So you just saw The Avengers. You loved it. Maybe even saw it in 3D. And you can’t wait for The Dark Knight Rises. What do you do next? How about getting some free comic books this Saturday.
For comic book fans, Christmas happens during the hottest time of the year. Every first Saturday of May is Free Comic Book Day. Yes, you read that right. FREE. COMIC. BOOK. DAY.
Those four words should be simple enough to understand. But if you’re the type of person who prefers more words to “simplify” stuff, here’s a bunch of them. You enter a comic book store and you get a comic book absolutely free. This happens only once a year. And no, there’s no catch or string pulling to it. It’s all free and it’s all for you.
Sandy Sansolis of Comic Odyssey has been the one that has consistently brought in Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) in the Philippines. And this year looks to be his biggest one yet. He’s lining up the biggest Filipino artists — yes, most of them have worked on The Avengers. There will also be raffles every five minutes and Sandy will even give away FCBD: Komiks, a thank you gift from Sandy and Andrew Villar made especially for the event.
“Insane” is the word that Sandy thinks of for Free Comic Book Day. The event has grown by leaps and bounds the last couple of years. Sandy said that Image Comics summed up what the event is all about, “Free Comic Book Day is a way to introduce everyone to the joys of reading comics, call back former comic book readers, and thank current comic book buyers for their continued support.” With all the attention comics have been getting in movies, this is the perfect opportunity for everyone to see what comics are made of.
This year, FCBD looks to be more personal than ever. The comic book world was shaken when Filipino comic book legend Tony de Zuniga had a stroke and was in critical condition. Fortunately, he has recovered but is in need of financial support. In order to help his medical bills, Sandy and the country’s top comic artists will have a “Sketch Drive” during FCBD. Artists will be accepting on-site sketch commissions where all proceeds will go to Tony and his family. Komikero himself, Gerry Alanguilan will also be putting up a page from Avenging Spider-Man #5 for auction on Free Comic Book Day and all Free Comic Book Day T-shirt sales will go to help Mang Tony.
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You can check out Comic Odyssey’s website at www.comic-odyssey.com where they post the weekly list of new releases. Free comic book day is on Saturday, May 5 at the Robinson’s Galleria Branch of Comic Odyssey. The event will start at 10:30 and will last until they’ve given out all the Free Comics.
Excited to go to Free Comic Book Day tomorrow? Want to help out Mang Tony? Let us know by emailing us at jiggyandjonty@gmail.com