One of the best events to come out of the comics industry over the past decade is the growing push for Free Comic Book Day, which takes place on the first Saturday of May each year. The project has been going on for about a decade now and we get a lot of variety as to what’s available each year from different publishers. Some go in more than others and you get a pretty good mix of titles overall though to sample, which can be good for those that are brought along “against their will” sometimes.
For this year, we headed down to Friendly Neighborhood Comics to check it out as I wanted to sample some of the free books that were available and to pick up a few trades that came across my radar this week. I had brought along my youngest daughter and my girlfriend along with her elementary school age son. Suffice to say, neither child was enthused simply because comics aren’t things they get into it. And sometimes you can’t push a person. But they watch the comic book movies so there’s at least an awareness. If only they knew of the 20,000 comics I have sitting in boxes that they could read through…
Anyway! The store is a solid one with a lot of great titles available in a bright, clean and inviting manner that’s so different from some of the darker dungeons that I had to explore back in my early days. Luckily, being in New England, we had access to some great shops like Bop City Comics, Comically Speaking, New England Comics (SPOON!) and Newbury Comics during their early days before they went bigger with other areas. I’ve been reading comics since Star Wars #8 where it introduced me to the world of comics through my love of that movie and a strange giant green rabbit.
I had arrived a bit later than intended so I missed Hugo Award winning artist Bob Eggleton who had some gorgeous posters available there along with the very talent artists Andy Fish and Veronica Fish.
Walking the store is always a bit of a trip for me, especially as I check out the back issues on the wall because I remember buying so many of those fresh and new off the rack when I used to go on the Wednesday and Friday runs in my youth with friends, coming out with stacks of great new books and just poring over them and talking about it all for hours afterwards with everyone. Sharing the books, hanging up the posters, grabbing the graphic tees and just the whole camaraderie of it all is a huge part of my young adult days. And it’s one of the reasons that I thoroughly love comic book shops and wish I had one like this one a bit closer to me.
While I have an extensive to-read list and an extensive wish list, I made sure to grab a few of the free books out there this week from the publishers as well as grabbing some trades that I wanted which came across my view this week.
With Pax Romana and Clone getting explored for TV development, I loved that the store had a dedicated section of trade material towards things that are being exposed in other forms of media. That’s just plain smart marketing. So I was glad to be able to grab these books, which have been flying off the shelves since the development was announced. I also finally got the second Saga trade, which I’m obviously quite behind on. I also picked up the Avengers Arena in hopes of getting a young man in the house hooked on books in this way since he likes the movies and a battle royale seems like the smart approach.
I also liked that Image Comics has a slew of first issues of various series for a buck in print on the shelves to tempt you. You want to try a trade, but prices can be daunting. So it makes sense to go and offer up a tease for a low price and you can definitely check out a lot of books on the cheap. Even better? Image Comics is offering the bulk of those for free through ComiXology at the moment – 196 free first issues! Seriously. Set up an account if you don’t have one, download a bunch of free books and explore the world beyond capes.
Of the free books from the overall event, I did grab a few things to sample but I’ll admit that in general it’s “not my thing” for what these books offer because I am a generally savvy and aware reader. I did grab a bunch of titles though for myself and my eldest daughter who could not attend.
What I did like seeing though is that my youngest found a novel she wanted and that meant lots of new reading on the way home. My girlfriends song gravitated towards some of the licensed properties like GI Joe and the like and that opens a whole lot of other doors if I can just slide some other books his way from there. And my girlfriend picked up a few books herself, which isn’t a surprise since she’s read some good stuff since meeting me in the last couple of years, including lots of Walking Dead.
Free Comic Book Day is an important event in the comics industry, though it gets less attention on the manga side which is a shame but understandable considering some of the licensing hurdles. Viz Media was the main one providing material this time around while Udon had a Les Miserables book out as well. But so many people just view comics as the superhero stuff that when you get down there and really look at it and realize how much non-superhero stuff ends up on TV, you have to admire the breadth of it all. It leaves me wanting to sample and read even more. The only problem? I want to write about all of them too, which is getting impossible!
If you’re able to make it, definitely do so and experience it and try new things. The majority of comic book shops out there are great experiences with helpful and friendly owners and staff that just want to share their passions with you. Most retail experiences are all about the wage slave that’s just trying to get through the day. These shops are true places of passion and it’s reflected in the staff. And I can definitely say that Friendly Neighborhood Comics qualifies as one of those places.
Until next year!
