The Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) Committee has selected the 12 Gold Sponsor comic book titles for the comic book industry’s most anticipated annual event: Free Comic Book Day! FCBD happens each year on the first Saturday in May at participating comic book shops worldwide, with next year’s event taking place on May 2.
The titles were curated by over twenty comic shop retailers who make up the FCBD Selection Committee. This year’s comic book lineup features something for everyone: from superheroes, to popular television shows and video games, to beloved franchises, and all-ages favorites. The Gold Sponsor titles come from the industry’s top publishers, including DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, Image Comics, Archie Comics, BOOM! Studios, Macmillan/First Second Books, Valiant Entertainment, Random House Children’s Books, Ten Speed Press, and VIZ Media.
“The quality of titles from publisher applicants made for some tough choices this year,” said Ashton Greenwood, Free Comic Book Day spokesperson. “It’s a solid indicator that Free Comic Book Day truly is the ideal event to showcase the best titles you can find in comic book shops. We can’t wait to once again share the FCBD experience with fans and everyone who loves comic books.”
FREE COMIC BOOK DAY 2020: GOLD COMICS
Archie Comics | ARCHIE BLUE RIBBON PRESENTS
BOOM! Studios | POWER RANGERS FCBD 2020 SPECIAL
Dark Horse Comics | NORSE MYTHOLOGY/ CRITICAL ROLE
DC Comics | DC COMICS TOP SECRET GOLD BOOK
IDW Publishing | MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC
Image Comics | FIREPOWER #1 – ROBERT KIRKMAN & CHRIS SAMNEE
Macmillan/ First Second Books| INVESTIGATORS: TAKE THE PLUNGE SNEAK PEEK
Marvel Comics | X-MEN
Random House Children’s Books | ONLY A MATTER OF SPACE TIME
Ten Speed Press | JACK KIRBY: THE EPIC LIFE OF THE KING OF COMICS
Valiant Entertainment | VALIANT 30TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
VIZ Media | THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS / SPLATOON: SQUID KIDS COMEDY SHOW
Diamond Comic Distributors is revealed the artwork for the commemorative artist T-shirts available for Free Comic Book Day 2020. Award winning artist and illustrator, Jeffrey Brown, has created a one-of-kind design emphasizing the timelessness of comic books for this year’s FCBD 2020 T-shirt. The T-shirt is available for pre-order at comic book shops starting December 20 and is featured in the January issue of Diamond’s PREVIEWS catalog. Available in men’s sizes (MSRP: $14.99-$17.99) in black and navy, in women’s sizes (MSRP: $14.99-$17.99) in black and forest green, and in youth sizes (MSRP: $11.99) in black and light blue.
Jeffrey Brown began his comics career alternating between intimate, sincere auto-biographical works including the critically acclaimed Clumsy and humorous parodies such as Incredible Change-Bots. Brown combined his personal style and deep fan knowledge of Star Wars into the New York Times bestsellers Darth Vader and Son and Vader’s Little Princess, and followed up with the middle grade series Jedi Academy. He has also explored prehistoric cave-kid life with Lucy & Andy Neanderthal and elementary school with his picture book My Teacher Is A Robot. Jeffrey returned to everyday life in the Star Wars universe with Rey and Pals, and the first volume of his new science fiction series Space-Time! launches in June 2020, with a preview available at participating comic shops as a Free Comic Book Day 2020 Gold sponsor title.
Brown’s artwork for the FCBD 2020 Commemorative T-Shirt captures the timelessness of comic books while highlighting the enduring ability of comic book shops to bring together pop culture fans and forge a sense of community.
“I’m honored to have been asked to draw this year’s shirt for Free Comic Book Day. Comic shops have been a constant in my life going back to when I was a kid getting off the bus two stops early so I could shop at my local store before walking home. There wasn’t a free comic book day back then, but they did occasionally give me free comics – whenever I was listlessly searching the shelves for something new, they would inevitably put a comic in my hands and say ‘try this’, sending me on my way with the latest issue of a series (that would inevitably be added to my pull list when I came back the following week),” said Brown. “It’s great that now we have Free Comic Book Day to not just get new readers to try comics or old readers to read something they haven’t, but also to celebrate these comic shops that are such a big part of our lives as readers.”
Organizers also announced the upcoming release of this year’s Free Comic Book Day PREVIEWS Exclusive (PX) collectible merchandise available only during the event.
Funko leads the way with their first-ever PREVIEWS Exclusive Mystery Box (JAN200050-64; SRP: $34.99)! The mystery box features a brand-new Marvel Comics POP! PX bobble-head figure, an exclusive PX Marvel Funko Variant Comic Book (title TBA) and a PX Funko POP! Character Tee! POP! figure comes in standard Funko window box packaging for easy display, while the Marvel comic book features cover art in the Funko style, depicting the Mystery Box’s featured POP! character in three randomly distributed designs: Main Variant Cover (65%), No Logo Variant (25%), Gold Logo Cover (10%)! There are three Mystery boxes to choose from, A, B, and C, each with its own exclusive T-Shirt design of the featured POP! character. The featured character in the box is a mystery for now, but Funko and Free Comic Book Day will be announcing the featured character in mid-March!
Try to keep your mind clear when you look at FCBD’s Diamond Select Toys sculpture of the X-Men’s resident Femme Fatale, Emma Frost (OCT190014; SRP $49.99)! Shipping exclusively to stores participating in Free Comic Book Day, this approximately 12-inch PREVIEWS Exclusive PVC diorama features detailed sculpting and paint applications and comes packaged in a full-color window box for display.
Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man, thrilled audiences in the animated blockbuster Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Now, this PREVIEWS Exclusive 1.2″ hard enamel pin of Miles Morales (OCT190015; SRP $10.00) from Mondo Tees will be just as exciting to your customers on Free Comic Book Day! The butterfly clutch pin comes on an Into the Spider-Verse backing card.
The PREVIEWS Exclusive Black Widow HeroClix Figure from Wizkids/NECA is based on Marvel Studios’ upcoming Black Widow movie! The Exclusive FCBD 2020 Marvel HeroClix Exclusive Figure will include an exclusive HeroClix figure and character card in a polybag with a hangtag.
WizKids/NECA! have also paired up with Marvel and DC to offer fans a selection of PREVIEWS Exclusive Dice Masters Team Packs. The Dice Masters Marvel and DC FCBD 2020 promotion offers gamers deal pricing on three backlist Dice Masters Team Packs, giving retailers an opportunity to introduce the Marvel and DC Dice Masters game to their customers at a low price point. The Dice Masters Team Pack from Marvel (OCT190017; SRP $11.25) includes the Dark X-Men Team Pack, Defenders Team Pack, and the Kree Invasion Team Pack. The Dice Masters Team Pack from DC (OCT190016; SRP $11.25) includes the Harley Quinn Team Pack, Mystics Team Pack, and the Doom Patrol Team Pack.
For more FCBD news and updates, visit www.freecomicbookday.com.
