Hello readers! This is a special edition of The Otter Limits! Today is not only May the 4th (Star Wars Day) but it is also Free Comic Book Day!
Today, I wanted to re-post an article that I originally wrote for an online newspaper called Red Dirt Report back in….uhh….I don’t remember. It was titled ‘Christmas for Nerds’
Like Christmas, this holiday comes but once a year. So it may not be a “real” holiday, but for fans of comic books, Free Comic Book Day is the closest thing they come to having a holiday of their very own.
Free Comic Book Day started out in 2002 as a promotion by the comic book industry to bolster support for independent comic book stores. Generally, they have a theme surrounded around the promotion of a comic book-related film that is being released. The first year, the film it was associated with was the first Spider-Man (the Sam Raimi one of course).
The event takes place every year on the first Saturday in May.
The main purpose of this promotional event is to get people who don’t normally read comic books interested by offering, as the name of the event suggests, free comics books in hopes that they will become regular customers of the independent comic book shops.
Most independent comic shops host huge events in conjunction with Free Comic Book Day, turning their stores into an almost festival-like atmosphere. The stores hold contests, some bring in comic book writers and artists to sign things for fans or run day-long games. One of the most significant money-making strategies for the comic book shops is when they offer (sometimes obscene) discounts on their regular stock.
Being a big comic book geek myself, I regularly attend these events. I have even gotten my kids hooked on the events to the extent that they look forward to this yearly carnival of nerdness as much I do.
This year I took some time to speak to Buck Berlin, the owner of New World Comics in Oklahoma City during their festivities about his experiences with Free Comic Book Day.
New World Comics opened its doors in 1983. Buck began working at New World in 2001 and then took over as owner in 2006. He started doing Free Comic Book Day while he was still in high school. He told me that as a result of Free Comic Book Day, his story usually gains roughly 50 new regular customers a year. They currently have 350 regular subscribers - subscribers being customers that request the store hold back certain comics for them on a weekly basis so that they don’t miss their favorite titles. Most comic book stores have a system like this set up and some even offer discounts to those customers. Buck said that he got into comics when his aunt took him to see the Batman movie in 1989 and then went out and bought a three-pack of Batman comics.
Another conversation I had while at the event was with Katlyn Beddo. Katy put together an interesting effort to try and raise private funds to build storm shelters for area schools. Hosting an event to screen a documentary called Legends of the Knight, which tells the story of regular people that were inspired to do incredible things by their love of Batman.
All proceeds of ticket sales will go to Shelter Oklahoma Schools, a non-profit organization whose purpose is to provide shelters for public schools in Oklahoma. The event will be held at Quail Springs Mall’s AMC Theater on Thursday, May 15 at 7:340pm. Tickets are $11.01 and they can be purchased by going here.
There are still plenty of tickets available to go out and get them and support local non-government efforts to shelter our school kids. Katlyn got involved because she is currently going to school to become a teacher and she feels very strongly about getting storm shelters in Oklahoma schools.
After leaving New World Comics, I ventured to other comic book venues and the results were all the same; swarms of people out supporting their local comic book shops.
With the book closed on another Free Comic Book Day, the independent comic book stores around the country can enjoy the positive impact of the day and rest easily knowing that the next one is a year away.
It is currently not yet 10am on Saturday, May 4th and my local comic shop, Speeding Bullet, is not yet open so I’m sitting here waiting in anticipation for the best holiday a nerd could hope for.
Do you have plans for getting your nerd on today? Leave me a comment and let me know what your plans are!!!