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Yes Virginia, there will still be a Free Comic Book Day this year. (And not just for Virginia, but every state and country who celebrates).

Free Comic Book Day is an annual one-day promotional event/informal holiday where participating comic publishers publish exclusive comics that participating comic book stores give out to customers (existing, and hopefully new!). Think of it like Record Store Day meets Baskin-Robbins' Free Scoop Night, but for comics - with everything from your Marvels to your DCs to your Narutos to your Transformers to your creator-owned books. 

The event, which has been held annually since 2002 - usually on the first Saturday in May - was in doubt as earlier this month after Diamond Comic Distributor, the organization behind FCBD, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to insolvency issues. According to ICV2, Diamond is "$50 to $100 million" in debt - with the companies they owe the most to being the very same publishers (either directly or through third-party entities) which provide the comic books and other merchandise it distributes. This has led one of the most prominent comic publishers in North America, Image Comics, to disallow Diamond to distribute its comics going forward.

Free Comic Book Day is one of the reasons Diamond's in debt

Sources have told Popverse that Diamond is going ahead with plans for Free Comic Book Day 2025 while it goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. That decision came despite the event being operated at a loss each year since it started, according to several individuals familiar with the financials of it.

"[Diamond] showed several of us the spreadsheet on costs [for Free Comic Book Day] one year and it exceeded $20,000 in supplies and support," large comic retailer chain owner Phil Boyle of Coliseum of Comics shared in a post on a retailer group. Popverse has corroborated that $20,000+ figure with two individuals formerly involved with Diamond's FCBD operations. When we asked FCBD founder Joe Field about it, he had an apt comparison.

"Diamond, through the sale of FCBD comics to retailers, has funded the promotion all these years....and taken a loss on it every year," says Field, who owns the California comic store Flying Colors. "FCBD is like adding another week or two of picking/packing/shipping comics, but cramming it in to a condensed time. 

The future of Free Comic Book Day

Although Diamond owns the FCBD brand and trademark, it will continue to allow other distributors (and publishers) to take part it the annual event as it has in the past - such as with DC, and its exclusive US comics store distributor Lunar. (DC has continued to participate in the event since splitting from Diamond back in 2020, although the publisher is not included in any promotion for the event, nor listed in the official event listing of releases each year, as a result.) Should Diamond Comic Distributors be sold as a result of its Chapter 11 filing, ownership of FCBD will presumably go to whomever becomes Diamond's new owners, but hopefully it'll remain an open-ended community effort.

Further to that, we are told those involved with Diamond's FCBD activities for this year are working on news that they expect will help with reservations publishers, comic stores, and fans might have about the plans for this year's Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 3, 2025.

What that is is still to be announced, but we'll have it for you when its been confirmed.

Get ready for what's next with our guide to upcoming comics, how to buy comics at a comic shop, and our guide to Free Comic Book Day 2025.