Free Comic Book Day 2025
The deets
Where: Lawrenceville, GA
When: Early May
Table Cost: $0 (we received our table space for free due to running a panel, spaces are regularly $35)
Attendance: estimated 12,500
The space
This is a bring your own table and chairs con, which explains why the price for a space is so low. You will have to invest in and haul your own table and chairs, but luckily the parking deck is not that far from the access doors to the theater building. There is lots of space between tables and if you’re in side halls you’ll be backed against a wall which means attendees won’t mistakenly get behind your table.
The market
This is a great entry-level event for artists who might not have a lot of things to sell yet. The size of the event is very accessible, and the number of table spaces is pretty limited, lessening the chance of you having much competition or overlap in types of merch or fandoms. We saw some booths that only had stickers and nothing else, so it’s not unusual to have a very small inventory or selection of goods.
The audience
Since this event is free to attend, the audience is pretty mixed, though does attract a lot of parents with kids. Something to keep in mind is that since this is a free comic book event, you will likely have kids come up to your table asking if you do have anything free. If you can manage it, it wouldn’t hurt to have some small freebie items just to fit within the spirit of the event.
The sales
While we did not have to pay for our table space, we did have to buy a folding table for this event. Taking that into consideration, we’ll set our table cost for this con at $60. We ended up making almost 5x table cost.
For this 1-day con our time invested amounted to 6 hours of active vending, 1 hour of panels, and 1.5 hours of combined set-up and break-down time (total of 8.5 hours).
Items that sold the best were acrylic charms and prints. Most people paid with card rather than cash.
The rest
One of the nicest treats about this con was that panels were permitted to use the theater space. It’s a gorgeous raised stage with overhead projection screen, audio technicians to help you set up, and plenty of seating. It’s a panelist’s dream. The only issue we had with our panel was that it was scheduled to start at the exact same time the con started, which meant people didn’t start showing up until well into our allotted time. It’s also important to note that the mic audio is also fed into the PA system for the whole building, so be mindful of what you say on the mic even if the theater is empty because people in the bathrooms will hear you.
Pros
Lots of food options within walkable distance
Extremely affordable
Free reserved parking in the parking deck for vendors
Friendly and helpful event staff
Beautiful space for panels with incredible technical support
Cons
No table or chairs provided
Non-artist alley vendors are normally outside, but due to rain they were moved into the parking deck