SAY "HELLO, DARKNESS" this FREE COMIC BOOK DAY
it's me and Chloe Brailsford, we're your old friends
I love Free Comic Book Day.
I mean, we all like free stuff, but Free Comic Book Day is about more than just stuffing your bag with free floppies. For shops that participate, FCBD is like a cross between Black Friday and a Block Party, with giveaways, sales, special guests, cosplayers, and more.
The first Saturday in May, this year it falls on Saturday, May 3rd. Not every store participates, but if there’s a shop you’ve been wanting to check out for the first time, there’s no better day than Free Comic Book Day. Click the link here to find a participating shop near you!
I have so many fond memories of FCBD - some of my first adult trips to a comic shop were on FCBD, and I spent several years in comics retail. FCBD was always a special day where we were on our feet from dawn to dusk and exhausted at the end of it. It was a marathon done for the love of the game, and for one of our biggest sales days of the year. Which is to say - the comics are not free for retailers, and they rely on the big sales numbers of FCBD to buoy them after the slow winter season. It’s a good time to support a local business.
Now, I get to attend FCBD events as a creator, which feels really special. I often spend the day signing books and talking to kids and adults who are picking out their very first comic. I often find myself going into retail mode where I’m dying to give a recommendation that lands and I forget that I’m supposed to be there promoting myself.
As a kid who didn’t feel welcome in most comic book shops, an event like this would have changed my life. I’ve been to FCBD celebrations with food trucks, face painters, moon bounces, raffles, cupcakes, and Batman. If you’re a parent or babysitter looking for cheap fun to be had with a handful of small kids, look into this year’s festivities near you.
THIS IS ALL VERY SWEET, BUT ARE THERE ACTUALLY FREE COMIC BOOKS, OR-
Yes! Sorry, of course there are. Instead of just picking a free back issue or whatever, publishers make a special FCBD giveaway comic that is typically meant to promote their upcoming offerings. In the past, I’ve been part of the Free Comic Book Day offering from Oni Press, DC, and more. It’s always kind of a fun honor, knowing that a lot of your audience might be people who typically don’t read comics and picked this up because it was free. This year, I was asked by the lovely David Mariotte at Boom! if I wanted to do a story for FCBD under the banner of HELLO DARKNESS, their incredible ongoing horror anthology, and of course I said yes.
Prepare for a Hollywood-flavored bad dream in AFTERS, by me and Chloe Brailsford.
Chloe’s a fantastic independent artist who I’ve wanted to work with for some time, and her work never fails to give a gritty, cinematic vibe I thought would be perfect here. Luckily, David agreed, and with some lettering help by Jodie Troutman, we put together a short 5-page horror delight. Chloe and I had fun combining sexy girls and truly surreal horror, and you can read it on May 3rd.
ARE YOU SIGNING ANYWHERE?
I don’t actually know yet! I just remembered last week that I had this coming out and that I could and should tell you all about it. This is what a few months away from regular releases does to a person. If you’re reading this and you work at a shop and you want me to come sign there, let’s talk! I’ll update you all if this changes.
WELCOME TO THE WRONG GALAXY
I was so delighted recently when deranged comedienne and fellow Rick & Morty scribe Grace Freud invited me to read at Wrong Galaxy, her monthly speculative fiction reading event. Hosted at Stories Books and Cafe in Los Angeles, I felt from the second I arrived that this place was terribly too cool for me.
But honestly, once the show started, I was enjoying myself too much to be nervous. Grace hosted as the brilliant Gestalt Penumbra, making a bunch of jokes that were side-splittingly funny if you, like me, really like jokes about mid-century science fiction writers.
All of the extremely talented and proven writers brought stories that were funny, clever, cynical, and modern. Thankfully Grace is putting together a zine containing some of the readings, which I’ll link here when available - I truly can’t wait to get a chance to re-read some of these stories.
I went up last and read a section of DOGSIDE, which paid subscribers here will be familiar with, and I felt a really nice and warm reception from the crowd and other readers. I soaked in the nice vibe for precisely 30 seconds before disappearing into the night. But I can’t lie - I might be a little addicted. Catch me at more of these prose readings - if you’ve got one going on in the Los Angeles area, let me know!
I’ve still got some signed CATWOMAN: NINE LIVES trades available in the shop, as well as some HARLEY QUINN: CLOWN ABOUT TOWN trades, featuring Sweeney Boo and I’s final arc of HARLEY QUINN. If you’re looking to get caught up on my work with these girls, you might wanna do so soon, as there’s more coming any day now…
Speaking of Free Comic Book Day, keep your eyes on the shop. These floppies are taking up too much room, so if you’re looking to stock up on rare variants, it might be your lucky day soon!
With that, I’m back to fine-tuning one pitch and building the other from the ground up - that’s the nature of the beast. What’s driving you creatively, lately?
Stay weird, talk soon -
TH 4.23.2025 18:25
Hello Darkness has been quite good so far and the Frison variants are wonderfully creepy.