Diamond announced at New York Comicon this week that starting in 2012 there will be a second free comic book day event in October for Halloween. Here’s a snippet from ICv2:
[quote]…but Diamond indicated that it had managed to interest both large and small publishers in supporting a similar event tied-in to Halloween, which has become, next to Christmas, the holiday with the most retail impact.[/quote]
Two problems with this concept. Can retailers afford to pay for a second “free” event, and why does it need to be tied to a holiday?
While free for consumers retailers have to pay for every “free” book they give away; last time I checked they were around $0.25 USD. Doesn’t sound like much but it adds up fast. Plus the retailer needs to have a sufficient event on the day, advertising beforehand and bringing more costs.
Why tie it into a holiday at all? While Halloween may have a large retail impact that doesn’t translate to free comics: images of book browsing don’t come into the minds of most when they think of October 31st. It isn’t even a holiday!
I can see the event drawing in trick or treaters by the hundreds to get free comics and then leave for the next spot, but can that be translated into new customers and sales?
