Up to 12 gold and 35 silver sponsor titles will be announced to the public in March and solicited to retailers in April.
The 2020 event was significantly disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. It was scheduled for the traditional first Saturday in May date, a time when Diamond and many retailers were closed by state and local government regulations. Many FCBD comics were printed, and some were already at Diamond warehouses. After Diamond re-opened, a plan was developed to turn Free Comic Book Day into Free Comic Book Summer, avoiding crowds in stores but still allowing retailers to use the books to build steady customer involvement through some difficult months (see "Free Comic Book Day 2020 Is free Comic Book Summer").
The 2021 plan represents a progressive return to normalcy: a single-day August event in 2021, and a hoped-for single day event on the first weekend in May in 2022.
Diamond parent Geppi Family Enterprises CEO Steve Geppi lauded the retailers, who host the event, and publishers, who produce special FCBD comics. "In the past two decades, fans have experienced some truly remarkable Free Comic Book Day events because of the commitment of our partners to create an incredible celebration of comics," he said in a statement accompanying the announcement.
Free Comic Book Day Founder, Joe Field of Flying Colors Comics in Concord, California (who recently recovered from Covid, see "Free Comic Book Day Founder Has Covid"), noted the landmark year for the event. "Free Comic Book Day has been the introduction to comics for so many and while the world has changed over these last 20 years, our love of comics and the power of comics to entertain and enlighten is stronger than ever," he said.
