Modern comics are not your mother's comic books, nor are they ours. There are still the characters we all know and love, like Superman and Spiderman. There are also comics appropriate for younger kids as well as comics for teens and, yes, adults.
Comics can be a boon to some kids. If your kid is having a hard time reading, comics can help. The stories move quickly, but are more meaningful than some easy readers. The story is very visual. Kids get a great feeling of accomplishment when they can breeze through a comic quickly because much of the action and setting is shown, rather than described.
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is the comic industry's outreach to current and potential fans. Once a year, on the first Saturday in May, a number of comic book publishers sponsor a bunch of comics for local stores to giveaway to customers.
There are a number of titles offered during the FCBD giveaway (while supplies last). Each person is entitled to one book and many stores are including special events. The books given away this year include the large publishers like DC (publishers of Superman and Batman) and Marvel (the Avengers and Spiderman) along with smaller houses like Dark Horse and Archie Comics.
My four year-old will not be able to decide between Sonic Hedgehog, Star Wars, Transformers, Voltron, or Spiderman. My 10 year-old and 12 year-old are also excited to pick their favorite.
We are pretty lucky to have stores nearby that are participating in FCBD:
Legends of Superheros
1655 Straits Turnpike
Middlebury, CT
Saturday hours: 10 am - 7 pm (Free comics from 10 am to 1 pm, or earlier if supplies run out)
Special event for FCBD: Artist Dan Dos Santos will be on hand to sign his cover art on the FCBD comic, Serenity.
Richie's Comic Cabana
96 Store Ave.
Waterbury, CT
Saturday hours: 11 am - 5 pm
Special event for FCBD: Meet artist Mark Mitchell from Disney and Chris Gugliotti from DC/Wildstorm.
Special sales just for FCBD: Buy one wall comic and get a wall comic of equal or lesser value free, and pick up 5 comics for $1 out of special boxes
Cave Comics
57 Church Hill Rd.
Newtown, CT
Saturday hours 11 am - 7 pm
Special event for FCBD: Michael Mongillo, the creator and writer of The Lost Girl from Arcana Comics will be signing.
Alternate Universe
1181 Chapel St
New Haven, CT
Alternate Universe, LLC
398 Bridgeport Ave.
Milford, CT
D-J's Cards, Comics & Collectibles
1 Lincoln St.
North Haven, CT
