Friday, May 3, 2013

Free Comic Book Day 2013




It’s Friday, so that means it’s time to talk about TV…but I don’t want to. I could talk about the season finale of Parks and Rec, and how it was pretty damn good, but I won’t. I could talk about the constant awesomeness of Game of Thrones or my total lack of interest in The Following, but…nah. There’s something much more important to talk about.

This Saturday, May the 4th (be with you), is the 12th Annual (if I did my math right) Free Comic Book Day. If you’ve got no idea what it is but would like to learn more, I highly recommend you check out this website. It’ll explain everything to you, and it’ll even help you locate a store near you and let you know what FCBD books will be released. I’m not here to talk about the intricacies of FCBD and why it’s so awesome. No, I’m here to talk about my plans for FCBD.

Every Wednesday, I get my comics from Rick’s Comic City in Nashville, TN. When I decided I was going to start buying comics again after an almost eight-year hiatus, I settled on Rick’s because of one reason: location. It’s just a few minutes from work, so it’s just a quick drive there on my lunch break. Over the past year or so I’ve really come to enjoy the shop. Rick and his employees are a lot more personable than anybody I’ve had to interact with at any Great Escape location. The store is set up nicely and it’s easy to find the new comics, the back issues, the trades, and the toys. It’s just a really nice place to buy comic books.

Rick is pulling out all the stops to make this FCBD a memorable even in Nashville. Besides the free comics that all participating stores will have, Rick will have special freebies. He’s lined up an impressive array of local comic creators who will be on hand to sign books. He’s offering discounts on new comics and trades and is planning on having a ton of cheap back issues. A zombie extra from “The Walking Dead” AMC show will be there. There will be a class on cartooning taught by Gil Gilchrist, artist on the Nancy comic strip. The cast and crew of Tales from the Geek web show will be there, and comicspriceguide.com will be on hand to grade comics. Damn, right? That’s pretty frickin’ epic.

So I’ve been building this day up for my kids. We’re going to get there when the shop opens, and I’m going to show my kids a good time. My daughter is excited because Andy Price, artist on IDW’s My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series will be there, so she’s going to get one of her comics autographed. Jonathan Glapion, inker over Greg Capullo’s pencils on Batman, will be there, so I’m hoping to get a Batman issue or two autographed. I’m going to let each of the kiddos dig through some $.50 back issues and pick out a handful.

Oh, and I can’t forget the free comics.

I’m looking forward to Marvel and DC’s offerings, and I’ll also probably pick up a few others (I’m looking at you, Walking Dead and Absolution). My daughter is excited about the Tinker Bell comic, and my youngest son is looking forward to the Smurfs comic. My oldest son can’t wait to get his hands on the Kaboom comic, which will have an Adventure Time story in it, and Dark Horse’s Star Wars comic. I’ve gone through the list, and I’m betting the kids will find other comics they’ll want.  There’s an Ugly Doll comic that both my daughter and my oldest son will probably want, because it’ll have both a Pokemon story and a Hello Kitty story. My youngest son might also want the Sesame Street comic and the Spongebob Squarepants comic.

Toss in a special lunch afterward, and I think the kids will have a very entertaining day.

This is going to be the first time I will have actually participated in a FCBD event. I’m looking forward to it. My kids are looking forward to it. I love it when the four of us can do something unique like this.

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