After being postponed owing to the pandemic last year, Free Comic Book Day returns triumphantly this Saturday, August 14. The day that legendary Marvel author Dan Slott once referred to as “Geek Christmas” is returning with a slew of comics for fans of all interests and ages. Over 50 free comics will be distributed to partnering comic book retailers throughout the world.

FCBD first took place on May 4, 2002, making this year’s event its 20th anniversary. The event is usually held on the first Saturday in May, but because everything is still in flux due to Covid-19, the date has been shifted to August in the hopes that more people would feel safe visiting comic shops.

Here’s a list of the FBCD titles we recommend you pick up:

Avengers/Hulk #1 (Marvel)

Marvel Comics has a few publications available for Free Comic Book Day, including this monster of a book that ushers in a new era for its biggest team and greenest hero. If you want to see where Donny Cates and Ryan Ottley take the Emerald Giant when their run begins in November, you’ll want to get a copy of this freebie on Saturday. 

Also read: DC gets a new LGBTQ superhero in Tim Drake’s Robin

Enter the House of Slaughter (BOOM! Studios)

There is arguably no hotter name in comics right now than James Tynion IV. The huge success of his and artist Werther Dell’Edera’s creator-owned series Something Is Killing the Children is a key reason for it. Enter the House of Slaughter, which will be released in October, is intended to deepen the mythos of the book’s protagonist and Wisconsin’s number one monster hunter, Erica Slaughter, so pick up this teaser issue to get a taste of what Tynion and Dell’Edera have in store.

Batman FCBD Special Edition (DC Comics)

This free Batman issue has two tales. The first is an early peek at the upcoming Bat-titles crossover Fear State, which is centred around the Scarecrow’s ascent to power in Gotham. The second narrative, written by Oscar-winning screenwriter John Ridley and illustrated by Travel Foreman, follows Jace Fox, Lucius’s son, as he puts on the cape and cowl in the new series I Am Batman.

Also read: ‘The Batman’: Actor Jeffery Wright reveals details about the ‘brilliant’ film

Archie Comics: Past, Present & Future Fun (Archie Comics)

If you’re taking a child to FCBD, pick up some all-ages fare like Archie Comics: Past, Present, and Future Fun. Archie is on a mission to save the multiverse, and along the way, he encounters all of the many versions of himself that we’ve met over the last 80 years – including ones we’ve seen on TV! 

Also read: Disney+ Hotstar finally releases the first Episode of Marvel Comic Series ‘What If…?’

Allergic (Graphix)

 Allergic, written by Megan Wagner Lloyd and illustrated by Michelle Mee Nutter, is one example. The coming-of-age GN about a girl struggling with allergies is a profoundly intimate story about understanding where she belongs and how to manage with life’s constant changes.