Forget Cinco De Mayo--Tomorrow Is FREE COMIC BOOK DAY

Tomorrow, Saturday May 6 2006, is the fifth annual Free Comic Book Day. On this day, comic book stores across the nation will be offering for free to anyone who comes in a selection of special edition comics from publishers large and small. The goal of the promotion is bring new people into reading comics and shopping at comic shops by showing them the range of what's available and letting them sample it at no cost.

In addition, Free Comic Book Day also allows those who do read comics a chance to check out titles they don't normally buy. For instance, on the very first Free Comic Book Day, I picked up a special edition of the first issue of a book called Hopeless Savages, which has now become one of my favorite comics.

Super-heroes will be well represented, of course, with DC offering a special edition of Justice League Unlimited #1, the comic based on the Cartoon Network series based on the DC comic, while Marvel is offering X-Men/ Runaways, a crossover starring two of their most popular teams. In addition to the capes and tights, though, there will be comics covering a range of genres and I'd bet almost anyone will be able to find something they'll enjoy.

For the kids, there will be an entry from Archie Comics and Gemstone, publisher of comics starring the Walt Disney stable of characters, offers a comic starring Donald Duck. Dark Horse Comics' offering features two of their most popular licensed properties, Star Wars and Conan the Barbarian. Eighties nostalgia rears its ugly head in comics featuring The Transformers and G.I. Joe, and Bongo comics offers up a sampling of comics based on the long running animated TV show The Simpsons. For Manga fans, Tokyopop, America's largest publisher of Manga, previews three upcoming series in Tokyopop Sneak.

For me, the book to get will once again be Amelia Rules, another one of my favorite comics. This one tells the story of nine year old Amelia McBride, who moves with her mother from new York city to a small town in Pennsylvania to live with her former rock star aunt after her parents divorce. Writer/artist Jimmy Gownley offers up a hialrious and touching look at life through the eyes of a little girl.

The books I've described above are only a few of the titles being offered tomorrow. The full list is at the Free Comic Book Day web-site, or just pop into the nearest comic book store and see for yourself.