Free Comic Book Day just keeps getting bigger and bigger! This year there were 52 titles to choose from, and we vastly increased our orders. The crowds were bigger then ever too! We saw long lines stretching down the street at both stores until after noon. People seemed to love our give away of two complete sets of all the free comics, presented in a handsome canvas Lee's Comics tote bag. This is sure to be a treasured annual tradition from now on. Tom Rolinger stopped by at noon and did free drawings for the fans.
The first big title to go was the Star Wars offering from Dark Horse. Not a huge surprise since it was also Star Wars day. The forth was with us though, and most of our other big titles held out at least into the evening. I was handing out comics in front of our Mountain View store along with my friend Mark Arnold. We saw wave upon wave of happy families and their kids coming up to join the fun. There were also many people who just happened by when they saw all the commotion. These were first time attendees. They all loved the idea of free comics, and many of them told me they were looking forward to attending in future years. We are in a huge shopping center that also has a Costco, Krispy Kreme, Office Max and other attractions so there are always hundreds of people milling about on weekends. Our flags, banner, tent, and the huge crowds milling about really caught the eye!
Free Comic Book day is like a national comic con. It's the time for everyone to let their geek flag fly. People love comics, and they certainly love getting something for free. We give the comics away out front, so people know there's no obligation to go in and shop. The interesting thing is that most people did go in and shop, and we had a record sales day. It's not going to be easy, but we are going to try to top ourselves next year, and we are already working on some top secret plans! Stay tuned.
