Written by: Robert McClelland
So last Saturday was a time of good fun and Nerdy/Geeky goodness. A time where you could have simply just walked down your street dressed like Boba Fett or Superman or whoever and not even really need a comic convention as the reason for it! Of course you can do that at any time really just to have a little fun and maybe mess with people's minds. And if you're wondering what I am talking about, I of course mean Free Comic Book Day/Star Wars Day. A day worth asking off for, regardless of whether or not you happen to know that your job is going to be doing some kind of special event and you just don't want to deal with it cause you know there's a ton of other, much better things out there to do.
Like going and getting yourself some comic books for your enjoyment and possibly hanging out with your fellow Nerds/Geeks. Or sleeping after enjoying some comic books. Sleeping's always a good past time in my book. and I know a week has passed since the 4th, but I had actually been waiting on a few things before I could get this out for your eyes.
Anywhos... For me though FCBD was a little extra special for me as I was able to attend my first comic convention. Not to mention learning of a legit comic shop that's a bit more closer to home and doesn't take what feels like an hour and a half to get too. Said shop you ask? Why Kryptic Games and More of course! Now yeah they weren't opened on Saturday due to running the Tahle-Con at the NSU college but I honestly didn't mind that fact. Because I know sooner or later I'll get my chance to visit their store. And thanks to them I can safely say I've gone to College now. (As a side note, since its been a week since the 4th. I had that chance and it was pretty awesome.)
One of the things I liked was the roomy space to move about in, as the room was fairly large. Plus it helped it wasn't packed with a whole bunch of people. Now the only downside wasn't having any money but a dollar in my wallet to get any extras. Although I did pick up this cool little preview book for a dollar from the good folks at the Area 51 Comics Studio table. So one could say that dollar was certainly put to good use! Another sad fact I have to mention though is the lack of a camera, due to it raining that day I figured it was a safer idea to leave it at home. Now yeah the show was inside the building but things can sometimes happen. Plus I didn't think my phone's camera wouldn't be all that great. But hopefully there will be a lack of rain so I won't have to worry about potential issues. The limit of 10 per person was a nice doing, allowing many including myself a variety of books to choose from. Among those titles for me was a Steampunk version of the Wizard of Oz from Arcana that I'll be having a review up for soon. The fact they had a book from Aspen to choose among the selections was a great thing as well.
Like going and getting yourself some comic books for your enjoyment and possibly hanging out with your fellow Nerds/Geeks. Or sleeping after enjoying some comic books. Sleeping's always a good past time in my book. and I know a week has passed since the 4th, but I had actually been waiting on a few things before I could get this out for your eyes.
Anywhos... For me though FCBD was a little extra special for me as I was able to attend my first comic convention. Not to mention learning of a legit comic shop that's a bit more closer to home and doesn't take what feels like an hour and a half to get too. Said shop you ask? Why Kryptic Games and More of course! Now yeah they weren't opened on Saturday due to running the Tahle-Con at the NSU college but I honestly didn't mind that fact. Because I know sooner or later I'll get my chance to visit their store. And thanks to them I can safely say I've gone to College now. (As a side note, since its been a week since the 4th. I had that chance and it was pretty awesome.)
One of the things I liked was the roomy space to move about in, as the room was fairly large. Plus it helped it wasn't packed with a whole bunch of people. Now the only downside wasn't having any money but a dollar in my wallet to get any extras. Although I did pick up this cool little preview book for a dollar from the good folks at the Area 51 Comics Studio table. So one could say that dollar was certainly put to good use! Another sad fact I have to mention though is the lack of a camera, due to it raining that day I figured it was a safer idea to leave it at home. Now yeah the show was inside the building but things can sometimes happen. Plus I didn't think my phone's camera wouldn't be all that great. But hopefully there will be a lack of rain so I won't have to worry about potential issues. The limit of 10 per person was a nice doing, allowing many including myself a variety of books to choose from. Among those titles for me was a Steampunk version of the Wizard of Oz from Arcana that I'll be having a review up for soon. The fact they had a book from Aspen to choose among the selections was a great thing as well.
And considering my lack of reading from that company, I was happy to get my hands on a book by them. All in all, this was and if my memory's correct my third time participating in FCBD and was just as enjoyable as the first two. And I am definitely looking forward to next year's. Another neat thing during Tahle-Con was the booth that contained the 501st Legion. Which was pretty cool because it kept in the spirit of the Star Wars side of things. And to go along with this article, I'm going to include a few stories from others who had joined in on this past Saturday's fun. So feel free to include your own stories in the comments below!
And to add to the fun, here's a few stories that are either good or bad from some fellow participators!
Jason Graziano: Last year was my first FCBD and my local shop didn't really do much but give out the free comics and discount merchandise. This year I found out about a shop about an hour and a half away doing the same, but also had artists and writers there signing books! I got to say it was a joyful experience and I hope to do it every year.
Jason Graziano: Last year was my first FCBD and my local shop didn't really do much but give out the free comics and discount merchandise. This year I found out about a shop about an hour and a half away doing the same, but also had artists and writers there signing books! I got to say it was a joyful experience and I hope to do it every year.
Rob Franklin: I wasn't able to make it to my preferred comic shop for FCBD, which was an hours train ride away. Instead I had to go to the local one in my town. The owner put no effort into FCBD. There was no sign in the shop window, he opened up late (after 10:30), the free comics were just dumped on a large table. There was no supervision over how many books people took, or how many copies of each title. Just a bad comic shop putting in less than a half arsed effort, while all the regular customers went to the better comic shops in the next city over.
Derrick Crow: Honestly, this is my first real FCBD. Growing up, the only comic shop we had in town I ever only got to go three times before it suddenly shut down. And the only thing I got to buy from it was Yu-Gi-Oh cards (no regrets). And after that the following years were spent in the workforce. And still are today, but with a slightly more flexible schedule. I was finally able to take part in FCBD proper this year, finding myself having the day off and visiting my girlfriend, we found that we were only 25 minutes away from a comic shop and made our way there. It was bustling with people cosplaying several Marvel and DC characters. People young and old, some people that didn’t “look” like they read comics and those who most certainly did coming in and gathering up their free comics, limited to 3 per person, so thanks to Megan we were able to get 6 (which was pretty much doubled due to some comics being flip books for multiple series).
I waited nearly 2 hours for a Silver Surfer sketch and I do feel as if the artists who partook in this event could’ve been a little nicer. I get it, you’re stressed because of all the images you need to draw and you have people bugging you if theirs is ready, but you took this upon yourself and you might as well be nice about it.
But overall it was a fun first experience, and I’m really happy I finally got to partake truly. Hopefully from here on out it’ll become a trend. Just gotta make sure to get there earlier to get my sketch faster.
Derrick Crow: Honestly, this is my first real FCBD. Growing up, the only comic shop we had in town I ever only got to go three times before it suddenly shut down. And the only thing I got to buy from it was Yu-Gi-Oh cards (no regrets). And after that the following years were spent in the workforce. And still are today, but with a slightly more flexible schedule. I was finally able to take part in FCBD proper this year, finding myself having the day off and visiting my girlfriend, we found that we were only 25 minutes away from a comic shop and made our way there. It was bustling with people cosplaying several Marvel and DC characters. People young and old, some people that didn’t “look” like they read comics and those who most certainly did coming in and gathering up their free comics, limited to 3 per person, so thanks to Megan we were able to get 6 (which was pretty much doubled due to some comics being flip books for multiple series).
I waited nearly 2 hours for a Silver Surfer sketch and I do feel as if the artists who partook in this event could’ve been a little nicer. I get it, you’re stressed because of all the images you need to draw and you have people bugging you if theirs is ready, but you took this upon yourself and you might as well be nice about it.
But overall it was a fun first experience, and I’m really happy I finally got to partake truly. Hopefully from here on out it’ll become a trend. Just gotta make sure to get there earlier to get my sketch faster.