Free Comic Book Day returns on Saturday 3rd May 2025, and the FCBD Retailer Selection Committee has selected 46 comic book titles for the annual promotional event taking place at participating comic shops worldwide. British publishers Rebellion and Titan Comics have titles in the mix.
Taking place annually every May, Free Comic Book Day is an international event which finds participating comic shops giving away comic books from all the top publishers today – absolutely free!
For participating retailers, it’s not only a way to champion comics and find new readers, but a way for fans to help support local comic book shops by encouraging friends to check them out, perhaps for the very first time.
A committee of comic shop retailers chose 46 titles to be available on Free Comic Book Day: 13 Gold Sponsor comics and 33 Silver Sponsor comics that give fans an opportunity to discover new titles and genres. This year’s selection of Silver Sponsor comics includes franchises such as Star Wars, Godzilla, Transformers, Mega Man, and Street Fighter. Other notable Silver Sponsor titles are available from Alien Books, First Second Books, and Vault Comics.
The Best of 2000AD returns
On offer from Rebellion is the ultimate 2000AD mix-tape with a new collection of The Best of 2000AD – celebrating the past, present, and future of The Galaxy’s Greatest Comic.
Featuring a new cover from all-powerful artist Hayden Sherman (Absolute Wonder Woman), next year The Best of 2000AD will once again blast backwards and forwards through the timeline to deliver Thrill-Power straight to your cerebral cortex! Intended as a perfect introduction to 2000AD for first-time readers, this issue will feature titanic action and classic characters including Judge Dredd, Rogue Trooper, Judge Anderson, and more!
First up, Judge Dredd has to endure an all-out assault as he’s attacked on all sides – but why is everyone in Mega-City One gunning for the Lawman of the Future? In a classic story from superstar artist Jock (Wytches) and Dredd’s co-creator John Wagner, be careful when you’re Crossing Ken Dodd…
Next, Alex de Campi (Parasocial) and Silvia Califano (Star Trek) team up for a new story featuring Psi-Judge Anderson, celebrating 45 years since she first hit the streets of Mega-City One. Expect a high-stakes journey across the astral plane as Anderson comes face to face with cosmic horror…
Then there’s a classic Rogue Trooper Thriller from Peter Milligan (Hellblazer) and master artist José Ortiz, which is guaranteed to get you fanatical! With Duncan Jones’ Rogue Trooper feature film on the horizon, the 2000AD team have dived into the archives for a story which finds Rogue taking the fight straight to the Nort Army…
The FCBD The Best of 2000AD rounds off with an exclusive first – a glimpse into the actual future, as Ian Edginton and D’Israeli (War of the Worlds) present a new volume of their acclaimed Scarlet Traces, before the series, in which as a war of the worlds leads humanity into a new age of warfare, debuts in the weekly 2000AD later in 2025.
Featuring Exclusive Original Material, rated Teen, participating retailers can order copies of this title from Rebellion Developments using the Diamond order code DEC240036, with full details here
Conan the Barbarian, and Diablo, too, from Titan Comics
Titan Comics is also participating, with a special Conan the Barbarian giveaway and a still under wraps tie-in for their new Diablo title, based on the dungeon crawler game from Blizzard, returning to printed comics for the first time in over a decade.
Conan the Barbarian: Scourge of the Serpent, the newest epic Conan event, begins with this FCBD teaser, from fan favourite writer Jim Zub (Avengers, Dungeons & Dragons) and Ivan Gil, with a cover by superstar artist Roberto de la Torre (Conan the Barbarian).
The serpent god’s influence tightens its coils around the Hyborian Age and every other age linked to it. Three stunning supernatural stories will spiral together to answer a chilling question framed in past and present… What is Set’s grand plan for humanity and, now that it has begun, can it be stopped?
Featuring Exclusive Original Material, rated Mature, participating retailers can order copies of this title from Titan Comics using the Diamond order code DEC240012, with full details here
The Diablo giveaway comes ahead of the launch of Diablo: Dawn of Hatred, written by Cullen Bunn, with art by artist Daniele Serra, coloured by Jovanna Plata. The series is set after the events of Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred, the game’s recent expansion pack. There’s no cover for the FCBD title just yet, although Titan has released some character designs by Daniele Serra.
Horror auteur Cullen Bunn (Harrow County) teams up with award-winning illustrator Daniele Serra to explore the evils prowling Sanctuary following the cataclysmic events of Diablo IV and its first expansion Vessel of Hatred.
Derris and his barbarian tribe are in need of a miracle. With their leader gravely ill, they have traveled far seeking Akarat, champion of the poor and downtrodden. The people say that Akarat has risen after centuries of death to heal the world with Light… and Derris is nearly desperate enough to believe them. But in the shadow of this saviour, a new age is rising: an Age of Hatred…
For those unfamiliar, Diablo is an action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard North, which has sold over 100 million copies worldwide to date, pitting gamers against Diablo, the Lord of Terror.
The first installment in the series was released by Blizzard Entertainment in 1997 and several sequels have followed, with Diablo IV, the most recent, released last year. (A mobile-device-oriented version, Diablo Immortal, was released in 2022).
This series is unrelated to the unpublished Diabolo four-issue limited series by Marv Wolfman and artist Piotr Kowalski in 2018, cancelled shortly before publication, for reasons unstated at the time.
Featuring Exclusive Original Material, rated Mature, participating retailers can order copies of this title from Titan Comics using the Diamond order code DEC240041, with full details here
Free Comic Book Day 2025 – The Full Range
Free Comic Book Day is the comic book specialty market’s annual event where participating comic book shops around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their comic shops. The event seeks to celebrate comic books, foster the literacy they encourage, and highlight the vital role that comic shops play within the communities they serve.
US publishers Dynamite, DC, Fantagraphics, Marvel and IDW are among those also participating.
The perfect opportunity to introduce friends and family to the many worlds of wonder available at local comic shops, do ask your local retailer to stock the British titles – and do support them on the day!
(Don’t forget, the comics may be free to you, but they do cost the retailers, so encourage folk to try their LCS out across your socials).
From superheroes to slice-of-life to action/adventure and beyond, Free Comic Book Day has a comic book for everyone!
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: 2000AD, British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comic Previews, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, Events, US Comics
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