Free Comic Book Day May 2
Saturday, May 2, is Free Comic Book Day. To celebrate and share the joy of comics, Marvel, DC, Image, Dark Horse, Viz Media and a host of independent publishers are offering a special selection of comics available for free at comic stores across the globe for one day only. Many of these comics, such as Transformers Animated/G.I. Joe, DC Kids Mega Sampler, The Mighty Archie Art Players and Star Wars: The Clone Wars are suitable for all ages, although there is also a healthy selection of more mature titles. To take part, simply go to your local participating comic shop - easily findable through this search engine - and request your free comic. Many comic book stores will be hosting events and comics signings to celebrate the day, and a listing of notable signings is available at the official site. No purchase is necessary. More information is available on the Free Comic Book Day site.

Pushing Daisies Now DC Comic
Pushing Daisies
, the recently canceled cult-favorite surreal comedy on ABC about a baker who can raise the dead, will become a 12-part comic from DC Comics. The project was originally rumored to publish with Marvel Comics. Bryan Fuller, the show's producer, announced the deal at the Museum of Television and Radio's Paley Fest. The comic will feature the heroes facing off against a horde of 1,000 zombies in a dramatic storyline originally intended for a movie spin-off of the show. The comic should be arriving in stores this fall, and the last three episodes of Pushing Daisies will air on ABC starting May 30. More information is available at this article on E!Online.

Disney Comics Take On India
The Walt Disney Company
, whose comic books of iconic Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and Scrooge McDuck are published in many languages and wildly popular in Europe, has announced deal to bring Disney comics to India. A deal with local publishing company Junior Diamond will bring two titles - Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - into print in India in both English and Hindi editions. Plans are in the works to bring into print regional language translations for the south of India and a Disney Princess line of comics featuring such characters as Cinderella and Snow White in the near future. More information is available in an article on the subject at The Business Standard website.

Carousel Comics @ Dixon Place
The Dixon Place experimental performance art space will present Carousel, a special one night event of cartoon slide shows and other projected pictures on April 30. The projected art will be presented live by artists, performers and graphic novelists including comics creators Dean Haspiel, Josh Neufeld and Tim Krieder, multimedia artist Brian Dewan, and choreographer Kriota Willberg. Comic creator R. Sikoryak has been hosting and creating the Carousel series of comics slideshow events, since 1997. Dixon Place is located at 161 Chrystie Street, New York, NY, and tickets for the event cost $15 to the general public, $12 to students and seniors with ID or two tickets for $25 with a Dixon Place postcard flyer. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the show begins at 8.

History of Wolverine with Claremont
The Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art
will present Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon, a special live discussion event with famed X-Men writer Chris Claremont and author and comics creator Michael K. Manning moderated by comics historian Peter Sanderson. Timed to coordinate with the new Wolverine: Origins movie, the talk covers both the history of the comic book character Wolverine and Manning’s new book Wolverine: Inside the World of the Living Weapon. The event is scheduled for 7 — 9 p.m., April 29, and entrance is $5 to the general public, free to MoCCA members. The Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art is located at 594 Broadway, Suite 401, New York, NY.

Death Note Day in New York
Viz Pictures has announced that in collaboration with the New York Anime Festival, they will be presenting a special Death Note evening at Kinokuniya, the biggest Japanese language bookstore in the United States. With a free screening of the original Death Note anime and a wide array of Death Note prizes, Death Note Day is being held to promote the upcoming two day special theatrical showing of the new live action film Deathnote: L, Change the World on April 29 & 30. Death Note is a popular anime and manga series about Light, a young man who discovers a mystical artifact which he uses as a tool to commit undetectable murders and L, the mysterious detective who hunts him. The anime screening begins at 6:30 p.m. and the prize giveaway begins at 7 p.m. at New York City’s Kinokuniya, located at 1073 Avenue of the Americas.

This Week @ Good Comics for Kids
This week School Library Journal’s blog Good Comics for Kids has posted this week’s All Ages Comics and Manga list, explained how to get More Shojo Bang for Your Buck, and reviewed the first volumes of Night School and Dramaconby Svetlana Chmakova. They also have just collected their review index of the best all ages comics and manga of the first quarter of 2009.

ACT-I-VATE Live at Bergen St. Comics
The ACT-I-VATE Web Comics Collective, which features such acclaimed comics as Parade With Fireworks, The Transmigration of Ultra-Lad and Back Stage and counts Dean Haspiel of American Splendor, Molly Crabapple of Doctor Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, and Harvey Award-winning comics creator Nick Bertozzi among its members, will be hosting a free party and live art event at Bergen Street Comics on May 2, Free Comic Book Day. The party starts at 6 p.m. and runs on into the night, featuring refreshments, a multimedia presentation, and a live game of “Narrative Corpse” in which each comic creator will draw a single comic panel before passing it on to the next creator in a round-robin fashion until a full comic is created. Although a list of featured guests is not available, Josh Neufeld, creator of A.D.: New Orleans After Deluge and Jeff Newelt, ACT-I-VATE’s “Minister of Hype” and Smith magazine’s comics editor have confirmed appearances. Bergen Street Comics is located at 470 Bergen Street, Brooklyn, NY, and admission is free to the general public.

Tokyopop/Pocky Art Contest
Manga publisher Tokyopop and fan-favorite Japanese candy Pocky are co-sponsoring a Pocky art contest for the best work of art or 1-3 panel comic prominently featuring Pocky with a grand prize of $1000. Submissions are open until July 1, and all art must be submitted digitally by email in .jpg format. The winners will be announced at this summer’s San Diego Comic Con, and the top 5 works will be displayed at the con’s Tokyopop booth. More details are available in the announcement at the Tokyopop website.

World War 3 Illustrated Release Party
World War 3 Illustrated
, the long-running left wing political comics anthology, is throwing a party at the Museum of Comics and Cartoon Art to celebrate the release of issue #39, their first entirely wordless issue. Entertainment will include an animated film by Onur Tukel, live music from Eric Blitz, Steve Wishnia, Andy Laties and Breeze among others, and a multimedia presentation of art from artists including Peter Kuper, Sabrina Jones, Kevin Pyle and Chuck Sperry. The event will take place from 7 — 9 p.m. on April 30, and is free to the general public, although a donation is suggested. More information is available at the MoCCA website.

SVA’s Fresh Meat
On Friday May 1st, the School of Visual Arts Cartooning Department will hold their mini-comics convention, Fresh Meat. The convention will feature student’s mini-comics and other artwork for sale. Fresh Meat will be held at the Monkeybar Lounge at 217 East 23rd Street from 6 to 9 pm. Also, on Tuesday May 5th will be the SVA Cartooning and Illustration open studios from 5 to 8 pm at 380 2nd Ave on the 7th floor. The show will display the work of the graduating seniors. More information can be found at Matt Madden’s blog.

This week at The Beat
At Heidi MacDonald's blog of comics culture, this week's highlights include:

Twitter can’t destroy civilization fast enough Various personnel comics and goings Which major companies aren't going to BEA? Art Brut's DC Comics And Chocolate Milkshakes video Legendary letterer Todd Klein looks at ComicSans Behind this week’s NYT Graphic Books chart