Nerd up for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday
President’s Day. Patriot’s Day. National Eggs Benedict Day. None of them hold a candle to Free Comic Book Day, the one day of the year where geeks get to mix with regular folks of all ages for our national pastime: getting free stuff.
Started in 2002, Free Comic Book Day is held annually on the first day in May — which would be this Saturday for all you calendar-challenged types. This year, comic book stores all across the country will be handing out one of the best lineups in FCBD history, 2 million comics in all, to entertain as well as fight illiteracy. Get to the shop early to get your hands on DC Comics’ “Blackest Night” No. 0, the entry issue into this summer’s biggest crossover event featuring Green Lantern and a whole bunch of other colored Lanterns. (I got an early look at it and it’s definitely a must-read.)
Marvel Comics is offering up an “Avengers” comic written by Brian Michael Bendis featuring Thor as well as the New and Dark Avengers squads. The youngsters will want a copy of “Disney/Pixar’s Cars,” based on the hit movie, and the gang from “The Simpsons” makes an appearance in “Bongo Comics Free-For-All!” Those into ’80s toy franchises will want a copy of “Transformers Animated/G.I. Joe” from IDW, and there’s an issue of “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” for the Jedi nerds like me. That’s the best part: There’s something for anybody and everybody. And did I mention they were all FREE?! You can check out the whole lineup here.
Now, I bet you want to know where to go locally, don’t you? Well, my favorite store, Laughing Ogre Comics in Lansdowne, will be one of those participating, as well as its sister store in Fairfax at University Mall. Both will be hosting signing events, too: the Filibach brothers, writer/artists of “Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures,” will be in Fairfax while “Mini Marvels” writer/artist Chris Giarrusso is stopping by Lansdowne. There are other shops, too: Nova Comics in Springfield, Big Planet Comics in Vienna, Ron’s Collector’s World in Annandale, Aftertime Comics in Alexandria, Hole in the Wall Books in Falls Church and Painted Visions in Woodbridge, among them.
If you happen to have some money left over after getting your free comics, you might want to plunk down some cash for some new books out this week. Those interested in “Blackest Night” will want to see what happens in “Green Lantern” No. 40, as the Green Lantern Corps takes on its Orange Lantern counterparts, and to see what happened in the last big Green Lantern event, there’s “Sinestro Corps War Vol. 1″ in trade paperback form. That’s cool, but I’m also interested in “Dark Reign: The Cabal” this week, a five-part one-shot explaining how Doctor Doom, Namor, Emma Frost, Loki and The Hood all formed their uneasy evil alliance.
And what do you know: Free Comic Book Day just happens to be the day after “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” gets released! It seems Hugh Jackman wants you to come out to Free Comic Book Day, too (and would like you to see “Wolverine” while you’re out and about):