FCBD Philippines | Is Reading Relevant?

05.06.2019 – Twelve years since 2007 Free Comic book Day in the Philippines has gotten bigger than anyone have imagined. The lines have gotten longer the crowds become massive that there’s a fine line there between which actually reads and those join in just because the word has something to do with “FREE.” In this generation of digital age the lingering question if there are still people really reading these type of medium? FCBD is considered “the Christmas for Pop Culture Nerds” no doubt the crowd would be there for pageantry.

FCBD 2016 Release List for Gold Books!

12.11.2015 – Free Comic Book Day is six months away in 2016, but Diamond Comics Distributors had officially released the list of Gold Sponsored books that you’ll be looking forward to picking up when the day has finally arrive. This is also the 15th anniversary of Free Comic Book Day since it was first established in 2001. FCBD has become an annual affair all over the world including the Philippines and next year its going to big as announced here…

FCBD 2015: The Life of Standing in Line!

Illustration By Rommel "Omeng" Estanislao

05.03.2015 – Free Comic Book Day in the Philippines without a doubt has become more than a day to pick up a free comic book, but a game changer after one individual stood there during the first Saturday of May in 2013. Life standing in line is not the most glamorous part being there. You got to understand their dedication even though some would comment in social media that these people don’t have a life. You may not know the real story but most of them came prepared for it.

FCBD 2015: Will You Stand in Line Today?

04.29.2015 - Free Comic Book Day is on May 2, 2015 and ever since 2007 the interest to line up has grown in numbers. The most you can see them back when Comic Odyssey was located at the 2nd level of Robinsons Galleria. Back then nobody knew this will become big… Probably the right word is humongous in record setting crowd. Now it has become what you call a competition and also an annual pilgrimage of sorts that changed the way it was in the Philippines.

FCBD 2015: Secret Wars #0 & Divergence #1 Preview!

04.26.2015 – Free Comic Book Day in just few short days and you must be excited now that you know where the locations and stores who will be participating this year. Comic Odyssey & Fully Booked will be one of the stores and they are getting ready. Earlier today during the Convergence #3 comic book signing featuring Filipino talents Stephen Segovia & Jason Paz the store also already have an on-hand copy of the FCBD titles that will be giving away and these two books are from DC and Marvel!

FCBD 2015: Preparations, Locations & Fun!

04.24.2015 – Free Comic Book Day is less than 10 days and fans have been trooping to this annual pilgrimage wondering where to go to get their free stuff. You’re in luck because there are only a few places to go through to stand in line next Saturday. The event has been around since 2002 and for those new people who have heard about this through word of mouth should know this is not just about free stuff. But in some places in Asia the word “FREE” is a word never to avoid.

Happy Batman Day!

Fans of all ages line up at Fully Booked hours before they open the doors for Batman Day.

Most people retire at 60 but at 75 our favorite caped crusader, the only Dark 
Knight recognized and loved by generations is on full throttle with a new movie up in the works, with none other than his buddy Superman. (Even if fans are still at odds with former Daredevil Ben Affleck wearing the famous cape and cowl), a new origin series Gotham from Fox is also on the way, with Bruno Heller on the helm (it's on my watch list). In 75 years Batman has been immortalized in all sorts and forms of media, from series, television series, publishing and merchandise and this has allowed him to be discovered and loved by generations who have looked up to a very human superhero (not an alien, not a god) but an ordinary guy who drew strength from a tragedy and faced his fears to fight evil and seek justice as The Dark Knight.    

FCBD 2014: All You Need Is Kill!

05.23.2014 –”All You Need is Kill” the original Japanese military science fiction light novel was reprinted and given away during Free Comic Book Day. The sampler contains twelve preview pages of the graphic novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. It was originally published in 2004 by Viz Media/Haika Soru. Its now has been adapted as a major motion picture starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, which is re-titled as “Edge of Tomorrow” to be shown next month…

Free Comic Book Day 2014: Post-Event Coverage!

Sorry for the late post - work has been in the way :P 

I don't belong to this generation of hand held device-dependent kids who download and upload everything; from the movies that they watch, the music that they listen to, to the books that they read. I can't say that I don't do these as well since I do but I would  still say that I'm a bit old fashioned since I prefer books over e-books and such. I grew up leafing through pages of whatever reading material I could get my hands on and reading from the light a flashlight (when it's already past bedtime) or the light of a candle (when it was black out-there were a lot of those in the 90s). Whether the kids of today could find the image of a holding a book and reading by the light of a candle impossible next to horrifying I'm glad (and relived) to see that steps and feats are being done to preserve the love of reading from a book or a comic book.

Last year we braved the heat and the lines for Free Comic Day (see the blog post HERE) It is an annually celebrated event (all over the world!). When you look it up on Wikipedia, Free Comic Book Day or FCBD is a promotional event to get new readers into independent Comic Book Stores. It's also a good way to get readers interested in reading good old fashioned comics. 

Free Comic Book Day has also made a dent in the local scene since it is also a great way to celebrate the local artists that we have. FCBD is held in different branches of Fully Booked and this year - Filbar's had a go at it as well. Stores invited local artists who got to share their work as well as meet fans and make new ones as well. For the past two years we've been going to Fully Booked at The Fort to celebrate Free Comic Book Day :) 

Comic Odyssey + Fully Booked: FCBD 2014!

05.04.2014 – Free Comic Book Day in the Philippines is the most celebrated event by fans that grew up and getting introduced to reading comics. It’s been established by Comic Odyssey in 2007 and Fully Booked in 2008, while the rest followed. There are four stores participated this year counting Comic Odyssey and Fully Booked as one store while the list includes Filbar’s, Druids Keep Collectibles and Planet X Comics. The biggest event no doubt is from Comic Odyssey and Fully Booked yesterday.

Tintin Shop opens at Fully Booked!

05.04.2014 – Tintin is a popular Belgian comic series by a cartoonist named Goerges Remi who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The popular series first appeared in French on January 10, 1929 published Le Petit Vingtième, a youth supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle. The series was released on the spin off Tintin Magazine and by 1950 Hergé Studios was established which produced the canonical series of twenty-four Tintin albums.

FCBD 2014: Filbar's Surprises By The Numbers!

05.03.2014 – For those who want to avoid the huge crowd at The Fort BGC there are other comic shops that will participate in this year’s Free Comic Book Day. Its great timing also that they are also celebrating 35 years as a store that was established in 1979. If you’re familiar with Filbar’s its THAT comic shop who will be celebrating FCBD after being reintroduced with new management sometime in July 2013. This is also their first time to participate to be part of FCBD 2014. Last night preparations have been underway to get ready and welcome new customers at the door.

FCBD 2013: Setting the Record!

05.06.2013 – Last weekend Free Comic Book Day was celebrated in the Philippines. Besides the celebration that was greeted at the Fort Bonifacio High Street last Saturday. There was also the one at Quezon City in National Bookstore with the collaboration with Castle Geek. This was billed as “Setting the Record” for most sketch cards done by the local artists. It was heavily promoted as early as February that Castle Geek and National Bookstore will be bringing Free Comic Book Day.

FCBD 2013: It's about The Comic Book Fans!

05.05.2013 – Free Comic Book Day in the Philippines has become an unofficial one single event that everyone has anticipated in the past six years. Comic Odyssey has started to promote this event since 2007 and the rest as you all know is history. The event surrounding the annual celebration originally started in North America but Comic Odyssey was not the first store in the Philippines who has brought this promotion to the local shores. It was actually the former CCHQ (Central Comics Headquarters) in Katipunan from 2002 to 2004.

Fully Booked joins Free Comic Book Day 2013!

04.24.2013 – Free Comic Book Day is just in a few days away there will be major participations from bigger stores but for this year Fully Booked has been a traditional affair since they started in the summer of 2008. Fully Booked has been organizing their event every 3rd Saturday in May but for 2013 things will be bigger on May 4, 2013 and they will team up with long time FCBD participant in Comic Odyssey.

The Story Behind Free Comic Book Day!

03.11.2013 – Free Comic book Day has become a celebrated event in North America and has been an annual event in the Philippines. The original pioneer of this was the former CCHQ (Comics Central Headquarters) from 2002 to 2004 and in between those years up to 2007 Filbar’s, Comic Quest and Sputnik followed suit. But most of the comics were not entirely given for FREE as what has been a tradition in the US since it began back in 2002.

Halloween Comic Fest 2012 Arrives in Asia!

10.09.2012 – Halloween is fast approaching and every year it has become an annual tradition to dress up in your scariest costume. The tradition for some never outgrows them as they still go on a trick or treat but this year it would become interesting as Halloween and Comics team up for the first ever Halloween Comic Fest 2012! It’s the same organizers behind the Free Comic Book Day that happens every first Saturday of May who are bringing this tradition and one comic book shop in the Philippines has already shown interest.

DC The New 52: Geoff Johns and Jim Lee discuss JL, Pandora, and the Trinity War

After teasing things to come next year via the one-shot Free Comic Book Day issue of "DC The New 52 FCBD Edition", DC Comics' own Geoff Johns and Jim Lee discuss more about their upcoming crossover event next year "Trinity War", as well as Pandora, the mysterious woman who was a key figure at the end of Flashpoint and the beginning of The New 52 era of comics. MTV Geek has conducted a couple of interviews with Johns and Lee, who go on to discuss more about Volume 2 of Justice League, as well as who Pandora and the Trinity of Sin are. SPOILERS abound with these interviews, so view at your own risk!

Comic Odyssey Store Preview & FCBD 2012 at Fully Booked!

05.13.2012 – Last night we checked Fully Booked with the progress on how things are shaping up with the fourth branch of Comic Odyssey opening up in less than 7 days. It’s located at the 4th level of the flagship store in Bonifacio High Street. This is a great timing for Fully Booked to celebrate their Free Comic Book Day in 2012. Fully Booked has been celebrating FCBD since 2008 every third Saturday of the month of May. It has become their own tradition to promote not only this event but to let you know that the biggest bookstore appreciates the support as a way of thanking the fans.

DC Comics unveils Jim Lee's FCBD New 52 Cover

DC Comics has unveiled the cover fans will undoubtedly talk about and want: Jim Lee's cover artwork to their Free Comic Book Day book entitled DC Comics The New 52 FCBD Edition! Besides illustrating the cover you see above, Lee will also illustrate five pages of the free book being given away on May 5, 2012, including a four-page gatefold that introduces a new storyline for Justice League, a book that he and writer Geoff Johns have launched and are currently doing for The New 52!

As Co-Publisher of DC Entertainment, Lee's work has been highly valued in the comic book world, and he's known for his works in comic books such as Wildcats, X-Men, Batman: Hush, and now Justice League. As a fan of his works, this is a stellar cover featuring the trinity of DC heroes - Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. Right at the background is the mysterious Pandora, who was first introduced in the pre-New 52 storyline Flashpoint and has been seen watching events from behind the scenes. One has to wonder what kind of story the New 52 FCBD will provide besides being a primer of the new DC Universe. We can only wait and see until it comes out, absolutely for free, on May 5th, Saturday this year! For more info, visit the source post at DC The Source!

*Originally posted by Timzster in The Crusader's Realm