Free Comic Book Day

The first Saturday in May is Free Comic Book Day. It is an opportunity for comic shops to attract new customers, to promote literacy, and to give artists and writers some exposure. Stores encourage customers to dress up in costume, or at least something that is related to superheroes or comic book characters.

Duffy chose to wear a Spider-Man shirt.

I went with Iron Man.

There are many comic book stores all over the Bay Area and California. I chose to go to Illusive Comics in Santa Clara. I am so glad I did! They know how to put on an event! They had some character greeters who looked like the real thing. Iron Man was there. I was too shy to ask for a photo with him. They also had some food trucks and food carts for people waiting in line. And they were doing raffles and had some awesome sales.

This store is so much fun. What most stores do on FCBD is they limit 1-3 free titles per person, or they may let a person choose how many free titles based on how many regular ones they purchase. This particular store raises funds for autism research and local organizations. What they do is sort the comics by age: all ages, teen, and adult. There are three tables. If you donate $5, you can get one of each title. That is an amazing deal. $5 for a whole bunch of new comics and they get to raise funds for a non-profit. Everybody wins! I donated at all three tables and picked up most of the titles. I am going to have some fun reading these.

The loot. Lots of well-known characters and new stories. I think I am going to start a few new stories because of this. There are so many great artists and storytellers out there.

Sitting on the pile of comics, that's quite a generous stack!

In addition to my donation, I also bought a few little figurines that were just so cute. I am definitely going back to this store when I am in the area and will support them, because they obviously support their customers and the community.