Browsing through the stacks
Thirteen-year-old Oscar Dennis was holding some of the world’s biggest superheroes in his grasp. Many inked heroes covered the pages of the comics he had tucked under his arm but Batman is his favourite.
“I like detective stories and I think Batman is really cool because he’s a good detective,” he said, “and he’s got a really cool costume.”
Dennis got the whole stack of masked heroes for free.
Comic fans gathered at The Comic Book Shoppe Saturday on Bank Street for Free Comic Book Day. The annual event, held on the first Saturday of May, is in its 11th year of introducing new readers to the world of comic books and promoting the comic book industry. Participating comic book shops buy discount comics from publishers and give them away for free.
“We’ve done Free Comic Book Day right since it started,” said Rob Spittall, one of the shop’s owners. “It’s a worldwide promotion where we actually have the opportunity to be able to give back to the customers that support us over the years.”
Fans lined up around the block to grab some of the selected free and discounted merchandise.
They didn’t have to open the pages of a comic book to see their favourite heroes. Most of the staff was appropriately costumed. Even a few villains, such as Darth Vader, made an appearance, greeting the queue as fans of all ages flocked into the little shop.
The Ontario Ghostbusters are a group of fans who attend events dressed as the characters made famous by Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. They took photos with comic fans, introduced kids to the Ghostbusters series, and had fun doing it, they said.
“Free Comic Book Day is always something we look forward to every year,” said Ghostbuster Matt Prov. “We did it last year in costume and it was a lot of fun. We’re just glad to see a lot of turnout.”
For The Comic Book Shoppe’s promotions manager, Jody Haucke, Transformers marked his introduction to the inked world. Since then, he’s been hooked.
“I just like to sort of escape reality,” said Haucke. “My mom calls me her Peter Pan child. Growing up is highly overrated. I don’t want to do it anytime soon.”
Haucke was dressed as Captain William Riker from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
“I think there’s something for everybody,” said Haucke, about why comics are popular. “I think that’s something people don’t really realize.”
Spittall said the day is about good will. “I mean, yes, we hope for sales. But the end result is we have people coming in the door to the store being happy.”
Many comic fans were excited about the upcoming Ottawa Comiccon, a first for the capital, which will be held at the CE Centre May 12 and 13 with guest of honour William Shatner.