Sunday, April 21, 2013

Free Comic Book Day - May 4th 2013

We attended Free Comic Book Day last year and the kids loved it, so we will probably try to go again this year. Last year, we chose to wait to go until later in the afternoon, after the huge name comic book celebrity signings were done (there were still other signings later in the day), and we still had probably a half hour or longer wait to get in. The line moved steady though, and there were quite a few costumed comics characters outside that the kids liked seeing. Plus, the shop we went to brought some comics out to the folks in line, so that gave us something to look at to pass the time too.

Free Comic Book Day is exactly what it sounds like. You show up, stand in line, and get free comic books. I'm sure each shop has their own systems in place, and their own rules for how it all works for them, but our local shop let us pick out - if my memory can be trusted - three comic books each. More than I had expected. They had lots of kid titles too.

We also made a purchase, because - we all want to support our great local comic books shops, right?

While you are there, check out any other upcoming events that your shop has posted. For example, we just learned that the artist who draws the My Little Pony comic books will be signing near us shortly after Free Comic Book Day, and our girls are super excited to go back again and meet her.

If you visit the Free Comic Book Day Website there is a spot to put in your zip code to find participating shops near you. I plugged in a few and found these shops on the list:

Flying Color Comics in Concord
Dark Carnival and The Escapist Comic Bookstore in Berkeley
Comic Ink in Dublin
Dr. Comics & Mr. Games in Oakland
Comic Cards, Etc. in Pinole
Collector's Haven in Oakland
Alameda Sportscards and Comics in Alameda
Stand up Comics in El Cerrito
Hijinx Comics and SpaceCat in San Jose
Heroes in Campbell
Illusive Comics and Games in Santa Clara

I am sure there are may more around the Bay Area that I'm missing - so visit the link above and put in your zip code.

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