeBob comics for FCBD 2013. In “Paint Misbehavin'” Squidward teaches SpongeBob and Patrick how to paint realistically — but how did they learn to bring their painted creations to life? Then in “Day of the Free Comic” SpongeBob must foil Plankton’s latest plan: invading the Krusty Krab inside a…giveaway comic book! Will funny books ever be the same? And: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy take on a new villain: the sultry Catfishstress. All this plus facts about the colorful cuttlefish, a fill-in comic, and a preview of this summer’s SpongeBob superhero-themed annual!
VIZ MEDIA
IT’S THE UGLY DOLL COMIC & OTHER STUFF
(W) David Horvath & Various (A) James Kolchaka & Various
Say, Friend. Do you need a hero? Then this comic isn’t for you. (Though being Ugly IS a super power — “ugly” means unique!) Do you need a cookie? Then this is your book! Join OX, Wage, Babo, Ice-Bat and all their friends in the Uglydolls’ first-ever comic book adventure! The Uglydolls may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, but they sure will eat your candy! And don’t miss the bonus features from other famous members of the VIZ Kids family!
I’m excited about all the sponsors books. It will be a great Free Comic Book Day event.
I know Marvel and DC have both Gold and Silver issues, but I’d like to see both publishers use the Gold titles for kid-friendly titles. The Gold issues go to EVERY store, and really, does Marvel and DC really need to use FCBD to promote the next event (which doesn’t really appeal to new readers, which is the point of FCBD)? It’s preaching to the choir. Were I a retailer, I’d rather have the kids’ titles to hand out, and then order copies of the event tie-ins to interested fans.
The silver Dark Horse title will include R.I.P.D., Mass Effect, and The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.
I find it funny that even FCBD comics from DC/Marvel are top secret and contain some universe changing revelations that cannot be revealed too early.
For the second time, I have a book being released as part of FCBD. Two of my Strawberry Shortcake stories will appear in Ape Entertainment’s flipbook. And one of them, “The Blueberry Flu,” was co-written by my then-9-year-old daughter, Meredith. It was her first published comics work (she’s since had more), and we’re thrilled it’ll be part of FCBD.
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