Free Comic Book Day

photo © 2008 Valerie Everett | more info (via: Wylio)

Saturday was National Free Comic Book Day. I had never heard about it before but was so excited to take my little superheroes out for some comic books. I live in a small town and didn't think that this would be a big event. I figured that we would just meander on down to the comic book store, pick up a couple comics, and just look around. Boy was I ever wrong.

I loaded the boys into the car on a sunny Saturday morning. We were planning on going to the comic book store and then heading to the baseball diamonds for some informal practicing with mom. The boys bounced into the car, yammering the whole car ride about who their favorite superhero was. I was busy eavesdropping and missed the turn into the parking lot. I had to drive around the block again. I waited at the light and encouraged the boys to look out the window to see if they could find the comic book store. As the car turned left, we saw a line of people packed on to the sidewalk. The line stretched half a block with eager children, costumes adorned, and TONS of grown adults in their superhero carb. It felt like Comic Con in our small town. The boys excitedly pointed out children in their costumes. My oldest son groaned, "Mom, can we come back later...I really don't want to wait outside." His request would be granted. We headed to the baseball diamond to practice before coming back.

We easily found a parking spot on our way back to the comic book store. We loaded out of the car and worked our way past huge groups of people.  They were carrying mounds of comics and were going store to store, picking up more. This was a whole town event. We got to the comic book store and got our MAP of the stores handing out coming books. There were TONS of stores participating...you got a free comic at each store. The boys were in heaven. We worked our way into the store and waited in a short line. When we rounded the corner, there was a wall full of free comics for the boys to choose from. T's eyes lit up as he began reading the titles. J quickly snatched up a Spiderman comic and then froze. His eyes began to widen as he moved to the left of the line. He began to point and jump up and down. I glanced over to see what was getting my son so excited. At the end of the wall of comics was Spiderman, in the flesh. He was signing comics and shooting his "web" at everyone. J could not wait to get over there. When we finally reached Spiderman, J began to shake with excitement. He got his comic signed, got a high five, and then hugged the comic to his body. This was a special day.

We continued down the street, stopping in to stores and gathering more comics. At one point, T leaned over to give me a hug. "Mama, I love you. This is the greatest day ever. This is like Halloween with comic books!", he exclaimed as we ducked into another store. What a great way to promote literacy with our kids. I look forward to next year when we can trick-or-treat for more comics.