Free Comic Book Day!!!

Yeah, see that, 3 exclamation points. That's how pumped I am for national free comic book day. It's May 7th this year always on the first Saturday in May and I can tell you that this will be the first one I'm going to.

My friend Kevin and I have scoped out 7 stores to hit up to just take as many free handouts as we can get, and it's not because we are cheap or college students, or even broke. Actually, that is part of the reason, but the real reason is that it's a day to nerd out.

I remember going to my first comic conventions, the now cancelled Heroes convention in Syracuse. It was a nifty place, tons of comics, video game tournaments, people cosplaying (for those not in the now, Cosplay is when you dress up like a favored character from a comic or Japanese anime series), it was an interesting crossroads to see all these people together in one place.

You see, comics have always been in my life. As I type this if I turn around I can see my big X-Men poster that I've had on my wall for almost 18 years now. I don't really have a religious path to follow b ut I do live my a simple credo from the pages of Spider-Man, "With Great Power, comes Great Responsibility." It's a hell of a motto to live life by!

Last year is when I got back into actually buying comics, and I was shocked to see how expensive they were. It surprises me even to this day with most comics from Marvel and DC going for around $3-4 dollars an issue people are able to keep up with the different issues and storylines going throughout the comic scene.

The reason I really like Free Comic Book Day is that if offers me a bit of hope, like a young me may find something in reading that makes him want to be an artist or a writer some day. I can tell you that I often thought about writing fictional tales as a young man, different story lines and ideas based in comic lore, and part of that is what made me want to write for living, but also fostered a love of reading within me.

With the national reading rate remaining stagnant for almost 20 years now, get your child or yourselves out to Free Comic Day, who knows, you might just find something you love, like reading.