Comicdom’s biggest day of the year returns on Saturday, albeit in a new form. As Mark Briscoe might say, the word of the day is “bifurcation.” The event we once knew as Free Comic Book Day and was run by Diamond Comics has been split into two as a result of their bankruptcy and the sale of their assets.
In one corner, you still have Free Comic Book Day, with new owner Universal Distribution and their partner, Lunar Distribution. In the other, you have Comics Giveaway Day, an upstart that came into being when Penguin Random House decided they wanted to participate in giving out free comics, but apparently not in the official “Free Comic Book Day” event. Net-net for fans, there will be free comics on Saturday from a host of different publishers at many comic shops, some with one logo, some with another. Either way, free comics!
So where do you get these free comics? At your local comic shop, of course — if they are participating. The Free Comic Book Day website still has a store locator you can use to find a participating retailer. Comics Giveaway Day does not have a dedicated website, but you can find more details on the PRH website, which has a Google Maps link detailing participating stores.
Many publishers use the event as an opportunity to reshare a recent favorite title or offer a prelude to an upcoming storyline or crossover. Still other will produce something wholly original or introduce a brand new title. I’ve pulled out a few that look interesting to me below. Some things to keep in mind:
- Not every retailer may have every title. Depending on their shop, they may elect to only have titles they think will excite their clientele.
- Some retailers may limit the number of free comics you can take, while others may require a purchase.
- Speaking of which, while titles are free to consumers, they are not free to retailers. So you may want to think about buying some other comics while you’re there regardless.
- Some of the titles will also be available digitally, in case you can’t make it out on Saturday. So be sure to check your favorite digital comics site on Saturday as well.
Here a few highlights to look for:
Armageddon / X-Men #1 (Marvel, Free): Chip Zdarsky, Jed MacKay, Ryan North, Federico Vicentini and Francesco Mobili contribute to this preview of two major Marvel events. Avengers: Armageddon will feature Red Hulk threatening the entire Marvel Universe, while the X-Men face their own summer event in DNX. Oh, and “Doom” is lurking somewhere in the middle of all of it. If you want to know where Marvel is headed for the rest of 2026, this is a pretty good roadmap. Or half of it, anyway …
Amazing Spider-Man / Queen in Black #1 (Marvel, Free): And here’s the other half. Joe Kelly, Al Ewing, Phillip Kennedy Johnson, John Romita Jr., Iban Coello and Nic Klein set the stage for Amazing Spider-Man #1000, the Queen in Black and future issues of Infernal Hulk.
The Nice House on the Lake #1 FCBD Special Edition (DC, Free): DC is taking the reprint route with their selections this year, promoting recent releases like DC Next Level and their Sonic crossover comics. For this one they go way back in time to offer a new edition of the first issue of an Eisner Award-winning classic from James Tynion IV and Álvaro Martínez Bueno. This 48-page reprint of the first issue is a well-timed entry point, what with Vertigo’s return and The Nice House by the Sea getting back on track this year.
Energon Universe FCBD 2026 Special (Image/Skybound, Free): Joshua Williamson, Robert Kirkman, Daniel Warren Johnson and more deliver four new stories spanning the worlds of Transformers, G.I. Joe, Void Rivals and M.A.S.K. Skybound is really good at surprises, so this one is worth grabbing, especially since Skybound will release this as a paid comic later. Get it for free while you can.
The Greatest American Hero FCBD 2026 (AMP, Free): Don Handfield and Alper Gelcel bring back the bumbling superhero from the beloved 1980s TV series, which is about a guy who found an alien supersuit and never quite figured out how it worked. This preview finds him trying to reconnect with a son who only knows him as the “crazy man in red pajamas.” AMP will launch a new series featuring our hero later this year.
Mind MGMT / Fort Psycho FCBD Special (Oni Press, Free): Matt Kindt’s new Flux House imprint launches with a double feature, as he presents two brand-new short stories teasing his upcoming series Mind MGMT: New & Improved and Fort Psycho, co-created with Brian Hurtt. Mind MGMT takes us back to Kindt’s psychic espionage world, and Fort Psycho looks like a fun, high-octane action companion piece. I spoke with Kindt about Mind MGMT recently, which you can read here.
Conan the Barbarian: Tides of the Tyrant King #0 (Titan, Free): Jim Zub and Jesus Marino preview the upcoming Conan miniseries pitting the Cimmerian against Thulsa Doom, the Atlantean necromancer whose dark power is stirring once more, threatening to let the dead overtake the living. Zub and Titan have built Conan into a franchise, and it’s always fun to see what he has in store for the future.
Dungeon Crawler Carl #0 (Vault, Free): If you’ve somehow missed the New York Times bestselling LitRPG phenomenon, this is your chance to sample the graphic novel adaptation before committing. The premise: a man gets dumped, gets trapped in a sadistic alien game show and has to survive it with his ex-girlfriend’s cat. Already beloved in prose form, the comics adaptation should prove to be popular.
Power Rangers #0 (BOOM! Studios, Free): Three new Morphin Grid-charged adventures in one giveaway issue, including a short story featuring the classic Mighty Morphin team and a preview of Power Rangers Unlimited #1, the ambitious new 12-issue series launching in July. That series promises to pull 30-plus years of Rangers from every season of the TV show and every comics run into a single epic story, written by Joey Esposito and Kenny Porter with art by Alessio Zonno. So if you’re a fan, go go to your local comic shop this Saturday, because it’s morphin’ time.
The Future Is ***** Annual 2026 (Rekcah Comics, Free): Fred Van Lente and Juan Gedeon deliver a self-contained introduction to the ongoing hacker series, with a Paul Pope cover. Van Lente promises giant guns and monsters, which sounds about right for a book that bills itself as “the greatest hacker comic book of all time.”
Deicidium: Omens FCBD 2026 Preview (Image, Free): Ram V, Evan Cagle and Anand Radhakrishnan offer a black-and-white first look at their new sci-fi world where theocracies and corporations have merged into a single power structure, worship is currency and ancient gods are suddenly manifesting through ordinary people. The powers that be have one response: find them and kill them.
World of Archie FCBD 2026 (Archie Comics, Free): Archie Comics celebrates 85 years with an all-ages anthology spotlighting corners of the Archie universe beyond the main gang. Fan-favorite creators Dan Parent, Holly G! and more contribute to what should be a fun celebration of the publisher’s big anniversary.
Something Is Killing the Children: Road to Slaughter #1 (BOOM! Studios, Free): James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera bring Erica Slaughter back from the dead (or at least from presumed death) in a prologue chapter that sets the stage for her return. The House of Slaughter is being contested, the Order of St. George is making its move and somewhere on a bus on a lonely American road, a young blonde woman with haunted eyes is very much still alive. This one promises new material, so if you’re a fan, definitely pick it up.
Blue Lock Full Color Selection & Dragon Circus #1 (Kodansha, Free): Later this year Kodansha will release full-color versions of the global soccer manga phenomenon Blue Lock, which you can preview here. There’s also a preview of Dragon Circus, a modern fantasy pitting a team of a vampire, an android, a legendary ogre’s animated remains and a little girl against an army of dragons.