Diamond Comic Distributors has announced its fifth annual Halloween Comics Fest that will be held nationwide at participating comic shops on Saturday, October 29.  At the HCF events adults and children alike can go to their neighborhood comic store and check out an impressive array of 32 Halloween and horror-themed free comic books that will include 19 full size comics and 13 mini-comics.  The mini-comics are available both for giveaways and for sale in packs of 25 that customers will be able to purchase (for $4.99), and which can be given to trick-or-treaters on Halloween as a healthy and entertaining alternative to candy.  The polypacks of mini-comics will ship to retailers on September 28.

The purpose of Halloween Comics Fest is to reach new customers and energize the current clientele by painlessly exposing them to a variety of new comic book series and characters.  The festivities can showcase comic shops as the pop culture centers that they are, filled with material designed to appeal to fans of many genres. 

This year’s HCF full size comic giveaways include the spooky Harrow County #1 from Dark Horse Comics, four books from Marvel including Haunted Mansion #1, Darth Vader: Doctor Aphra #1, Spidey #1, and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: You Choose the Story, plus two from DC, Super Hero Girls #1 and the Scooby Apocalypse/Hanna Barbera Sampler, as well as Afterlife With Archie: Season 2 from Archie Comics, and My Little Pony: The Haunted Dungeon from IDW.  Plus there is a great selection of mini-comics including Dynamite's take on the Internet sensation Grumpy Cat. For the Covers of all 19 full size comics and all 13 minicomics, see the Gallery Below.