Free Comic Book Day has always been a holiday in our home.
It’s a day when we get up early, slam our coffee down as fast as we can, and head out the door, to support our local comic shops and gather with those like minded people of our ilk.
Honoring this day in a midsize city after celebrating it for years in a large city has taken the celebration out of our holiday.
The Free Comic Book Day website states, “One of the goals of Free Comic Book Day is to reach out to those individuals unfamiliar with the comic book specialty market, not to mention a comic book shop. So, every year those behind Free Comic Book Day launch a massive promotional campaign that heralds the event and spreads the good word of comics to potential readers everywhere.”
My local Hastings, who has started a campaign to offer comic subscriptions, was not only out of comics an hour after opening (10:30am), but they had one person on staff during the opening event.
Madness ensued.
Customers were unaware of protocol for the event, the manager was pulling out his hair, and patrons were taking copies of comics off the regular comic shelves thinking they are free. A store looking to push subscriptions should not be so discombobulated.
My local comic shop, where I spend a good amount of money on my subscriptions, allowed me only ONE book unless I purchased something…and even then, it would only be upped to TWO.
When I asked why I was told there was not enough for everyone. My brother-in-law, later in the day, found the same restriction and two very disappointed small children, he was told to return to the store on Sunday for a “free for all.”
Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of FCBD?
Another store in my area advertised six books, and after waiting in line for an hour and a half, we found out that we were allowed three from this year and three from last year. Really?? I probably still would have have waited in line that long for three current books, but not been so pissed when I left, had they been up front in their advertising.
Suffice it to say, my Boise FCBD was turning out to be a real bummer, so I decided to call a few of the shops I used to frequent in my hometown of Portland, Oregon.
While Dark Horse is a powerhouse and they don’t really count, they were allowing customers ten titles each. The other smaller shops in the area had a range from three to seven titles, and one actually raised their limit from last year’s three to this year’s seven.
Yes, it is true comic shops are required to pay a small fee for these comics, which may be the driving force in why there are more restrictions in smaller shops.
However, Gold Sponsors for this year’s event were Dark Horse, IDW, Archaia, Archie Comics, Bongo, Boom, DC, Marvel, Mad Engine, Oni Press, San Diego Comicon Intl., Wizkids and Transcontinental. Effort was made to bring quality books to the stores on this day. Archaia’s offering of a hardback edition of the Mouse Guard was stellar. If publishers put out the effort, I don’t think it should be quashed by the retailers.
As a lover of comics, and I believe my view here will be shared by others; avid comic book enthusiasts won’t grab a fat stack of something just because it’s free.
Personally, I only want to take the FCBD selections that appear interesting to me, I want to learn more about or something I’ve never considered reading before and I leave the one’s I’m not interested in for someone else. It’s not about taking advantage of something free. It’s about getting exposure to something your normally may not have explored.
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| “I know nothing of this Mouse Guard you speak of, but I am offering the adventures of one boy wonder thespian, Mister Burt Ward…” |
Thanks to FCBD several years ago, I began my relationship with Zenescope’s Alice in Wonderland series, and they have received a big chunk o’ change from me ever since.
I think it’s high time we start trying to come up with suggestions for small retailers on how to be better participants in this holiest of holy days.
I would even be willing to pay a couple bucks to support my local comic shop’s efforts in participating in FCBD.
Ask for $1 admission and then do something really rad, like having the 501st come out to your shop or try to get a local artist to teach a quick demo on drawing eyes or hands. Ask for donations; be up front with your customers about incurring costs.
I will pay 12-50 cents to get my hands on some of these exclusives.
Most importantly, just remember that your customers are who keeps you in business, so treat us right.
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| You know, there’s no reason to give me a fifty third reason to stop shopping at your store. |
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