FCBD Festival Map 2018

We're about a month out from Free Comic Comic Book Festival. As usual, we're taking over the parking lot for all of our festival activities: live Supreme Pro Wrestling, West Coast Avengers cosplayer, Vader's 501st troopers, face painting, balloon sculptures, games, and more. 

Plus, this year, we're planning to have our exhibitors out-of-doors! It's going to be an amazing comic book festival. Coming soon, we'll post complete festival details. 



Complete Guide to Free Comic Book Day Festival 2017


We're giving away 20,000 free comic books on Saturday, May 6, 2017 and features:
  • Charity raffle! 
  • Live wrestling! 
  • Roller derby athletes! 
  • West Coast Avengers cosplayers! 
  • Stormtroopers! 
  • Face painting! 
  • Balloon art! 
  • Food trucks and more! 

2017 Free Comic Book Day Festival
DATE: May 6, 2016
(Add this event to your FB calendar)

Doors open at:
  • 8 a.m. for Savings Club Members
  • 9 a.m. for new guests
STOREWIDE SALE
  • 25% OFF Graphic novels, collected editions, toys, statues, variant wall (variants and back issues on the wall), and variants in the box. 
  • NOTE: art wall not on sale, regular price only. 
Back issues
(not including back issues on the Variant Wall)
  • IF COVER PRICE is $15.01+ = SALE is 75% OFF cover price 
  • COVER PRICE $1-5 = ON SALE FOR .50c 
  • COVER PRICE $5.01-10 = ON SALE FOR $1 
  • COVER PRICE $10.01-15 = ON SALE FOR $2 
PARKING + FESTIVAL LAYOUT
Parking is available on Larkspur. It's the street next to the shop.


Click to Expand

MEMBERS ONLY FESTIVAL BENEFITS

If you're not a Member, you can skip this section. Or maybe read it. Sign up by 12/31/2017 to receive the special treatment in 2018.

Members, whenever you get here, use the Members's Only VIP Line, a.k.a., the short line. But if you get here early...

We're opening the store one hour early for our Members to access free comics, to meet Sacramento creatives exhibiting in the store (full list below), and to take advantage of our storewide sale (details below).

Every Saturday in May we are celebrating Free Comic Book MONTH. It features FCBMonth-exclusive comic books, collected editions, and posters -- for FREE. Members can come any Saturday they want or every Saturday. NOTE: Only Savings Club Members who enrolled by December 31, 2016 are eligible for this benefit.

FCBD FESTIVAL FEATURES AND GUESTS

Here's a complete list of guests for this year's festival.

Food

  • Wandering Boba 
  • FreshMed Mediterranean Cuisine 
Artists and Writers
Community Groups
  • Supreme Pro Wrestling: enjoy live wrestling. 
  • The 501st Legion: Mingle with the Empire's baddest troopers. 
  • West Coast Avengers: Cozy up to Northern California's coolest cosplayers. 
  • Sac City Rollers: Have wheels, will fly! But they're always happy to stop for a photo. 
  • Cracking The Vault Podcast: It's the shop's official, all-ages podcast. Chat with these folks and you may get featured in an episode. The FCBD Preview episode is up now. | website
  • Reality Comics LLC: These folks produce some fine video about geek culture, comics, and more. Be sure to spend some time with them. 
  • The Capeless Crusaders: These vid- and podcasters are a rip roaring good time. Join them as they talk about comics, geekery, and more.

20,000 free comic books at Free Comic Book Day Mini-Con




Empire’s Comics Vault will host a mini-comic book convention for the internationally celebrated Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) on Saturday, May 7, 2016 from 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. (add this event to your FB calendar) at 1120 Fulton Ave., Suite K, in Sacramento.

The mini-convention is a celebration of the joy of reading comic books and of Sacramento’s talented community of artists, writers, food truck purveyors, wrestlers, and other groups. The event is dedicated to sharing a love of Sacramento’s diverse interests and of reading comic books.

“Sacramento is filled with talented individuals who create their own comics, write novels and short stories, paint, sculpt, craft and so much more,” said Ben Schwartz, Empire’s Comics Vault’s owner. “We live in a town that is overflowing with creativity. If you have not delved into it, this is the day.” 

This year’s participants and activities include Matt Hawkins, acclaimed comic book writer of Think Tank, Symmetry, Aphrodite IX, and more for Top Cow Productions, cosplayers from the West Coast Avengers and Vader’s 501st Legion, a live, in-rink, wrestling demonstration by Supreme Pro Wrestling, face painting, balloon makers, TEDxSacramento speaker and founder of HeroicGirls.com John Marcotte, Drewski’s Gourmet Food Truck, Wandering Boba, shaved ice, Sac City Rollers on skates, promoting roller derby, collage artist Jill Stafford, Mario Estioko who just his first comic panel book, Incompatibles, to name a few.

Empire’s Comics Vault has celebrated Free Comic Book Day since the shop's first year of operation in 2003 and, including this year, will have given away more than 100,000 free comic books to customers and other fans in the greater Northern California region. In 2008, Empire’s Comics Vault began inviting local artists, writers, podcasters, and community groups to participate in the event, transforming it into a mini-convention.

The full list of exhibitors, community groups and food providers for the Free Comic Book Day Mini-Con may be viewed at EmpiresComics.com. Admission is free. Attendees may take one of each free comic book title that they are interested in reading. There will be 50 different Free Comic Book Day titles available this year, in addition to scores of other select free titles, and a total of more then 20,000 free comic books.

More Information
For more information about the event, visit www.EmpiresComics.com.
Photos: Free Comic Book Day 2015, 2014

Free Comic Book Month is back this May 2015

Following the tradition of Florida comic shop -- A Comic Shop -- we're celebrating Free Comic Book Day all month long. We call it Free Comic Book Month!

Free Comic Book Month in a nutshell

We kick off Free Comic Book Month on Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) Mini-Con, naturally. This year, WFCBD Min-Con is Saturday, May 2, 2015. It's the first Saturday in May.

Then, for each subsequent Saturday, we have more comic book freebies. That means, five Saturdays of comic book freebies!

Comic Book Savings Club members can show up any Saturday and stand in the VIP line. The don't even need a passport.

Non-members require a passport to access the freebies. Get your passport marked each Saturday to unlock the next week's freebies. So, don't miss even one Saturday. For tracking purposes, you'll be issued a FCBMonth Passport on Free Comic Book Day -- so be sure you get one!

How FCBMonth works


Passport in hand and ready to collect more free comic books! 2014.
1. When you attend FCBD Mini-Con, you'll receive your Free Comic Book Month Passport while you're standing in line or when you enter the store. You're instantly granted access to the next Saturday's freebies.

2. Visit on May 9 to access freebies and get your FCB Month Passport stamped. That stamp will grant you access to more freebies the following Saturday, and so on.

3. If you miss a Saturday, you miss out on any more freebies. Some of the best items are saved for later in the month.

FCBMonth's comic book freebies

  • May 2 - We're giving out 20,000 free comic books (while supplies last).
  • May 9 - Miscellaneous Free Comic Book Day titles from 2014 and Free Comic Book Halloween comics from 2014/2015.
  • May 16 - Image Comics best selling #1 issues in mint condition!
  • May 23 - Marvel Comics #1 issues and Vintage toys (while supplies last)!
  • May 30 - Free graphic novels, trade paperbacks, and collected editions of comic books
Awesome haul of free comics at FCBMonth 2014.

Complete details for 2015 Free Comic Book Day Mini-Con

UPDATES



We're throwing our biggest party of the year and giving away 20,000 free comic books! Save the date and read on for complete details about May's Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) Mini-Con 2015 and Free Comic Book Month at Sacramento's Empire's Comics Vault.

Free Comic Book Day Mini-Con

The Date: Saturday, May 2, 2015
Doors open at: 9 a.m.

Free Comic Book Month
The Date: May 2015
Every Saturday: 11 a.m. (doors open)



Overview
Free Comic Book Day is a fun-filled day with free comic books, food trucks, face painters, an amazing storewide sale, a Supreme Pro Wrestling exhibition, Sac City Rollers' skaters, West Coast Avengers cosplayers, Charity raffles and lots of new friends. Savings Club Members (signed up by 12/31/2014) receive special treatment with a Members Only VIP line and FCBD Title Pre-Selection (watch for the email).

After kicking off the month with FCBD Mini-Con, the comic book freebies continue during Free Comic Book Month each and every Saturday at 11 a.m. To qualify for freebies each Saturday, you'll have to attend the previous Saturday and have your FCBD Month Punch Card punched. That will unlock more freebies the following Saturday. FCBD Month Punch Cards will be available at Empire's Comics Vault on Free Comic Book Day.

There's one exception: Savings Club Members can show up any Saturday, no questions asked. And, as usual, they'll get to stand in the Members Only VIP line.

Get the most from FCBD Mini-Con 2016 by joining our Savings Club Program by the end of this year, 12/31/15. Learn more in this post or on the Savings Program page.


FCBD Mini-Con Features and Guests


We will update this list throughout the month, including video interview links, social media links, additions/subtractions, etc. So, check back for updates.


Food Truck(s)


Wandering Boba
The Filipino and Asian cuisine food truck will help you feed your hunger! You'll also enjoy milk teas, fruit-infused teas and slushies. Connect with Wandering Boba online at WanderingBoba.com@WanderingBoba | Facebook@WanderingBoba.

More to come


Artists and Writers


Artist, Writer, Creator Dan Bethel
Dan Bethel is the creative genius team behind the web comic, Long John, found at LongJohnComic.com, soon to be released in print form at FCBD Mini-Con. Dan was also part of the dream team behind the comic book, Eben07. He's @DBethel on Twitter. Go behind the scenes with the D. Bethel interview.

Writer Kris Saldana
Los Angeles writer Kris Saldana (Facebook | Tumblr | Twitter) recently published his first graphic novel, Showcase. He's also the writer of the newspaper-style comic, Wee Little Monsters. Watch Ben interview Kris before you meet the writer.

Jeremy Rathbone - Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Jared Konopitski - JaredKonopitski.com | Facebook | Instagram
Hainanu Saulque - Nooligan.com | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Jason Dube - ScatteredComics.com
Kyrun Silva - BigTreeComics.com | Twitter: @Kyrun49 @BigTreeComics | Facebook | Instagram: @Kyrun49 @BigTreeComics
Chris Wisnia - Tabloia.com@ChrisWisnia | Facebook
Noir Amador
Eben E.B. Burgoon, B-Squad - BSquadComic.com@EraserNubs | Facebook 
Mach Yeager - MachYeager.com | Facebook


Community Groups

Supreme Pro Wrestling
SPW has been promoting wrestling in and around Northern California since 2000, and they've also trained trained wrestlers via the SPW Training Academy. Meet the wrestlers and enjoy their exhibition on site at Empire's at FCBD Mini-Con. Watch the SPW Drake Frost and Scoot interview. Get more SPW on their website and on Facebook. Follow Scoot online at Twitter and Facebook. Follow Drake Scott on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Vader's Fist: 501st Legion with Myke Soler - 501st.com@501stLegion | Facebook: Stormpoolio | Instagram: @Stormpoolio
Capeless Crusaders - David Barrie & Justin Piper - Podcast Website@TheCapelessOnes | Facebook@TheCapelessCrusaders
West Coast Avengers - AvengersHQ.comFacebook
John Marcotte, HeroicGirls.com



Ben's Cardboard Throne after FCBD Mini-Con 2014


It's not every day that one of our Facebook posts gets 152 Likes and 30 Comments. Wow! Thank you, all, for making that happen.

The post that made it happen -- Of course, it was this picture of Ben on his Cardboard Throne. You can even see his Free Comic Book Day Mini-Con afterglow! And then after this, he hit the buffet hard core.

FCBD 2014 Photo Contest

It's simple. Take pictures at our FCBD Mini-Con event, post them on Instagram or Twitter, tag them with #EmpiresComics AND #FCBDSacramento, and you'll be entered to win a $10 coupon for back issues. Read the complete rules below.



 
FCBD PHOTO Contest RULES:By entering the Contest, you agree to be bound by these Official Rules and to comply with all applicable laws and regulations.
SPONSOR: The sponsor of the Contest is Empire's Comics Vault. Empire's Comics Vault is located at 1120 Fulton Avenue, Suite K, Sacramento, CA 95821.
ENTRY PERIOD:  The FCBD 2014 Photo Contest begins Saturday, May 3, 2014 at 6:00 AM PT and ends Saturday May 3 at 9:15 PM. Any photos posted after the Entry Period will not be counted as an entry to the Conest.

HOW TO ENTER: To enter the Contest during the Entry Period: Upload a photo(s) of your Empire's Comics Vault FCBD Mini-Con experience to your Instagram and/or Twitter account. The post must include a photo and a caption that includes the following two tags: #EmpiresComics and #FCBDSacramento. Empire's Comics Vault is not responsible for missed entries due to entrant's privacy settings.
With regard to online entries, in the event of a dispute about the identity of an entrant, each entry will be declared made by the registered account holder of the Instagram profile or Twitter profile, as long as that person meets all other eligibility requirements in these "Official Rules". The registered account holder is deemed to be the natural person who is assigned the submitted photo.
 
With respect to any winning entry, the winner may be required to provide Empire's Comics Vault with proof that the person is the registered account holder of the Instagram profile and or Twitter profile of the winning entry.  No third party entry or entry through a Contest service is permitted.  Only eligible entries actually received in compliance with the Entry Period and Contest Rules, will be included in the contest for prizes. Any automated computer receipt (such as a "thank you" message, comment on entry's comment, or "like" of participants comment, does not constitute proof of actual receipt by Sponsor of an entry for purposes of these Official Rules.
No automatic, programmed, robotic or similar means of entry are permitted and Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any individual using such a method. All entries become the sole and exclusive property of Sponsor and will not be acknowledged or returned.  Sponsor is not responsible for late, illegible, incomplete, invalid, unintelligible, misdirected, technically corrupted or garbled entries, which will be disqualified, or for problems of any kind, whether mechanical, human or electronic. Failure to comply with these Official Rules may result in disqualification from the Contest.
Prizes are subject to availability. In the event of unforeseen circumstances, the Promoter reserves the right (a) to substitute alternative prizes of equivalent or greater value and (b) in exceptional circumstances to amend or foreclose the promotion without notice. No correspondence will be entered into.
ELIGIBILITY:  The Contest is open to all legal residents of the 50 United States, including the District of Columbia, residents of Canada, those outside the US who participated in Free Comic Book Day who are 14 years and older. Persons in any of the following categories are not eligible to participate or win a prize:  (a) persons who from and after June 1st, 2013 were or are employees or agents of Sponsor, or each of its respective affiliates, parent, subsidiaries, or the service agencies or independent contractors of the above organization(s); (b) persons who are engaged in the development, production, distribution of materials, provision of prizes, or drawing of winners for this Contest; and (c) persons who are immediate family of or who reside in the same household as any person in either of the preceding categories.

ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS: Sponsor reserves the right to terminate the Contest if fraud, technical failures or any other factor beyond Sponsor’s reasonable control impairs the integrity of the Contest as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion.  At its sole discretion, Sponsor may disqualify any person whom it considers to have intentionally violated the Official Rules or any element of the Contest.  By participating, entrants agree: (a) to be bound by the Contest Official Rules and the decisions of the person or persons who select the winners, and (b) to release, indemnify, and hold harmless Sponsor, and each of their respective affiliates, subsidiaries, and independent contractors, and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents, including advertising and promotion agencies, (collectively, “Released Parties”) from any and all liability with respect to acceptance, possession or use (or misuse) of the prizes or participation in the Contest.
These general terms and conditions are with respect to the relevant promotion and by entering the promotion you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions and any specific promotion rules. The Promoter reserves the right to amend these general terms and conditions from time to time, such changes to be effective 24 hours after they have been made. No association or business relationship is claimed with Facebook, Inc., or Twitter, Inc.
CONTEST PRIZE: The winners of the 2014 FCBD Photo Contest will each receive a $10 coupon for regular-priced back issues at Empire's Comics Vault.
 
WINNER NOTIFICATION; REQUIRED RELEASES:  A representative of Sponsor will select 12 winners. Twelve winners will be selected from Instagram and/or Twitter posts. The winners will be selected and notified by Saturday, May 31, 2014. Winners will be notified in the following ways: (1) On Instagram, a comment from the @EmpiresComics Instagram account will be added to the winning photo's Instagram accountholder is a winner. (2) On Twitter, a reply in the form of a Twitter Reply or Retweet with Comment from the @EmpiresComics Twitter account will state that the winning photo's Twitter accountholder is a winner.
In the event that Sponsor cannot reach the winner within (3) days after it attempts to notify the winner, Sponsor will select a new winner according to these Official Rules.  Additionally, if the winner is ineligible, it will be deemed as if the winner has rejected the prize, and Sponsor will select a new winner.
To claim the Prize, the winner must claim their prize at Empire's Comics Vault or send Empire's Comics Vault their name, mailing address, email,  and phone number.
USE OF NAME, LIKENESS, ETC.: By entering the Contest, you hereby acknowledge and agree that Sponsor shall have the unlimited right in perpetuity and throughout the world to use and publish your name, voice, city, state, likeness, photograph, video, biographical and prize information, and other elements of your persona and identity, in all media now known or hereafter developed, for all purposes of this Contest, as well as for all general marketing, advertising, promotional, commercial tie-in, merchandising, and other business purposes of each of the Contest Entities, all without notice or compensation to you.
ENTRANT RELEASE: By entering this Contest, you forever release, indemnify, discharge, and agree to hold harmless, all Released Parties from any and all claims, causes of action, liabilities and damages: (a) for personal injuries, death, loss of or damage to personal property, and/or other harm or loss of any nature whatsoever sustained by anyone or anything in connection with your participation in the Contest;(b) for libel, defamation, invasion of privacy, violation of the right of publicity, infringement of copyright, or violation of any other personal or property right; and/or (c) from any typographical, human or other error in the printing, offering, selection, operation or announcement of any Contest activity and/or prize.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, entrants agree that Released Parties have neither made nor will be in any manner responsible or liable for any warranty, representation or guarantee, express or implied, in fact or in law, in connection with the Contest and/or with respect to prizes, including, without limitation, to any prize’s quality or fitness for a particular purpose.

These terms and conditions are governed in accordance with the laws of United States and Canada.

Meet Sac City Rollers at FCBD Mini-Con 2014



We're celebrating comic books on Saturday, May 3, 2014. It starts at 9 am and we're giving away more than 15,000 comic books -- no strings attached.

Free Comic Book Month

J.Kyll & Hyde The Body
Sac City Rollers
Plus, we're celebrating all month. Be sure to pick up your Free Comic Book Month Passport when you come to the shop on Free Comic Book Day, so that you can unlock new comic book freebies each and every Saturday in May.

Best of all, we've combined Free Comic Book Day with our very own Mini-Con to celebrate all the things we love about Sacramento, including the Sac City Rollers (roller derby) and the West Coast Avengers (cosplay group with heart. They'll be raising funds for the Shriner's Hospital for Children). Additionally, you'll meet local comic book writers, artists and creators, Supreme Pro Wrestling stars, and more.

Free Comic Book Day Mini-Con 2014 is Saturday May 3rd

UPDATE 04/30/2014: Doors open at 9 am. We're expecting a huge turnout. Even heard some are going to get in line an hour or more early. Just sayin'.

UPDATE 04/28/2014: There's an amazing comic book sale for Free Comic Book Day that you won't want to miss. Read all about it.

It is that time of year again. FCBD is only a month away and we have even more planned this year than any other year.

Our Best Comic Book Mini-Con Yet!

As always we will have a Mini-Con with some of Sacramento's best and most creative people. The Sac City Rollers will be here! The 501st Legion! Live Video & podcasts you can be part of! 15,000+ comics to give away for FREE! We will also have Supreme Pro Wrestling in the parking lot, with a full size ring, performing from 9am-11am.

This is going to be the best FCBD so far.  Stay tuned for the full details!


GUEST LIST

Hainanu Saulque - Artist and writer of Union St. Choir

Jared Konopitski - Painter and comic creator

Kyrun Silva - Writer and artist of the new indy title Shaman's Destiny

Michael Dorman - Thrillbent artist and artist for Moonstone's "Black Bat and Domino Lady - The Seer Stone"

Mach Yeager - Artist and writer for Digger Jones Adventurer and artist for John Solo: Secret Agent

Jason Dube - Writer, artist and publisher with Scattered Comics. He has worked on such titles as Scattered, Panda Days, Caffeine Poisoned, and Shadow Hunters.

Chris Cinder - Painter, designer and sculptor with themes that run from Star Wars to Cthulhu and toys with a superhero theme.

Felic Perez Jr. - Inker for the Dark Horse's Never Ending and Penciler for Trixie Dynamite.

Krysten Reis - Writer and artist for the new comic Curious Journey and cover artist for Trixie Dynamite

Sac City Roller - Our official Roller Derby team will be down here with info on their bouts and of of course on their skates.

501st - Everyone's favorite Star Wars group will be down with Storm Troopers and other SWU characters.

Supreme Pro Wrestling - A wrestling ring will be setup in the parking lot where Sir Samurai, Joe DeSoul, Dexter St Jock, D Torch and Bobby Hart will be wrestling from 9-11am.

Fist Full of Potions (podcast) - Local Gaming and geek podcast will be here recording live and talking to guests and fans alike.

Comics and Coffee - Jay Wheeler and ArtOf Fredrick-Allison Jr will be down doing live videos of the event and talking to guests and fans alike.

Richard Curtze - Local artist who has worked with ECV Press and loves to do sketch covers.

Hero Initiative - Helping Comic Creators in Need.

West Coast Avengers - Cosplay helping to raise money for the Shriners Hospital.

Timothy Green -Artist for Marvel, DC, Dark Horse and more.

Eric Nguyen - Has worked for DC and Marvel and currently works on Dark Horse's X.

John Cottrell - An independent comic creator who has done work for Dark Horse.

Shane Murphy - Artist and writer for Birdland.

Michael Calero -Local artist will have plenty of great prints for sale.

Melissa McCommon- Artist and Writer for Carnation, Caffine Poisoned and Epic Chaos with a wwwkly web comic as well.

Diamond Comics Interviews Ben

Ben Schwartz by Junior Bruce
Diamond Comics recently interviewed Ben about how he does things around the shop. The interview will be shared by Diamond with shop owners across the country.

If you've ever wondered about some of the internal aspects at Empire's Comics Vault, then you'll enjoy these excerpts.

Interview Excerpt

"We start planning for FCBD January 1st. The first thing we do is review everything that was done the previous year to make sure it all worked smoothly and refine if necessary. Just to keep things fun for the attendees we always add something more to make this year’s FCBD even better. Once we determine what it is that we are adding we begin contacting everyone who will be part of the event to allocate space and to begin promotion. 
For the entire month of May we continue the fun of FCBD each Saturday with FCBD Month. We use this as an opportunity to bring in customers on a weekly basis because if you miss a weekend you no longer qualify to participate in the next Saturday. Through the year we stockpile goodies such as posters, cards, Halloween comics, left over FCBD books from previous years, buttons and other fun stuff and each weekend has theme of Free stuff to give away. 
Each year we give out over 15,000 comics, have a mini-con that features artists, writers, local groups and clubs, derby girls and co-players come down, a fire engine is there for the kids and we have raffles and contests."

So are you as excited about Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) 2014 as we are? Did you notice that bit about "we always add something more to make this year's FCBD even better"? Follow us on our various social networks to make sure you hear about what that is this year.
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2013 Free Comic Book Day Mini-Con Guests Announced



Second Annual Mini-Con at Empire's Comics Vault's Free Comic Book Day Celebration

We're proud to announce the line up of special guests -- all Sacramento locals -- who will be at our Mini-Con:

Join us to meet these amazing locals and to score your free comic books. Remember, you can take one copy of each book that you plan on reading, but only 1 of each, please. There's also going to be an amazing sale. Stay tuned for more details soon.