Free Comic Book Day

The first Saturday in may of every year is Free Comic Book Day. World wide retailers get special comics specifically for this event and then hand them out for free. This year I went to my first Free Comic Book Day event. I heard about the event a few months ago and have been patiently waiting every since. The store I chose to go to was The Realm Games and Comics in Brea. I have been regularly getting my comics there so I knew it would be my first choice when the event came around. From what I have read about the event online is that it tends to get very busy so if you want the best choice of free comics you should arrive early. So I did just that and arrived a few minutes after it opened at 10:00. When I got there there was a few other people but not too many and the comic selection was still very good. I was able to get 20 free comic books which was the maximum. After looking around online at all the other places having this event most places give a lot less books for free typically 3-5 per person. So in that respect the store I went to was a lot better because of the 20 comics per person. The only thing that was lacking at the store I went to was the Free Comic Book Day event was not made into an "event." When looking around online I saw that the store I go to did not fully capitalize on the event like a lot of other stores were doing. A common theme a saw throughout the many other store participating in this event was they made it a day long event. They would bring in writer and artists to sketch and sign stuff, have games and activities for children, provide free food and drinks, and the best part a big sale on everything. I thought by a store having all these great extras that made it into an all day event that everyone would enjoy and remember. Also it kept people in store all day possibly leading them to buy some stuff. I wish my store did stuff like this but it is more of a game store then a comic store so I don't think they want to put too much into it. I really enjoyed the day and I am definitely planning on going next year, but I will have a plan. This year I did not really have a plan because it was my first year and I did not know what to expect, but now that I know I will have a plan for next year. My plan is to go to my store first because they are not as busy as other shops and they also give you the most comics. After quickly going to my shop I will go to one of the other shops that are have day long activities and go check those out to see if I like it. The other reason I enjoyed this day was that it got a lot of people who don't normally read comics or think all comic books are about superheros to come out and find out that there is something for everyone to enjoy. I also know for me personally the purpose of the day, to sell stuff along with giving out free stuff, worked on me because I ended up buying a few books that I did not know about. I personally can not wait until next year to go to the next Free Comic Book Day.