Marvel has you covered if you can’t get to Free Comic Book Day this year!
‘MARVEL ZERO’
This year, Free Comic Book Day will be held in the first Saturday of May, the 6th! It’s always a big deal for local comics shops, and the free comics often encourage fans to buy a store’s other wares. Shop owners love that!
Some of the most popular give-always on FCBD are always the Marvel issues, of course, so your LCS might run out before you can get there! Marvel is going to make sure you can buy these books since they are helping to launch important storylines in the months ahead! They will be available in the new Marvel Zero book in stores on July 5.
The comic will feature two stories, with one about Spider-Man and the other focusing on the X-Men.
Here’s what the official Marvel news release says about the Spider-Man tale: “Spidey faces a new villain while two classic villains return, setting the stage for the explosive upcoming story arcs in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN! If you thought you knew how Venom fit into the history of the Marvel Universe, prepare to be proved WRONG with a shocking story that sets up the next huge epic coming to VENOM!”
And here’s the info about the X-Men: “FALL OF X begins! A new threat to mutantkind emerges while the X-Men’s HELLFIRE GALA is in full swing—one with a very familiar visage! And with the world in disarray, the moment calls for a new alliance between heroes both mutant and otherwise—the all-new UNCANNY AVENGERS!”
This is the first time the House of Ideas is selling the FCBD releases in a special comic. No word yet about how much Marvel Zero will cost.
SELLING WHAT PREVIOUSLY WAS FREE
I do know that a lot of fans struggle to get FCBD books, especially if their schedule interferes with FCBD. Granted, some shops order tons to give out, but others have to be much more judicious when it comes to letting people pick up the freebies. They do pay for these “free” give-aways, you know!
Given that a few months have passed since FCBD when Marvel Zero hits the stands, I think this is a practice that other companies will follow, particularly if fans get truly interested in what those free books offer.
Some FCBD comics are like ashcan editions, with the first several pages in the book available for review. Others, though, give prequels or preambles that the comic actually does not have, and if the series catches the attention of many of us, well, they’ll be in demand, to put it blithely.
It’ll all depend on fan interest, to be sure!
NUMBERING, NUMBERING, NUMBERING
One of the concerns I have about Marvel Zero has to do with how collectors will store them. Is this premiere edition actually #0 (It does have “zero” in the title, after all) or is it #1?
To those of us who are mostly just readers, that sounds ridiculous. However, if one is buying the comics and wants to store them in their collection, that’s an important consideration especially when the owner decides to show or sell the book. Where is it catalogued? Collectors need to know, and fast!
Number one’s always are more valuable than any other issues in the set, even more than a #0 book. If I were the House of Ideas, I would just call include the year in the title, such as making next year’s edition called Marvel Zero 2024. It may be too late to do that for this year, though!
Given that this book has previews of two franchises that are big in Marvel, collectors just might want to grab two copies of this book so one can be included in each set. It’s a good thing each story has its own issue on FCBD!
I’m just curious to see what this initial book will cost. Will it be $4.99? Doubtful since it is a larger issue. I’d figure on $6.99 or $7.99, but we’ll see when it gets solicited in a month or two!
As for Free Comic Book Day itself, it’s only a few weeks away, so it’s a good idea to plan out that day so you can get to your LCS in time to get the freebies you want!
What do you think? Is Marvel Zero a good idea? Will it be a sleeper hit among fans because it will highlight big upcoming tales? Or will stores order enough of the free version that they will only need to buy enough for the collectors there? Whatever your opinions, be sure to share them in the space below!
Dear Spoilerite,
At Major Spoilers, we strive to create original content that you find interesting and entertaining. Producing, writing, recording, editing, and researching requires significant resources. We pay writers, podcast hosts, and other staff members who work tirelessly to provide you with insights into the comic book, gaming, and pop culture industries. Help us keep MajorSpoilers.com strong. Become a Patron (and our superhero) today.
Wayne Hall creates the Wayne's Comics Podcast. He’s interviewed Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, John Layman, Kyle Higgins, Phil Hester, Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray, David Petersen, Christos Gage, Mike Grell, and Matt Kindt. On this site each week, he writes his "Comics Portal" column (general comics comments and previews) and reviews comics.