This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day, an opportunity for retailers to not only bring new customers into their stores, but also to get media coverage. You can do a quick search of Google News to see all the local coverage the event has been getting, but this story in particular jumped out at me because it involves Joe Field, who came up with the idea of Free Comic Book Day back in 2001.
Field’s store, Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff in Concord, California, has been a staple of the community for decades, but will have to move to a new location early next year after their lease expires — making this Saturday the last FCBD at their current shop.
“We’re very hopeful and now actually pretty excited by what the future of Flying Colors could be,” Field told the San Jose Mercury News. “There are a lot of unknowns — like how many of our faithful customers will want to create a new habit of going to a different spot to support us? How many new customers can we cultivate moving to a different spot? How strong will the market for comics and graphic novels be over the next bunch of years? Can we afford to do this when we are already technically past the standard retirement date?”
Despite those questions, Field says they hope that “we continue to build community and continue to spread happiness through our comic book business. That’s when everything will be a success.”
Continue reading “Quick Hits | Free Comic Book Day founder prepares for the last event at the location where the event was born”