Free Comic Book Day in Tucson, AZ

Every first Saturday in May is known as Free Comic Book Day. This is a big event where comics shops across the United States and the world participate in giving free comic books to customers who come into their shop on this special day. Yesterday was no exception to those who walked into their local comic book shop, especially here in Tucson, AZ. All four of the comic shops participated in this great event for comic books fans of old and new. Most comic book companies participate in this event such as Marvel, DC, Image, Aspen, and many others to give back to their fans. Not only it is big enough alone to receive something free, but there are also many great surprises depending on what shop you may visit. Many shops across the US were very lucky to have special signings and free sketches provided by the companies who provided the free comics, such as Robert Kirkman and Jason Howard signing at Golden Apple Comics in Hollywood, CA. This was just one of many great surprises for comic enthusiasts. 

I think fellow Tucsonans were very lucky to have their shops participate in the Free Comic Book Day event. There were some awesome comics available yesterday and some disappeared quicker than the others. If you were not there when the shops first opened, you may have been out of luck to find that specific book you were after. (We ended up missing out on a couple we were looking for) The Angry Koala Gear crew are Pop Culture fans, known as the Pop Culture Zealots, so we had to show our excitement and visit all our comics shops in town to see what they were doing for Tucson. 

 Our first stop was at Heroes and Villains. They allowed the customers to get one of each book. Everyone was happy about this rule because it made it quick and easy to pick up that book they were looking for and make the line move rather quickly. Heroes and Villains also invited some very special guests, who I was excited about seeing. (I am still a big kid!) The local chapter of the 501st Legion: Dune Sea Garrison and the Rebel Legion. We had a chance to see some great familiar faces from the Star Wars Galaxy. The Arizona Ghostbusters were also in the house and they came in style in the Ecto-AZ Truck. The Justice League Arizona also added to the special guests to attend this incredible event. These awesome costume groups are what make these events fun because they give back to their communities and great charities throughout the year. Heroes and Villains actually has teamed up with the 501st Legion who actually has donated an amazing Darth Vader Helmet to be raffled on May 21st for $10 a ticket to support the American Cancer Society Relay for Life. Not only is this for a tremendous cause, you have an opportunity to win a great piece that would anyone would love to add to their Star Wars collection.

Heroes and Villains Staff enjoying the FCBD!

Our second stop for the FCBD event was Charlie's Comics. Each customer was allowed to pick five comics of their choice for the event. There was a large line of people waiting patiently to choose their comics of choice. The Arizona Avengers were some of the guests that were invited by Charlie for this great event. Charlie also invited some of our great local comic artists and writers from Evil Robo Productions and Ernest Romero, self publisher of Breed.

Our third stop was at R-Galaxy.  This store was very creative on how they celebrated the FCBD event. Each customer was allowed to pick up 3 of each free comic book available. We were able to pick up a couple of books we were looking for, but our choices were limited by the time we arrived. The staff had mentioned that there were well over a 100 people in line when they first opened, which is why most books were gone by the time we got there. One incredible added bonus to not only picking up the free comics for FBCD was to also be able to go through many long boxes filled with many old comics. Each customer was able to pick 20 comics of their choice from these boxes for FREE!! This was awesome! We were able to find some comics that I was rather surprised to get for free. I wonder what finds people were lucky to get even before us with what we found by the time we got there. We actually found some great books, even a Willow #1 and an older Star Wars comic from the 80's. We were like little children filled with excitement to get that toy we always wanted. R-Galaxy also had a great sale with 60% off of back issues. We found some great books and some awesome prices because of the sale. 

 

We had to share this pick because we were lucky to do a post and interview awhile back of this great local custom figure artist, Pat Billings who has his figures on display at R-Galaxy.

 

Our final stop was at Fantasy Comics. Fantasy Comics is Tucson's oldest comic book shop. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived all of the comics for FBCD were gone. I think we were exhausted by this time because of all the excitement we had throughout the day. Fantasy Comics was doing a raffle for a great cause to raise money for the Human Society of Southern Arizona. They actually raised over $600 for this great cause. I wish we could have been here a little earlier to get some pictures of their event, but we got there a bit late. 

Overall, we had some great fun and excitement! Free Comic Book Day was a huge success filled with fun for all ages. Events like this are important for our communities today and the number of people that attended yesterdays event proves how big this is for people young and old. The Angry Koala Gear crew just wants to thank our local comic book shops, artists, and costume groups for having these great events!  

Now let's gear up for the Tucson Comic Con this November!!