A history lesson: The Black Table looks at Free Comic Book Day as only The Black Table can -- and throws in a summary of the '90s crash:

"Clearly, Free Comic Book Day is all about a simple, self-serving purpose -- saving an industry that nearly killed itself trying to cash in.

"In the 1990's, comic book sales spiked after years of mediocrity, spurred by an ever-increasing interest in the collectables market and the promise of top resale dollars for your pop culture knickknacks. Caught up in the swell of what is sometimes called the Star Wars Syndrome, armchair speculators became convinced that ridiculous profits were to be made in the resale of first and alternate edition comics, just as comic books, toys, and other assorted bric-a-brac from the 1970's and 80's were becoming the cash cow of a generation.

"Hoping for the Dire Straits promise of money for nothing and chicks for free, these rabid shop hounds purchased multiple copies of books, artificially stimulating the market. The 'The Big Two' publishers, Marvel and DC, noted the increased demand and quickly began offering all kinds of multiple covers, crossover projects, and limited series, in hopes of making their own dollar off the phenomenon. It was the 1990's that gave rise to the concept of the limited edition, holographic foil, and variant cover concepts that still plague the industry to this day. Marvel Comics is easily listed as the main offender, as each of their new or special event issue 'X-title' lines featured as many as a half-dozen different covers."