Free Comic Book Day 2011.
This cosplayer spent the day at Neptune Comics in Waukesha, WI, a suburb of Milwaukee. Neptune Comics is a great store with a large selection of comics, graphic novels, toys, and collectibles. I arrived at about 10:15 a.m., about 45 minutes before the store’s opening at 11:00 a.m., and already a queue was forming outside the front door.
Upon arrival, I joined my comrades of the Rebel Legion, 501st Legion, and the Superhero Costuming Forum (of which I am a member of all three) in the back room at Neptune Comics, where we suited up in our various costumes for the day’s festivities. I chose to dress as Rogue from the 90’s X-Men cartoon. We had a good assortment of characters to entertain the store’s visitors, including myself, the Riddler, Silent Bob, stormtroopers, biker scouts, a clonetrooper, an Imperial gunner, Jedi, and not one but two versions of Baron Fel. At 11:00 we made our way to the front doors to welcome the incoming crowd.
There was quite a line waiting at 11:00 and the store filled up quickly. The first 25 people through the door were treated to a free graphic novel. Neptune Comics had a decorated table set up with the Free Comic Book Day offerings. Also popular was the Free Comic Book Day cake Neptune Comics provided for the event. I saw many a happy kid with a piece of cake in their hands. The number of younger children at the store was quite impressive to me and encouraging to see.
This year’s comic offerings were as varied as in past years. A full list can be viewed here on the official site: http://www.freecomicbookday.com/comics.asp For some reason I couldn’t get excited about the Marvel offerings this year. Oddly enough, the two comics I picked up were the Civil War Adventures and the child’s comic that included a Smurfs story. I admit to skipping the bulk of the child’s comic and went right to the Smurfs story at the end. What can I say, it’s nostalgia for one of my favorite childhood cartoons. While I refuse to see the new movie coming out, this story was in the style of the Smurfs I used to love and enjoy. The Civil War Adventures was actually quite interesting and I am tempted to go buy the full series. The two stories in the free comic are brief and seem to offer just a very brief glimpse of the full series, which promises the stories of battles such as Gettysburg, Antietam, and other major battles of the war. The series is promoted as being factual and educational. I guess I never thought about using comics to teach history in this manner but I’m never against anything that can get kids interested in history. The inset I found most informative was a two-page step-by-step description of how Civil War surgeons performed amputations. While it may seem gruesome to depict this in comic format complete with illustrations, it was actually quite educational.
All in all, Free Comic Book Day was a fun day yet again for this cosplayer. I have been doing this event for years and it still ranks among my favorite outings of the year. Thank you again to Neptune Comics for hosting us.