Free Comic Book Day, the comic book industry’s largest annual promotional event, is returning for 2021 and will take place on Saturday, August 14, at participating comic shops worldwide. This week, Free Comic Book Day announced the 50 comic book titles that will be available for the event’s milestone 20th anniversary. This year, Free Comic Book Day Retailer Selection Committee has selected 12 Gold Sponsor comics and 38 Silver Sponsor comics that offer comic book fans a way to discover new titles and genres. As in years past, rather than showcase the full lineup of releases, I’ve decided to highlight all the spooky titles that All Hallows Geek readers would likely be most interested in picking up during the event.
Enter the House of Slaughter
This Free Comic Book Day release from BOOM! Studios will introduce readers to the world of its acclaimed series “Something Is Killing the Children.” From James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera, the series tells the story of Erica Slaughter, the monster hunter who came to Archer’s Peak, Wisconsin, to save the town’s children from the monsters only she can see. But Erica is not the only member of the House of Slaughter… This Free Comic Book Day, you are invited to enter the House of Slaughter… if you dare!
Trese: Unreported Murders
From ABLAZE, this Free Comic Book Day offering will introduce comic readers to the award-winning Filipino comic, soon-to-be Netflix anime series, “Trese.” When dusk arrives in the city of Manila, that’s when you become the most likely prey of the underworld and when occult detective Alexandra Trese does some of her best work. Armed with magical artifacts and twin bodyguards, she tussles with supernatural beings inspired by Filipino folklore.
This special Free Comic Book Day release will a preview from TRESE Vol 2: Unreported Murders, a section on the forthcoming Netflix TRESE anime series launching this summer (including an interview with Director Jay Oliva), bonus pages with w/ background about the monsters of Philippine myth, as told by TRESE creators Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo, and a teaser on TRESE Vol 3: Mass Murders, coming this Sept from ABLAZE!
Just Beyond: Monstrosity
From R.L. Stine, this Free Comic Book Day release from kaboom! introduces readers to the world of “Just Beyond,” a series of graphic novels and soon-to-be Disney+ series that debuted with “The Scare School” in 2019 and was followed up by “The Horror at Happy Landings” in 2020.
In “Monstrosity,” Ruthie and Ezra Dillon’s dad and uncle just bought an old Hollywood movie studio.
And while the family has plans for reviving it to make scary movies for a modern audience, the monsters hiding in the backlot have other ideas. Ruthie and Ezra are eager to star in their family’s films, but they’ll soon find themselves in a real horror show with Wolfenscreem, the Lagoonatics, and the Wasp-Keeper… who are all ready for their revival with a vengeance!
Vampirella #1
Dynamite Entertainment is ending the Vampirella 50th anniversary celebration where it began, by offering Vampirella #1 as a Free Comic Book Day title. Reintroduced in 2019 with a new series from Christopher Priest and Ergun Gunduz to commemorate the titular character’s 50th anniversary, the Vampirella gold anniversary celebration concludes this fall, and Dynamite is giving readers the chance to look back at how the celebration started with a Free Comic Book Day reprint of Vampirella #1.
Red Room
“Red Room” is an all-new monthly comic book series that’s set to hit comic shops this May. From Ed Piskor, the cyberpunk, outlaw, splatterpunk story of a subculture of criminals who live-stream and patronize webcam murders for entertainment on the dark web. If you’re not sure about picking up a dark web snuff comic, you’ll be able to sample the series at no cost to you with this Free Comic Book Day release.
The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids: Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots
This Free Comic Book Day release from Graphix Chapters will introduce readers to the first-ever graphic novel adaptation of Scholastic’s “Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots.” Mrs. Jeepers may – or may not – be a vampire in this funny and spooky series. The third graders at Bailey Elementary are so hard to handle that all of their teachers have quit. But their new teacher, Mrs. Jeepers, is different – to say the least. She’s just moved from Transylvania into a spooky old house in Bailey City. She wears a mysterious brooch that glows as green as her eyes. Could Mrs. Jeepers be a vampire?
Life Is Strange
The comic adventures of Max, Chloe, and Rachel from the award-winning video game turned comic series “Life Is Strange” continue in this special Free Comic Book Day oneshot from Titan Comics that will introduce an all-new character who will feature heavily in the Life is Strange universe in 2021. This Free Comic Book Day release will introduce readers to the “Life Is Strange” universe while also being a lead-in to an all-new story arc in the series.
Vampire: The Masquerade #1
Enter the world of Vampire: The Masquerade in this Free Comic Book Day original from Vault Comics.
When Cecily Bain, an enforcer for the Twin Cities’ vampiric elite, takes a mysterious new vampire under her wing, she’s dragged into an insidious conspiracy. Will she be able to escape with her unlife and protect her aging, Alzheimer’s-afflicted sister, or will she be yet another pawn sacrificed to maintain the age-old secret: that vampires exist among the living. Meanwhile, on the city’s outskirts, a rebellious found-family of vampire cast-outs investigates a vicious killing.
The Last Kids On Earth: Thrilling Tales From the Treehouse
This Free Comic Book Day release from Viking Young Readers features a sampling of tales from the graphic novel series turned Netflix Original. In it, The Last Kids on Earth and their friends each tell their own best story of the Monster Apocalypse, including Jack’s high-stakes baseball game, Globlet’s attempt to take over the world, Quint’s bad-day-away invention, Dirk’s bargain with a witch, and June and Skaelka’s creepy carnival-plus a surprise story from some bad guys on the run…
Free Comic Book Day, which traditionally takes place on the first Saturday in May, will return to a single-day celebration on August 14. To find participating comic shops and view the complete list of titles announced for Free Comic Book Day 2021, visit FreeComicBookDay.com.
