"Free Comic Book Day 2008"

I almost didn't make it to "Free Comic Book Day" yesterday.

I awoke that morning to rain here in S-Central, KY., and a very gloomy sky, draining me of the energy and enthusiasm it takes to drive in such for a good 35 miles or better to attend the festivity. In fact, my wife and I had already decided just to stay around here when around 9AM a friend stopped by just to see if I wanted to ride down there with him? My wife told me to go ahead as she really wanted to look around at a city-wide yard sale they were having a few miles up the road.

So by the time we finally got there it was already at least 10AM and the comic book store was crammed. Even so I managed to get around to some of the back issue comic boxes which were all at 20% off marked prices and bring my sets of the current runs of both justice League and Supergirl up-to-date. I also picked up around 15 more issues of Powers since that's a title I've sort of gotten hooked on lately. Grabbed a hundred boards and bags and headed for the checkout.

As they were checking me out I asked the store manager where the freebies were today and he said they were behind the counter, and asked me which ones I wanted? I told him "whatever I could get" and ended up with eleven different FCBDay giveaway comics as well as an "Iron Man" HeroClix figure.

Then outside on the sidewalk sale I found a copy of Paul Grist's "Kane" TPB collection for a mere $2.50. Paying for that, off we went to the mall.

The only store I looked around in there was Walden Books and almost bought some other new comics, but changed my mind as there's only "so much" one can keep up with these days and put them back on the rack. And, we returned home.

In the FCBDay Giveaways this time I acquired copies of such things as: "Devil" (a revival of the GA "Daredevil"), Gyro Gearloose (with Rosa and Barks art), "Owly and Friends" (a wonderful comic!), "Tiny Titans", "Sonic Hedgehog", "Jughead", "X-Men", "Bongo Free-For-All", "Wizard's How to Draw", "Comic Book Diner" and "Marvel Adventures". A no show on a few such as "All-Star Superman", "The EC Sampler" and "Hellboy" that had been advertised as available today, but I suppose certain books only get certain distribution (or, perhaps, they'd already given all of those away by the time I got there).

Of the most interest was "Owly", "Gyro Gearloose", "Devil", and the "Bongo Free-For-All". The Bongo book showed Bart Simpson reading a copy of Amazing Fantasy 15 while eating an ice cream cone and the "comic book guy" frantically trying to stop it. The lead story was actually a take-off of "Powers" (speak of the devil) where Springfield had outlawed all superheroes, leaving the super villians to take over the town.

The "Devil" book was somewhat interesting as it also featured the GA "Black Terror", and the "Jughead" , of all things, was sort'a good with Archie getting a security guard job protecting Steve Geppi's Entertainment Museum (although it was really pretty much just an advertisement for such). I'd given up all the other freebie comics in exchanged for the ones they didn't have!

Later on in the day my wife and I had a cookout at my mom's, then came home and watched The Derby, and were saddened by "Eight Belles" having to be put down due to breaking both front ankles. People don't, in general, realize just how hard a ride that race is on a horse.

(And thus went Day 5 of my vacation.)