Some holidays are obtusely titled and their true meaning gets lost in the shuffle. Case in point, Easter: nowhere in the title is it suggested that it’ll be a day full of chocolate eggs, anthropomorphic rabbits and zombie messiahs. We much prefer the simple beauty and straightforward nature of Free Comic Book Day, which just so happens to be coming up on Saturday, May 5th. Comic Claus is coming to town and this year he’s packing a serious punch with the fantastic freebies you can snag at your local comic book shop.

DC Comics 

DC Comics – The New 52 #1: featuring a cover and 4-page Justice League gatefold by Jim Lee, a new story written by Geoff Johns and illustrated by Jim Lee, Ivan Reis, Gene Ha and Kenneth Rocafort. Plus, there’s exclusive preview material of New 52 Second Wave titles like Batman Incorporated, Dial H, Earth 2, G.I. Combat, The Ravagers, and World’s Finest. That’s not all, folks – there will be a limited amount of custom-designed FCBD t-shirts featuring art by Jim Lee. Not too shabby, DC.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: DC’s Vertigo imprint will offer a preview of Denise Mina’s much-anticipated adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The graphic novel drops in November, but you can read our interview with Mina (posting shortly) to tide you over until then.

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Marvel Comics

Avengers – Age of Ultron Point One: My confusion at Marvel’s wacky decimal system of numbering certain issues aside, this Brian Michael Bendis-penned and Bryan Hitch-illustrated story is a great launching point for what’s going on in the Marvel Universe right now and will make either a wonderful amuse-bouche or aperitif for Marvel’s The Avengers, which our very own LYT says you should absolutely go see.

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Archaia Entertainment:

Mouse Guard, Labyrinth, and Other Stories: We’re all for free things, but Archaia is not messing around this year, offering what is, undeniably, the crown jewel of FCBD: a 48-page hardcover tome done in the style of a children’s storybook with six brand-new stories from Archaia stalwarts like Mouse Guard‘s David Petersen, Ted Naifeh, Janet Lee and more.

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Image Comics

Image Comics: Image turned twenty this year and, we’ve got to say, the ol’ girl has never looked better. Definitely snag this anthology of six new, original stories like Revival by Tim Seeley & Mike Norton, G–Man by Chris Giarrusso and more.

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Dark Horse:

Star Wars Serenity: In this Zack Whedon-penned and Fabio Moon and Christian Dalla Vecchia-illustrated crossover, Han and Chewie meet up with Captain Mal and the crew of the Serenity. If your erection lasts more than four hours, please consult a Shepherd. Readers who suffer from abnormally high midi-chlorians should consult a doctor before reading something this awesome.

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IDW

Transformers #80.5 – Don’t let your feelings on Samuel Witwicky and the All-Spark cloud your judgement on this one. IDW listened to the fans and continues the Transformers story right where issue #80 left off in 1991. This is how the Autobots were meant to roll out, you guys.

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If you’re in our ‘hood (the greater Los Angeles area), make sure to swing by our headquarters, Meltdown Comics, for some truly epic FCBD festivities. Scott Lobdell (Red Hood and the Outlaws, Teen Titans), Caleb Monroe (Ice Age comic), Greg Weisman (Young Justice TV), and Vic Cook (Ben 10) will all be in the house doing signings for most of the day. Plus, Jon Schnepp of Titmouse (Metalocalypse, Venture Bros.) and director of Zenescope’s upcoming Grimm Fairy Tales animated series (featuring the voice talents of our very own Chris Hardwick) will be cooking a pig in the parking lot. Yep, you read that right – an entire pig.

Free Comic Book Day takes place this Saturday, May 5th at your local comic book shop nationwide. For a complete list of available titles and more information on FCBD, visit their website.