by Sarabeth Pollock:
May 4th, 2013. To many people it’s just another day. To a very select group, it’s a huge deal. Couple May 4th with an event that is held annually on the first Saturday of May, and you have a lot of really happy Star Wars fans and comic book lovers. You see, May 4th is Star Wars Day. Why, you might ask? It’s simple: “May the Fourth Be With You”. (There are even those die-hards calling May 5th the Revenge of the Fifth) The first Saturday of May is also Free Comic Book Day. This is a day when local comic shops open their doors to the masses with the hopes of drawing in new fans to the genre.
As a San Diegan, I’m fortunate to live in the mecca of Geekdom. San Diego is, after all, the home to Comic Con International. That makes for some heavy hitting Free Comic Book Day action from the local comic shops. My comic shop is Comickaze (@Comickaze), and owner Robert Scott did not disappoint the legions of fans this year, new and old.
While waiting in line with my sister, Spiderman and Nick Fury passed out information. The great thing was watching “normal” people going about their business in the nearby stores. All of a sudden, a Star Wars rebel fighter went into the Postal Annex to mail a package. That’s when I knew things were about to get exciting. Just as the doors were about to open, members of the legendary 501st Legion started appearing. That same rebel fighter took R2D2 out of his SUV. R2 didn’t waste time posing for pictures with children, chirping and spinning his head to get a better look at the gawkers around him. A Stormtrooper arrived soon after, followed by two Tusken Raiders and a Jawa Let it be known that I tried watching Star Wars when I was little and those Jawa scared the living crap out of me, so I became a Trekkie and returned to Star Wars later in life. (That said, it still gave me the creeps in person yesterday)
After getting past the entertainment, we finally got to the free comics. Free Comic Book Day started in 2002 and is coordinated by Diamond Comic Distributors as a means to attract new fans to the comic book genre. The titles vary each year, with some one-shot books offered specifically for FCBD. This year some of the offerings included “FUBAR,” “The Steam Engines of Oz,” “Infinity,” “Mouse Guard,” “The Walking Dead,” and “Grimm.” It was really great to see so many families with kids getting excited about comics. It’s not just about nerds and collectors.
Once we got our free comics and after I purchased the issues of True Blood that I was missing, we started to leave. That’s when Ecto 1, yes, the freaking car from Ghostbusters, pulled into the parking lot. The siren was making the familiar noise we all know and love. People got out of the way. Nick Fury and the Stormtrooper guided Ecto 1 into its parking space. A man got out of the driver’s seat and his uniform said “Venkman.” Venkman opened the side doors and the proton packs were stacked neatly in the back, ready for the next ecoplasmic invasion. It was freaking awesome.
One of the best things about this event was that Comickaze was also holding a food drive, and that anyone who brought canned goods was given a special ticket to claim a special edition FCBD release. At the end of the day, Scott reported on Twitter that he filled every box he had, and his van was completely loaded with food.
So ended Free Comic Book Day 2013 and May the Fourth Be With You. What a great way to showcase the things we love and bring new fans into the fold.
Long live the nerds!
Sarabeth Pollock is a contributor for DarkMedia. She covers True Blood, Doctor Who, and American Horror Story, as well as the True Blood comics and whatever movies and books happen to catch her fancy. She’s an avid writer, reader, and pop culture fan, with interest in everything from True Blood to Doctor Who to Anne Rice to Deborah Harkness. Follow her on Twitter at @SarabethPollock and check out her blog at http://sarabethpollock.wordpress.com
Comments are closed.