MANILA, Philippines – Earth’s mightiest comic book event, Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is back at Filbar’s, the country’s premier store for pop culture goodness, hulking out the gathering of comics fans on two fronts—Filbar’s SM Megamall and Filbar’s Ayala Fairview Terraces on Saturday, May 2. Originally held in the US, FCBD aims to introduce young people to the joy of reading comics, as well as to reignite fans’ interest in the medium.
Gone will be the long lines as Filbar’s initiates the Flash Pass system, where customers can reserve a 10-minute time window to pick up two FCBD comics within the day, freeing customers to enjoy other things while they wait to get served with free comics. The Flash Pass also comes with a raffle stub that gives customers the chance to take home a whole set of at least 50 FCBD comics. Door buster offers and giveaways also await early birds.
“It is also a huge chance for us, owners, to meet fellow comics fans. We all started as Filbar’s customers and now as operators of the long-running comic book store chain, we like to evolve like Ultron, albeit in a positive way, in making FCBD a memorable event for everyone,” said Jacob Cabochan, Filbar’s President.
Free comics during the event include All-New, All-Different Avengers, DC Comics Divergence, Doctor Who Special, Kodansha Comics Sampler, Secret Wars #0, Bob’s Burgers, Bongo Comics Free-For-All, Dark Circle Comics #1, Dark Horse Fight Club! The Goon! The Strain!, Perfect Square Presents Pokemon, Rabbids, Savage Dragon Legacy, Spongebob Freestyle Funnies, Teen Titans Go / Scooby Doo Team Up, and Transformers Robots In Disguise #0.
Throughout the day, Filbar’s will also host artist alleys featuring a mixture of mainstream comics creators, graphic novelists and sketch artists. At Filbar’s Ayala Fairview Terraces, Marvel Comics artist Kim Jacinto leads the pack with Myk Emmshin, Jether Amar, Bernce Llamo, Lowe Beltran, Dave Quindoy, Ron Hubbard, Rustico Limosinero, Peejay Catacutan, Arthur Dacayo, Chris Barcelona and John Becaro. Over at Filbar’s SM Megamall, Zsazsa Zaturnnah creator Carlo Vergara rings out the battlecry with Heubert Khan Michael, Eman Casallos, Rafael Gumboc, Dennis Crisostomo, and Jeffrey Benitez.
Filbar’s is also set to release officially licensed Marvel Comics Boxes (P599) that feature wraparound artwork of Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko’s iconic comics, blown up to look like pop art. “Though the artwork is vintage, the layout is fresh to the eye, giving classic covers and pages the chance to explode with color and newfound detail. The hard boxes, which can hold between 200-250 comics, feature pages from Spider-Man, Hulk, Iron Man and Captain America, with more designs arriving later in the year,” said Ivan Guerrero, Filbar’s Creative Director.
Activities lined up for FCBD 2015 are continuously evolving so head to Filbar’s Free Comic Book event page (https://www.facebook.com/events/799061580176990) for updates. For more information, like Filbar’s on Facebook (www.facebook.com/filbarsonline ) or follow us on Instagram or Twitter (@filbarsonline). Join the conversation using the hashtag, #FilbarsFCBD or #Filbarbarian.