Comic fans count down to Free Comic Book Day each year when iconic comic publishers join forces to offer many comics FREE in over 2,300 stores across the United States. The annual day is promoted by the North American Comic Book sector to encourage new readers and comic enthusiasts to support their local comic book outlets.
The idea behind the day came about when Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, California, noticed an uptick in comic sales in realation to a new superhero movie's release. The event was first discussed in Fields suggestion in in "Big Picture" column for Comics & Games Retailer magazine. The first event was held on May 4, 2002 in conjunction with opening weekend of Spider-Man (2002).
Diamond Comic Distributors organized the first Free Comic Book event and reported that over 2,000 stores participated and gave away more than 2 million issues. Throughout the years, the event has grown and gained recognition
Free Comic Book Day is held on the first Saturday of May and over the years has coinsided with the release of popular movies including Iron Man (2008), Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) & Vol. 3 (2023), and more.
Most fans of The Walking Dead series know it derives its source material from the comic story created by Robert Kirkman. While some viewed the series as they were huge fans of the comic, others tuned in because they enjoyed the genre. There are many TWD fans who have chosen not to read the comics and comic fans who have never watched the series.
Image Comics offers the first issue of The Walking Dead comic in digital format for free. You can check it out on their website. While the series remains true to the inspiration of the source material, it does take liberties throughout the 11 seasons by changing up the story and introducing characters never featured in the comic.
The final page of the comic features noteworthy commentary by Kirkman. In it, he explains his idea for this story and, at the time, believed The Walking Dead was his "most serious piece of work I've done so far in my career." Kirkman goes on to explain that TWD isn't a horror book but rather a survivalist adventure and praises artist Tony Moore for his contribution.
