FCBD 2009 was a hit, as over 2,000 other comic book shops worldwide opened their doors and gave away more than 2 million comic books to readers of all ages. A record number of public and school libraries participated this year, attracting patrons and promoting the pleasure of reading.

Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their stores. An annual tradition for the past seven years, this year’s Free Comic Book Day took place on Saturday, May 2^nd.

The comics given away are created especially for Free Comic Book Day and represent a wide range of publishers and genres. Offerings for 2009 included many great comics for kids, such as Dark Horse Comics’ Star Wars: Clone Wars and IDW’s Transformers Animated; modern Superhero comics including DC Comics’ Blackest Night #0 and Marvel Comics’ The Avengers; Manga such as Viz’s Shonen Jump Presents: Ultimo; edgy adventures such as Oni Press’ Resurrection #0 and more!

FCBD 2009 saw a number of comic shops developing cross-promotional partnerships with local libraries and schools, donating books to give away and collaborating on special presentations and literacy workshops.

Several libraries hosted their own Free Comic Book Day, including the New Glasgow and Trenton Public Library in New Jersey, who created a video – available here - to promote the day. Adam Noble, Supervising Librarian, points out that the concept of giving away free comic is a natural fit for public libraries, where information is always available for free.

All Things Fun!, a comic shop in West Berlin, New Jersey, continued their annual tradition of bringing free comics to local libraries, along with Star Wars Stormtroopers from the local 501^st Legion to help hand out the comics and entertain patrons.

Free comics were given away to anyone who checked out a teen book on May 2^nd through the Pioneer Library System, serving Cleveland, McClain, and Pottawatomie counties in Oklahoma. Additionally, the PLS virtual library presented an interview with Dr. Buffy Edwards, adjunct instructor at the University of Oklahoma in the College of Education and School of Library and Information Studies, who has done extensive research on motivating middle school students to read with the use of graphic novels and comic books. A podcast of the interview is available here.

Participating publishers contributed over 30,000 comics to be donated to libraries, the military and other worthy causes. Even Hugh Jackman, star of star of X-Men Origins: Wolverine got in on the action this year, in a public service announcement on comics as a way to inspire a lifelong love of reading. To see the video, and to learn more about Free Comic Book Day, please visit www.freecomicbookday.com.