Free Comic Book Day

Diamond Comics Distributors and the Free Comic Book Day Committee have announced the twelve Gold Sponsor comic book titles for next year's Free Comic Book Day. FCBD is held on the first Saturday in May at participating comic book shops, and the next one happens on May 7th, 2016. The Gold Titles represent the industry's top publishers, and feature a variety of styles and stories for all kinds of comics readers.

As has become a tradition for Valiant over the last couple of years, the publisher's Free Comic Book Day offering closes with teasers for new books launching later in 2015. This year's comic teased returns for Archer & Armstrong, Eternal Warrior, and Harbinger; it looks as though Valiant is bringing it all back harder than an S Club 7 reunion tour.

Visiting the bustling hive of energy that was Edinburgh Comic Con back in mid-April, I was delighted to see that the table of dynamic duo John Lees and Iain Laurie had completely sold out of their critically acclaimed horror comic, And Then Emily Was Gone. With a highly anticipated prequel, And Then Emily Was Gone #0, as one of the highlights of the 2015 Free Comic Book Day slate, what better time to sit down and talk horror, David Lynch, Scottish folklore, and how such a wicked comic ever reached our shelves with Lees and Laurie?

Iscariot is the story of Carson, a young woman taught magic by a rebellious old magician in order to save her from cancer, and of her struggles to adapt to what her life becomes. It promises to be a powerful tale, beautifully told by author S.M. Vidaurri --- and readers who want an advance preview can see a few pages right here, or pick up the Boom/Archaia Free Comic Book Day comic this weekend. You may know Vidaurri's work from his contributions to Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Witches, or from his exquisite and affecting previous book, Iron, Or The War After, a tale of post-war reconciliation and resistance told with anthropomorphic animals. ComicsAlliance spoke to Vidaurri to find out what inspired this new tale, how he chose the visual language, and why cardinals play a recurring role in his comics!

You know that scene in Road House where Dalton talks about how a certain phrase is just two nouns put together to elicit a response? That's the way I feel about Chris Sheridan's Motorcycle Samurai. Except, you know, in a good way. Described pretty accurately as "Mad Max meets Kill Bill," the series originally ran digitally at Thrillbent, and in July, it's coming to print. Top Shelf will release Motorcycle Samurai Vol. 1: A Fiery Demise, a softcover clocking in at 176 pages, telling the story of the White Bolt and how she delivered a bounty to a town called Trouble, and if you haven't already read it, it's going to be something you'll want to pick up.

For 2000 AD, this year's Free Comic Book Day wasn't just going to be a platform to get their comics into the hands of new readers, it was going to mark the debut of legendary Batman artist Norm Breyfogle on their flagship character, Judge Dredd. Unfortunately, Breyfogle stuffered a stroke in December, leaving the left-handed artist partially paralyzed on his left side and facing massive bills for medical care and therapy. With Breyfogle unable to draw the story, Mike Hawthorne stepped in as the artist of "Judge Dredd: In Through The Out Door," and today, Hawthorne announced that he has arranged for a portion of his fee to be donated to Breyfogle to help with his recovery.

Bunnies! Do you love them? Of course you do --- why would you even bother going on the internet if you weren't hoping to see some new bunnies on here somewhere? The good news for all us fans of rabbits is that the world of comics will imminently meet once more with the world of bunnies, following the announcement of a new graphic novel from cartoonist Kean Soo. Soo released a trailer this week for his latest book, March Grand Prix, and we're lighting the bunny alert signal here at ComicsAlliance.

Whatever the Marvel Universe looks like after Secret Wars, we now have confirmation that Miles Morales is a part of it. The final members of Marvel's post-Secret Wars Avengers roster were revealed this morning, and as just about everyone had guessed, the figure front and center is Miles Morales, the Ultimate Spider-Man. He joins a team that also includes Iron Man, Vision, Captain America (Sam Wilson), Thor (current version), Nova (Sam Alexander), and Ms Marvel. All of which most people had also already guessed. The creative team for the Free Comic Book Day comic that introduces this team has been revealed as Mark Waid, Mahmud Asrar and Laura Martin; presumably they'll also be the creative team on the title proper.

All-New All-Different Avengers is one of two Marvel Free Comic Book Day titles, alongside Secret Wars #0, and while the latter sets the stage for Marvel's multiversal summer event, the former is our first look at what the new Marvel Universe will look like after Secret Wars --- so of course, Marvel is only telling us so much. The publisher has now revealed a cover for the Free Comic Book Day All-New All-Different Avengers comic, but most of the cover remains in silhouette. Still, that won't stop us from wildly speculating (and maybe even making some informed guesses).

Welcome to the latest episode of ComicsAlliance Presents “Kate or Die,” a series of exclusive comic strips created by one of our favorite cartoonists, Kate Leth! In this personal episode, Kate explains how big an impact Free Comic Book Day can really have on a person.