Andy Diggle and Sean Phillips at FP Edinburgh for Free Comic Book Day

(via Forbidden Planet International: On Free Comic Book Day (Saturday May the 4th) the Edinburgh Forbidden Planet International will be welcoming artist Sean Phillips and writer Andy Diggle for a special signing session from 3 to 5.00pm.

Get yourself down into Edinburgh’s historic Old Town for a chance to meet two of the UK’s finest creators who have taken their work from the UK to the international scene.

Ron Smith joins other 2000AD for Free Comic Book day signing

Legendary 2000AD artist Ron Smith is to appear at a signing in London to mark Free Comic Book Day – his first signing for well over a decade.

Revered by Judge Dredd fans for his satirical and, at times, bizarre take on the world of Mega-City One, the 89-year-old artist will be joined by writers Dan Abnett (Sinister Dexter, Insurrection) and Al Ewing (Zombo), and artist Ben Willsher (Judge Dredd) for this signing.

The event will take place from 1pm on 4th May at the Forbidden Planet Megastore on Shaftesbury Avenue, London.

A former Spitfire pilot and animator, Ron first appeared in 2000AD in 1978 before helping define Dredd’s futuristic world, from the League of Fatties to the craze for Otto Sump’s ‘ugly’ products.

Considered one of the ‘big four’ Dredd artists alongside Carlos Ezquerra, Mick McMahon, and Brian Bolland, Ron is also one of the most prolific artists in 2000AD’s history and his work continues to delight fans thanks to the best-selling Judge Dredd: The Complete Case Files series.


Ron also drew many of the Judge Dredd newspaper strips for the Daily Star. Beyond 2000AD, his comics credits, which date back to the 1950s, also include "Codename Warlord" for DC Thomson's Warlord, and he is credited with the creation of the British hero "King Cobra" for Hotspur, now revived in STRIP Magazine.

Now retired from illustration, Ron has not attended a public signing for many years and fans should grab this opportunity to meet one of the greatest Judge Dredd artists of all time.

Free Comic Book Day is an annual event in May each year aimed at helping promote local comic book stores and the comics industry in general. Participating shops across the world give away special comic books free to anyone who comes into their stores.

• More about the Forbidden Planet Free Comic Book day evets here on the Forbidden Planet Megastore web site

• Download a copy of the "Thank You, Ron" comic given to Ron last year, organised by the Everything Comes Back to 2000AD web site (zip file)

Forbidden Planet announces Free Comic Book Day plans

Want to discover comics and need a place to start? Then visit any branch of Forbidden Planet on 5th May - Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Book Day is perfect for fans and newcomers alike – if you love the idea of comics, these are titles to give you a great taste of what’s waiting for you. You can join the comics revolution – discover comics for the first time or return to the fold to see what you’ve been missing.

Forbidden Planet - the comics chain that has stores in London, Bristol and elsewhere - have bags of comics to give away that will provide you with a perfect jumping-in point, and they will be giving away loads of fantastic and cool titles to give away throughout the day.

They've got goody bags for kids and for grown-ups; characters ranging from The Avengers to 2000AD, from DC’s The New 52 and Star Wars to Mouse Guard and Transformers, from Buffy to Donald Duck - but get there early, as stocks are limited.

Please note that only comics marked as Free Comic Book Day titles are free of charge.

• To find your local Forbidden Planet, click here: http://forbiddenplanet.com/events/2012/05/05/discover-comics-free-comic-book-day/?affid=downthetubesfp

Comic Creators out to raise funds for charity on Free Comic Book Day

May 5th is the annual Free Comic Book Day and many comic creators are banding together not only to promote their books but also support charities.

Simon Furman, Andrew Wildman, Stephen Baskerville, Jason Cardy and JP Bove, the Transformers ReGeneration One team will be signing at Orbital Comics in Great Newport Street, London on the day, where you'll be able to get your  free copy of the comic, get it signed and make a donation to trasnform the life of a child less fortunate than yourself.

All proceeds from this upcoming event will be going to Make-A-Wish Foundation UK, the leading wishgranting charity that grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening conditions.

Draw the World Together recently teamed up with Make-A-Wish Foundation and addition to the usual ʻSketch for Donationsʼ model that Draw the World Together have
successfully used over the past few years they are now creating the possibility of having all
signatures at signing events in the UK raise a minimum of £1 per signature in aid of charity.

"Comic Book creative teams generally do not charge for signatures and it seems like the perfect opportunity for comic book fans and readers to express their support for those children who do not have the opportunities that many of us take for granted," explained DwT's Andrew Wildman. "This simple exchange between the professionals of the comic book world and their fans will help fund the amazing work undertaken by Make-A-Wish."

The Oribital Comics even, coinciding with Free Comic Book Day, will be the first event to implement this sceheme, but Andrew is hoping other comic creators will take up the challenge to raise money.

• For more information visit the website at www.drawtheworldtogether.com, or join DwT at facebook.com/drawtheworldtogether;  or contact Andrew Wildman - infoATdrawtheworldtogether.com

Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK is Charity Registration Nos. (England & Wales) 295672 (Scotland) SC037479

Free Comic Book Day is here!

Saturday 7th May is Free Comic Book Day - the day many specialist comic shops across the UK join with stores across the world to promote our industry by offering a range of free comics to attract, potentially, many new customers.

As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops.

Held the first Saturday in May each year, yes, the comics offered are really free, although different shops have policies on how many free comics you can receive. But you will receive at least one free comic if you enter a participating shop location. Check with your retailer for their policies and plans for FCBD.

Not every comic book store in the world doing this. Don't expect your local corner shop or WH Smiths to take kindly to you trying to walk out with the latest Beano or 2000AD (and anyway, there are specific comics that are being given away - see the official website, detailed below, for the list). This event celebrates the independent comic book specialty shops. Each one is unique in its community, with a style and personality all its own, and each one carries a full line of comics, graphic novels, toys and related products.

Free Comic Book Day is administered by a panel representing all parts of the comic book industry: retailers, publishers, suppliers, and Diamond Comic Distributors. Each year, publishers apply to provide comic books at cost to retailers, who in turn give them away for free. Diamond handles marketing and logistics for the event, shipping comics to shops and handling marketing and PR for the event.

While the organisers of FCBD hope every one of these shops will take part, each shop determines on its own whether or not to participate. You can check their shop locator for a comic shop near you.

- To find out if there's a shop near you taking part, visit: www.FreeComicBookDay.com, which has a shop locator service that will show you participating retailers in your area.

- Some digital distributors, such as www.graphic.ly, are also taking part in the event

Free Comic Book Day: a report from the (British) front line

Free Comic Book Day - an annual event to promote the comics industry worldwide - gets bigger and better every year, and for First Age Comics, based in the Assembly Rooms on King Street, Lancaster, the latest incarnation was easily the most successful and popular to date. Store owner Mark Braithwaite offers a snapshot of how the event went down for one of Britain's smaller, but enthusiastic shops...


This year, First Age Comics decided to go for a family fun theme on Free Comic Book Day, making sure we had something of interest for everyone. In addition to a wide array of quality comics, we made sure there were plenty of "All Ages" material around - and offered free comic-themed cupcakes, sweets and snacks throughout the day.

(The comic cupcakes were baked by Andrea Garcia, ably assisted by fiance Mike Charlton, who both did an amazing job coming up with so many different varieties. They proved to be a welcome addition to the First Age Comics Free Comic Book Day format).

Comics, cakes, sweets, balloons and music all combined to create a fun atmosphere. Kids couldn't believe what they were seeing, parents were thrilled to see the family enjoy themselves and everyone who came along spent the day discussing comics. What they currently read, what they want used to read and what they want to read.

From childrens disbelief that there really is a day in the year when anyyone can get free comics, to the former readers thrilled to see their favourite writers/artists still involved in the industry and the current readers who appreciate the chance to show everyone else just what they're missing - this event truly caters for all.

It's always fascinating to see which free comic is going to be the first to go. It was an easy call last year with DC Comics Blackest Night #0 in the most demand. Free Comic Book Day 2010 was a little more open with Kevin Smith's Green Hornet winning in the popularity stakes, closely followed by humour title The Tick. Evoking the most nostalgia was the Fraggle Rock edition and the Lady Gaga Fame comic, which attracted the most interest from the teenagers.

This year we added a 50% off sale on selected graphic novels, trade paperbacks and hardcovers and spent the build up to Free Comic Book Day 2010 ramping up the anticipation by introducing the Story Arc Stand. This is basically filled with comic bundles that make up a full story arc or mini-series priced at a competitive £1 an issue.

New sets were aded in the run up and some rather special bundles such as Legion Of Three Worlds and Marvel Zombies hit the Story Arc Stand for the first time on Free Comic Book Day.

Comic-themed soundtracks were played in the background, to much enjoyment and the re-usable fabric comic bags new to Free Comic Book Day this year also got a great reception. Local soundmeister Matthew Armitage kindly compiled the comic mixtape and in the midst of all this we even had time to give podcast interviews to ipod, ucast (soon to be available on itunes).

It's true that Free Comic Book Day was started to introduce new readers to comics, but over the years it's evolved. It's a celebration of creativity and whilst its primary goal must always be to introduce comics to new readers, it also gives retailers the chance to thank their customers for their continued support and also offer the opportunity to former readers to rediscover comics once more.

The response we've had from this years Free Comic Book Day has been incredibly overwhelming and First Age Comics are honoured to be a part of such a hugely popular event. We'd like to thank everyone involved in making Free Comic Book Day 2010 a fantastic success and look forward to participating in Free Comic Book Day 2011 and beyond.

Mark it in your calendar: the first Saturday of May is Free Comic Book Day.

• First Age Comics is at the Assembly Rooms, King Street, Lancaster LA1 1JN.

• Buy From First Age Comics On E-Bay: http://stores.shop.ebay.co.uk/First-Age

• Find First Age Comics On Comic Space: http://www.comicspace.com/first_age

• Follow First Age Comics On: http://twitter.com/FirstAgeComics