So today is FREE Comic Book Day and I went to my local comic book shop to get a free copy of Action Comics #1 since it is Free Comic Book Day and all comics in the shop should be “free.” It seems that I was misinformed.
Actually, there are two opportunities to get a selection of free comics at local “participating” comic shops, one in October and one in May. I’d explain it but I think the folks at one of my favorite podcasts did a much better job so go listen to yesterday’s Pop Culture Happy Hour, and read Glen Weldon’s breakdown of the comics that (if you are reading this now) are probably already gone from your local comic shop. 🙁 Then again there’s no harm in running out to see and support your local comic shop. If they’ve run out the friendly and helpful staff should be able to set you up with other titles that are just as good, if not better. All you have to do is ask.
So what did I actually do for a few hours today at my local comic shop? It was pure genius…
photo courtesy of Comic Carnival
I’m still trying to figure out if this counts for “do something really silly” or “help out a friend in need.” All in all it was a great time and as I told the folks at Comic Carnival I’d do it again, just let me know so I can bring my Dick Tracy Wrist Radio and catch up with my favorite podcasts.
While dressed as a coyote it is amazing the interaction you have with people. It starts with little kids who come up to give you high-fives or to sheepishly say “Hello.” I had to be keenly aware (using my mad teacher ninja Jedi skills) to make sure that I knew when kids were coming up along with getting in harms way running across the parking lot. Beside that, there are those snotty kids and yes, I met up them. I played dumb… I was approached by three teenagers who started off the conversation with “Man *giggle* I really want YOUR job!” They posed for phone photos with me & asking what qualifications I had to land such a “choice” position. I pantomimed, but never said a word, let them think that they were funny and superior… It took years of training in a public school to ignore them and not politely say “I really don’t know if it was graduating from “Fax Paux” or my masters degree from “Jeeves” University.”
Then again the conversation in the comic did happen… I just couldn’t help myself.
While not all of you have met Larry he has appeared in this comic when he attempted to become Cecil’s Right-hand Minion. Larry is a geocacher who goes by the handle “Super Genius.” I will say once I found out what they wanted me to do all I could think was “Larry would love this!” So making Larry envious was just a fringe benefit- that and sweating off about a pound or so which made me look good for my annual physical on Monday 🙂
For ten years Free Comic Book Day has been celebrated the first Saturday in May. It is a great time for people to check out new titles and especially for younger readers to discover comics. A large number of title are all ages and sometimes comic shops will have special things going on. My local shop, Comic Carnival, had two tables full of free comics and was pretty busy. Before I left I was asked if I might be interested in helping them out for “back issue credit.” So that is how I ended up spending a couple hours on Saturday in a coyote costume waving at the passing traffic… My mother would be proud.
Yes, That is your humble cartoonist with Cecil ready to bring in the crowds for Free Comic Book Day
Besides that I did have a great Friday night working with some kids in Remington, Indiana. Cecil and I presented a quick class on character creation and basic comic creation. Thanks to Dino Club and their sponsor Karla Gregory for bring me out.
The first Saturday in May could be consider a holy day for comic book geeks, it is FREE Comic Book Day. Publishers create or reissue special comics just for this day in hopes that this free chance will give new readers a chance to get hooked. Being a teacher I tend to look for “All Ages” comics that my students might be interested in. So Saturday I dropped by my regular shop – Comic Carnival North in Indianapolis (for Geocachers it is home of “It must be Wednesday” ) to see what was up and this actually happened. I was kind of in shock and am still trying to figure out if I might have misunderstood what this kid’s mother meant. I can understand limiting what a kid reads- I tell my class that comic strip are not appropriate reading material since there is little character development or story telling- don’t worry that view is quickly changing as I actually make a strip. I wish more parents made sure that their child is exposed to appropriate media bet that comics, movies, TV… but X-Men?! There are so many other fantastic titles out there that aren’t published by Marvel or DC (not saying that Marvel and DC publish junk) limiting a kid to stories only based on those characters really doesn’t help. This from a person brought up on Flash Gordon.
I picked up for my class- Bone, Peanuts, DC Kids, and the All Ages Wolverine (yes, I know X-Men, but still all ages). For myself I picked up Bone, DC Kids, Avengers & X-Men. While there was a lot to choose from and I heard some grumbling from a few people about limits, I like having to actually choose- it makes me have to think. Hopefully, the kid in today’s strip will have a chance to read some really good stuff sometime.
So today is FREE Comic Book Day and I went to my local comic book shop to get a free copy of Action Comics #1 since it is Free Comic Book Day and all comics in the shop should be “free.” It seems that I was misinformed.
