While my son Brad and I usually make a large circle of area comics shops for Free Comic Book Day, this year’s sojourn was an abbreviated journey as the young man, now 12 and a member of his middle school track team, had an invitational meet that day. So we visited our local comics shop, Galaxy Comics, Games & More, in Stevens Point, Wis., that afternoon.
By the time we arrived, a majority of owner Chris Randazzo’s FCBD offerings were gone or low in stock, however, he had a great crowd on hand owing to a Magic: The Gathering release event.
While we were there, Chris took time to help several customers who were looking for comics, directing them to not only his free offerings, but also other books that they would enjoy.
A number of the gamers had also picked up a free comic book and were enjoying them between matches.
Contacted after FCBD, Randazzo said, “Free Comic Book Day went great for us. We keep ordering more books every year and giving them away and we see more new faces in the store each year. Plus we give additional copies to the area junior highs and elementary schools in the area. That goes over well and makes for a great partnership with those schools.”
He estimated that with more than 100 people through the store that day, there were “at least 20 new faces.”
As for us, we picked out a selection of free comics, picked up my weekly order, and then headed out to see Thor. The film was a lot of fun and a great way to end Free Comic Book Day.
The Magazine
This was my third year participating in Free Comic Bood Day with my brother. Again this year we visited America’s Most Wanted in Williamsport, PA. The owner Joe and his family are very friendly and put on one heck of an event. You were greeted by Superman and he was happy to stop and have his picture taken with you. The free comics were laid out in the middle of the store and you were allowed to pick six, since quantities were limited, so everyone had a chance to get some great comics, you could also get a free Green Lantern heroclix. The shop was selling a lot of 50 cent and dollar comics and you had a chance to win door prizes throughout the day. We were treated to not one but two great illustartor’s this year. Back again was Dawn Best who’s best known for Sonic the Hedgehog and now has her own comic, Varulv, which is a great read. Dawn is very friendly and always a pleasure to talk with each year. In addition, Mark McKenna, who’s worked on numerous DC and Marvel comics over the years and is now currently doing Star Wars. He also has his own labor of love, Bananatail, which is a great book for young and old alike. Mark was very friendly and talked about how he got his start in comics, his friends in the industry, his personal collection and the works he’s done over the years. Mark had a nice selection of comic art for sale and I purchased a great piece from Red Robin, along with the comic it appeared, that were both signed by Mark. I came away with some great comics and original comic art and had a fun day! Overall it was another great experience and I’m already looking forward to next year.