Here's how I spent my Free Comic Book Day this year:
I started out by going to
Fun 4 All in Ypsilanti. It's in a strip mall anchored by a dollar store, a grocery store, and the Secretary of State's office (closed on Saturday). The store opened at 11 and I got there at about 11:30. They had their FCBD wares displayed on little easels on top of their graphic novel shelves, and then you went to the counter to ask for what you want (limit 3). There were plenty of people inside, including a lot of families with little kids; I overheard a couple of the conversations, and the kids were definitely attracted to the appropriate comics--and quite enthused about getting comics. I picked up the FCBD editions of
Amelia Rules,
Owly, and
Love & Capes; and I bought the
Hulk vs. Hercules comic, because I always feel I should purchase something on Free Comic Book Day.
I then headed over to
Vault of Midnight, on Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor. They had the free comics on open shelves about a third of the way deep into the store (limit 4). There was a lot of foot traffic off of the street, and Curtis, the owner, stood near the front of the store ensuring people that yes, the comics were free, no strings attached! I picked up the FCBD editions of
Marvel Adventures,
Salem,
Kid Houdini, and
Atomic Robo; I get a 15% discount at Vault, so I used the occasion to buy the first
Immortal Iron Fist trade as well as Yuichi Yokoyama's
New Engineering.
After a stop at the grocery store I went home, set my free comics aside, and started cramming for my
upcoming interview with Paul Hornschemeier. I read and took notes on
The Collected Sequential and
Let Us Be Perfectly Clear.
So I haven't had much of a chance to read hardly any of the books I picked up on Saturday. I did read the
Marvel Adventures title, with a fun story of Iron Man, Hulk, Spider-Man & Ant-Man fighting The Mandarin by Jeff Parker & Paul Tobin. Plus I read the first couple chapters of
New Engineering, and it's blowing my mind!
