The 20th Anniversary of Free Comic Book Day is coming this August, and Diamond Distributors has revealed the initial twelve offerings, with titles based on Assassin’s Creed, The Witcher, and Blade Runner are among them.

Free Comic Book Day has become an annual tradition in the industry and can trace its roots back to the rise in popularity of superhero films in the early 2000s. Realizing the potential for these movies to draw in new audiences, retailers and publishers banded together to create an event that would capitalize on the growing interest in the genre, and generate goodwill among fans and the public: Free Comic Book Day. As the name implies, free comics are given to anyone who walks into a shop, and many shops also hold sales and giveaways that day as well. Traditionally held the first weekend of May, usually to coincide with the release of a new superhero film, this year’s festivities will be held on August 14th, 2021 to accommodate for the COVID-19 pandemic, and today Diamond revealed the first twelve titles available that day.

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In a press release from Diamond, the company explained these first twelve titles were the “Gold Sponsor” tier, and they were curated based on the input of shop owners. Among the Gold Sponsor books are titles based on the popular The Witcher television series, from Dark Horse as well as new Assassin’s Creed book from Tokyopop. Titan Books will release a book spinning out of their popular Blade Runner comic. IDW will release a Star Wars: The High Republic issue. Penguin Workshop, a division of Penguin Random House, will debut a biography of Civil Rights pioneer Rosa Parks as well. A previously announced tie-in to Something is Killing the Children will premiere that day too. Diamond also revealed that an additional 38 Silver tier titles will be announced March 17th.

The strength of these initial twelve offerings lies in their diversity. In addition to standard superhero titles, such as Marvel’s Hulk/Venom there are also titles, such as The Investigators, that are aimed at younger readers. Up and coming publishers, such as Aftershock, are also represented as are manga titles from Tokyopop and Viz. Media tie-ins and biographical comics are in the mix as well.

For the last 20 years, Free Comic Book Day has been a highlight of the year for fans, retailers, creators and publishers alike, and with offerings based on Assassin’s Creed and The Witcher in the mix, this year’s Free Comic Book Day promises to be one of the biggest yet. Look for these titles, and many more, in stores on August 14th, 2021.

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Source: Diamond