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Saturday, May 07, 2005
Celebrating Free Comic Book Day
Demographically the event isn't made for me, since Buy More Comic Books Day is a regular part of my life. I don't need a gimmick to make me pick up comic books - just tell me this week's shipment is in and I'll be there soon enough.
That said, I decided to celebrate Free Comic Book Day 2005 today by going to the Last Sanctuary and picking up a free comic book. When it comes to my pop culture poisons, I like to help out with The Cause once in a while and, while I was too lazy to support Kawaii Kon, this was different. (For one thing, it's free.)
And to be perfectly honest, Last Sanctuary is having a huge sale this weekend to go along with FCBD, so I was planning on buying a few non-free (but very bargain-priced) trade paperbacks as well.
The guys at the store - who were wearing FCBD T-shirts - know me well and immediately offered the Uncle Scrooge free comic from Gemstone. It reprints "Only A Poor Old Man," the first ever Uncle Scrooge story, written and drawn by Carl Barks. I also got a copy of DC's Batman Strikes, since it'd make a nice five-minute distraction for the cost of nothing - the best way to enjoy those DC animation-styled books.
And... that's it. I did my part, I got my free comics, I paid for some other comics, and continued on with my day. Bought new shoes for work. Found myself humming the Circle Jerks' "American Heavy Metal Weekend" to myself at Sam's Club, a song I hadn't thought about in years. Played a little Halo 2 online when I got home. Checked my Jpop downloads.
What was I getting at?
Oh, yeah.
Of course, Free Comic Book Day's charm is its simplicity - getting something for nothing. Granted, there's something of a crack dealer mentality to the idea - the first one's free and after that you're paying $2.50 minimum for each fix. But let's face it, if a free comic book is what's needed to get you interested, chances are you're not going to become a rabid fanboy overnight. I think the best we can hope for is heightened visibility and a growing acceptance for comics as a viable place to spend one's entertainment dollars. On the helping-increase-literacy tip, free comics are being offered at local libraries as well as comic shops, so that'll increase the visibility of the event and raise more interest in the medium. I'm actually willing to bet the recent rise of manga has done more to increase interest in comics among civilians, but every little counts.
And re-reading the Uncle Scrooge story put a wide smile on my face, from the opening pages where Scrooge's paranoia is played out for light laughs up to the very end, where Scrooge apparently hasn't learned his lesson. There's a reason it's a classic and this is one comic I'd think many people would enjoy, if they'd only give it a chance - which is exactly what FCBD is about.
So if it works for me, hopefully it works for others as well.
That said, I decided to celebrate Free Comic Book Day 2005 today by going to the Last Sanctuary and picking up a free comic book. When it comes to my pop culture poisons, I like to help out with The Cause once in a while and, while I was too lazy to support Kawaii Kon, this was different. (For one thing, it's free.)
And to be perfectly honest, Last Sanctuary is having a huge sale this weekend to go along with FCBD, so I was planning on buying a few non-free (but very bargain-priced) trade paperbacks as well.
The guys at the store - who were wearing FCBD T-shirts - know me well and immediately offered the Uncle Scrooge free comic from Gemstone. It reprints "Only A Poor Old Man," the first ever Uncle Scrooge story, written and drawn by Carl Barks. I also got a copy of DC's Batman Strikes, since it'd make a nice five-minute distraction for the cost of nothing - the best way to enjoy those DC animation-styled books.
And... that's it. I did my part, I got my free comics, I paid for some other comics, and continued on with my day. Bought new shoes for work. Found myself humming the Circle Jerks' "American Heavy Metal Weekend" to myself at Sam's Club, a song I hadn't thought about in years. Played a little Halo 2 online when I got home. Checked my Jpop downloads.
What was I getting at?
Oh, yeah.
Of course, Free Comic Book Day's charm is its simplicity - getting something for nothing. Granted, there's something of a crack dealer mentality to the idea - the first one's free and after that you're paying $2.50 minimum for each fix. But let's face it, if a free comic book is what's needed to get you interested, chances are you're not going to become a rabid fanboy overnight. I think the best we can hope for is heightened visibility and a growing acceptance for comics as a viable place to spend one's entertainment dollars. On the helping-increase-literacy tip, free comics are being offered at local libraries as well as comic shops, so that'll increase the visibility of the event and raise more interest in the medium. I'm actually willing to bet the recent rise of manga has done more to increase interest in comics among civilians, but every little counts.
And re-reading the Uncle Scrooge story put a wide smile on my face, from the opening pages where Scrooge's paranoia is played out for light laughs up to the very end, where Scrooge apparently hasn't learned his lesson. There's a reason it's a classic and this is one comic I'd think many people would enjoy, if they'd only give it a chance - which is exactly what FCBD is about.
So if it works for me, hopefully it works for others as well.
