The Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) Committee has announced its Gold Sponsor comic book selections for the comic book industry’s top annual event, Free Comic Book Day, scheduled for Saturday, May 4, 2013. Next year marks the twelfth anniversary of Free Comic Book Day with another great year of incredible titles that feature fan-favorite comic book characters and encourage new readers to explore the fun and excitement that comics can offer.

Chosen by retailers on the FCBD Committee, there’s a free comic book for everyone’s taste: from Superman, Star Wars, and The Walking Dead to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sesame Street, Smurfs and a super-secret Marvel Comics title.

“Once again, comic book publishers have given fans what they want—great characters, great stories—all in a free comic book!” said FCBD spokesperson Leslie Bowser. “Retailers on the FCBD Committee had so many excellent titles to choose from that they expanded the Gold sponsor titles to twelve gold books for this year, instead of the usual ten. We’re sure fans will be pleased with the line-up and we look forward to hosting them again at local comic book shops across the nation and worldwide.”

A complete listing of all fifty-two FCBD titles, including the twelve Gold and forty Silver comic books, can be found in the January issue of Diamond Comic Distributors’ PREVIEWS catalog, on sale at all comic book shops on January 2, 2013. Look for a separate announcement next Thursday, December 13, on FCBD’s 2013 Silver Sponsors and their comic book titles.

For more FCBD news and updates go to the FCBD website, www.freecomicbookday.com; become a fan at Facebook: www.facebook.com/freecomicbook; and follow us on Twitter: www.Twitter.com/freecomicbook.

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY GOLD COMICS:

KIZOIC PRESENTS: SESAME STREET/STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE (W) Georgia Ball, Jason M. Burns (A/CA) Amy Mebberson On side one, Elmo, Cookie Monster, The Count and Super Grover teach you about the magic of reading comics! It's GUARANTEED to chase the clouds away! On side two, join Strawberry Shortcake and friends on 3 berry sweet adventures! Includes "The Blue Flu", "The Hunt for Blackberry's Treasure", and "Blueberry's Book Tour". It's a bushel of fun!

THE WORLD OF ARCHIE DIGEST

(W/A) Various (CA) TBD Archie! Betty! Veronica! Jughead! The world's most famous teenagers for over seven decades are all here in this FREE digest! Packed with non-stop laughs and gaffs that the Riverdale gang is known for, we challenge you to find a Free Comic Book Day offering with more pages than this! The perfect introduction to the world of Archie and friends, this digest is filled with stories from some of the best creators in the business! This is the one to pick up on Free Comic Book Day!

BONGO COMICS FREE-FOR-ALL!

(W/A/CA) Matt Groening, Various Bongo rings in another Free Comic Book Day with a comical cornucopia of four-color comics and games. First, Bart becomes a model citizen for a day…with disastrous results. Then, Jimbo and the gang escalate and elevate their juvenile delinquency to new heights. Stick around for a bedtime tale with the dim but adorable Li'l Homer and go in search of the Happy Little Elves with Maggie.

KABOOM! SUMMER BLAST (W/A/CA) Various An explosion of All-Ages awesomeness from KaBOOM! this Free Comic Book Day! Sure to be one of the most popular offerings this Free Comic Book Day, the KaBOOM! Summer Blast is 48 pages chock-full of the most popular all-ages comics on the stands today! Featuring excerpts from Adventure Time, Peanuts, Regular Show, Bravest Warriors, Garfield, Ice Age and some brand-new surprises, these series will keep readers young and old coming back to your comic shop again and again!

STAR WARS/CAPTAIN MIDNIGHT/AVATAR

(W) Joshua Williamson, Various (A/CA) Ryan Hill, Various All-Ages Adventure! Star Wars joins fan-favorite villains Darth Vader and Boba Fett! Then explore the upcoming Dark Horse series, Captain Midnight, where the search for the missing superhero is on! And the smash hit Avatar: The Last Airbender follows Mai as she deals with her broken heart...

SUPERMAN SPECIAL EDITION Sorry, but you'll have to come back next month for full details!

TMNT NEW ANIMATED ADVENTURES

(W/A) Various (CA) Dario Brizuela Jumping from screen to page, it's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles New Animated Adventures! This unique series captures the heart of the smash Nickelodeon television show with brand-new stories. Full of action, excitement and laughs, this is the perfect all-ages comic to get you seeing green!!



THE WALKING DEAD SPECIAL (W) Robert Kirkman (A/CA) Charlie Adlard, Cliff Rathburn This special Walking Dead issue contains a new Tyreese short story, a fan-favorite character who just made his television debut in The Walking Dead Season 3! It also reprints short stories featuring Michonne, The Governor and Morgan. This special issue is a must-have for fans of The Walking Dead — as none of these stories will be reprinted in the trade paperbacks!



MARVEL FCBD 2013: CLASSIFIED! (W/A/CA) TBD Prepare for an epic that is out of this world as the biggest and best Super Heroes in the Marvel Universe come together for something that will leave fans demanding more! Marvel Comics has something special planned for Free Comic Book Day 2013… but for now it’s CLASSIFIED! Keep checking back to freecomicbookday.com for future updates!

THE SMURFS

(W/A) Peyo, Various (CA) Peyo The Smurfs return to Free Comic Book Day with two stories never-before-seen in the U.S.! Gargamel has tormented the Smurfs time and time again, always vowing his revenge on the small creatures. But what happens when he is forced to tangle with someone bigger than him — a nasty Ogre? Find out in "The Ogre and the Smurfs!" Also featuring comics from two of the hottest new Papercutz series, Annoying Orange and Ariol, a new series from Emmanuel Guibert!



SPONGEBOB COMICS FREESTYLE FUNNIES

(W) Derek Drymon, Maris Wicks (A) Graham Annable, Various United Plankton brings you a completely original collection of SpongeBob comics for FCBD 2013. In "Paint Misbehavin'" Squidward teaches SpongeBob and Patrick how to paint realistically — but how did they learn to bring their painted creations to life? Then in "Day of the Free Comic" SpongeBob must foil Plankton's latest plan: invading the Krusty Krab inside a...giveaway comic book! Will funny books ever be the same? And: Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy take on a new villain: the sultry Catfishstress. All this plus facts about the colorful cuttlefish, a fill-in comic, and a preview of this summer's SpongeBob superhero-themed annual!

