Don’t forget about your favorite national holiday tomorrow. No, it isn’t Flag Day (why do you like that so much?). Saturday May 1^st is Free Comic Book Day, a special time where comic book fans and fans of free stuff can come together to celebrate their shared interest, if only for one magical moment.

Each participating company publishes their own book(s) specifically for Free Comic Book Day, and while many are important new stories or samplers (such as last year’s Blackest Night #0), a few this year are reprints of popular books that are literally bribing you for your interest. For a full list of the comics and a handy participating store locator, check out <a href=”http://www.freecomicbookday.com”>www.freecomicbookday.com</a>. (Yes, there’s a Lady Gaga comic. No, the comic industry does not have any shame.) The event is great advertising for shops, so many will have sales and creators present to share in this most holy day.

Of course, Free Comic Book Day is just that; Free Comic Book DAY. So while you may be inclined to stroll into your local shop on May 12^th and expect a hand-out, don’t be surprised if the Jedi Knight behind the counter pushes up his glasses and snorts in amusement at your misguided antics. Despite the delicious misnomer “Free”, FCBD books actually cost retailers as much as $0.40 each (plus shipping), which is why they don’t order infinite copies, and thus usually impose strict limits on how much you can pilfer. In fact, you may just want to bag and board these little treasures. Who knows? Maybe next year your Sonic The Hedgehog FCBD book will be going for a sweet $0.75 on the back issue market. In this economy, that’s too much to ignore.

If you’re a comics creator, feel free to hit us with your own work and we’ll get it out to all our rabid fans. All three of them! Hah. So, here’s your first Free Comic Friday. This week? We’re focusing on Image and Vertigo books:

DEMO Volume 1 issue #1, here. – here’s the first of 6 brand-new, single-issue, done-in-one stories from Brian Wood (DMZ, NORTHLANDERS) and Becky Cloonan (AMERICAN VIRGIN, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), each one just as powerful and emotionally charged as the original run.

Human Target - Download Issue #1 Written by Peter Milligan; Art by Edvin Biukovic and Javier Pulido; Cover by Tim Bradstreet – Collecting the Vertigo title that inspired the upcoming Fox TV series! Christopher Chance makes his living by turning himself into a human target.

Joe The Barbarian – Download Preview (Issue 1) – story by master storyteller  Grant Morrison with lush art by Sean Murphy (Sean does an On The Ledge column this month)

Fell #1 – You can’t go wrong with this darkly humored noir book by Ellis and Templesmith

Dynamo 5 #1 – I read this first on the PSP and found it strangely compelling. An interesting take on the superhero genre.

Grrl Scouts, Vol. 1 #1 – can you not just dig that cover?

So, Marvel steps in and shoots us some videos. Full on episodes, as in the case of Super Hero Squad and The Astonishing X-Men motion comic. Embed and links below:

http://superherosquad.marvel.com/videos/ – Yeah, we know it’s really about selling toys and teaching them to love comics, but is that so wrong? This one won’t let us embed, but here’s a link and a screenshot:

The Motion Comics Hub – Here’s an embed of the first episode of Astonishing X-Men: Gifted, originally the first part of Joss Whedon’s run on the book, and now a major motion comic.