Free Comic Book Day, 2011

I've been overly blog chatty today however I didn't want to miss the chance to point out that this past Saturday, as everyone surely knows, was Free Comic Book Day. In other words, one of the best days of the year. It was started a mere 10 years ago by a comics store owner in Concord, CA and is now an international phenomenon (caps lock implied here.) Well, most of my co-workers hadn't heard of it and didn't seem that excited when I told them-more for me, jive turkeys-but this article says it has spread to 40 countries so not too shabby.

The local paper's article mentions that Nicolas Brendon (Xander himself from Buffy) was at a local store which I hadn't realized. However, I see they also had a petting zoo and bounce house and the thought of all the screaming children in attendance is already making my uterus implode. I'm not sure what went on at the other local stores (including The Laughing Ogre, which is where I typically shop when the mood strikes) but the article mentions that one store only allowed 2 comics per attendee so I am glad that this year I ventured to Yellow Springs where Dark Star was permitting 5 per attendee (and with my friend in tow who doesn't read comics, that meant ten.) I then went to Super Fly and picked up two more after some guy there insisted that I had to read Atomic Robo.

I don't know if this really requires saying but I'm old so I don't really follow comics like I did when I was, say, 14. I just get the urge every now and then and kind of dip in and out. Trying to keep track of all the release dates and spin-off isues-feh, who has the time or inclination. But when I get in the mood I like the visual overload they provide. Plus, I'm a sucker for the hero's journey. It's our most ancient form of literature after all. I'm therefore, by my reckoning, honoring and continuing a literary tradition that goes back to Gilgamesh.

So out of the random stuff I picked up, a few notes:

• A free Green Hornet. Thanks DC!
• But from Marvel I got Spider Man and Captain America and Thor in an Avengers tie-in. I never got into the Captain that much (what good is he without Tenille? Hah, I crack my simple ass up) but I love Thor. Maybe it's the hammer. Alas, the art is just so-so.
• Speaking of Thor, Matt Fraction is rebooting that series which makes sense given the movie goings on so I picked up the first issue which has a Silver Surfer tie-in. I know, freaking cool right?
• I haven't read Richie Rich since I was 10 maybe. He's gotten a make-over which I don't care for and is some kind of techno crime-fighter now. Clearly I'm not the target audience but the old Harvey Comics version was far superior (this one is published by Ape.)
• The best art was in the Black Diamond Detective Agency offering from Eddie Campbell, Alan Moore's old collaborator, and The Darkness II.
• They still make Mickey Mouse comics, courtesy of Fantagraphics. Hooray! But not Donald or Scrooge McDuck. This is all a conspiracy that Christopher Nolan is at the heart of, I'm sure of it. George Lucas has admitted that his restaging of Carl Barks' images was an homage.
• Why the fuck did I grab something called Super Dinosaur and miss out on Ice and The Tick?