Hundreds celebrate Free Comic Book Day

• Hundreds of local children and adults celebrated Free Comic Book Day Saturday.
• Free comics were passed out at Comic Shop Plus, and the downtown Newark and Granville libraries.

NEWARK – Nick Herron lives in Fairfield County, but he always comes back to Newark on the first Saturday in May.

That's when Comic Shop Plus, and numerous other comic book stores around the country, host Free Comic Book Day.

It's a tradition for Herron and his friends to visit the store, pick out some free comics and buy a few others.

"It brings in business for the shop, and it's an opportunity to get hooked on a new title," he said.

Free Comic Book Day was started by several major comic book distributors 10 years ago and has grown every year, said Jeremy Thompson, store manager of Comic Shop Plus.

Last year's event brought hundreds of customers to free comic book giveaways. This year, participants could chose from 50 free comics at the shop, the downtown branch of the Licking County Library and the Granville Public Library.

Partnering with the libraries was the perfect fit because both of their summer reading programs have a superhero theme, Thompson said.

He spent Saturday morning passing out free comic books in Granville, then headed to the Comic Shop Plus, which had been busy all morning.

"Basically brings more readers in and helps bring different comic books to more people," he said.

Comic books used to be widely available, but now they are hard to find at big box stores. The only place to get a variety is comic book shops, Thompson said.

"We want to promote them and get readers into the hobby," he said.

Sonic the Hedgehog, The Phantom, Dr. Who and Avatar all had places on the free comic shelf. There were also comics from Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

Over the years, comic fans have learned to mark their calendars for the first Saturday in May. It's great timing because a big superhero movie, such as "The Avengers: Age of Ultron," is typically released around the same time, which creates more excitement, Thompson said.

"A lot of people love heroes," he said. "These comics are feel-good reads. You can watch the heroes beat the villains."

Some of the comics were geared toward adults, but many were great for children too, Thompson said.

"It could get some kids more into reading," he said. "They might not be into regular books at first, but reading comics might get them reading regular novels."

ajeffries@newarkadvocate.com

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Twitter: @amsjeffries