Free Comic Book Day: Manhattan

I spent Free Comic Book Day at Midtown Comics in Manhattan. Aside from being surprised at how few people there were when I arrived, right at opening, it was a fairly non-eventful day. Here are my random thoughts and observations of the day:

• Made me feel good to see several fathers with their kids. Also, kudos to the guys at Midtown who had segregated all the kids comics from the adult books ahead of time. Made things go much smoother.

• Watching the kids’ excitement over such simple things as Batman and Spiderman comics made me long for the days when I read comics without a critical eye.

• For some reason, either Midtown didn’t have the Top Shelf Owly comic or they didn’t give me a copy. Either way, that was a shame, as that was one of the better kids offerings of the day and something I was looking forward to.

• Also didn’t see anything from Oni Press. Did I miss it?

• There was no visible advertising in or around the store that it was FCBD. Other shops around NYC had at least posted signs outside their shops to attract foot traffic.

• The TokyoPop free digest looks impressive, and given my general ignorance when it comes to manga, is something I’m looking forward to reading.

What did I think of the books themselves? Well, I don’t know that it’s really necessary to review these, as they're free, so conceivably every one should already be giving them a try, but here are the ones I’ve read so far, and what I thought:

• Bone Sharps, Cowboys and Thunder Lizards – this was actually very good. Great title and I loved the Mark Schulz cover. The landscape orientation and overall design made it standout from the other books. Gorgeous gray-toned art by Zander & Kevin Cannon. Plus, I really liked the How To section in the back which discussed the process of collaboration between the creative team. I think I’ll pick this up when it comes out.

• Flight – Two cute stories excerpted from the Image anthologies. I dug them, and the creators featured, Kazu Kibuishi and Jake Parker both deliver attractive, animation-style artwork and a great sense of narrative pacing. Very kid appropriate.

• Ronin Hood of the 47 Samurai – nice looking, but not my thing.

• Runners Remastered #1 – this was a pleasant discovery. I never heard of creator Sean Wang, or this excellent sci-fi tale, but I plan to track down the other four issues of this mini-series. It’s a great combination of sci fi, comedy, and drama, with gorgeous character designs. Another good all ages title.

• Comic Festival – as good as ADD says . This is the cream of Canadian art comix creators. Standouts include the contributions from Darwyn Cooke (what a great cover!), Seth, Cameron Stewart & Ray Fawkes, Salgood Sam and J. Bone, but really, it’s all good. Makes me wish I could go to the Toronto Comic Arts Festival.

• Superior Showcase – nowhere near as good as the Project Superior anthology, but still decent. The Joel Priddy stick figure tale at the beginning is entertaining and occasionally funny.

That’s all I’ve had time to read so far, but the Fantagraphics, Drawn & Quarterly, Alternative Comics and Uncle Scrooge books all look excellent and I look forward to reading them.

Finally, about six weeks ago I posted over at CBG my Seven Ideas for how retailers could maximize their exposure from FCBD. While I wasn’t naïve enough to think that my words would be taken as gospel (or, in most cases, even read), I did want to put forth three additional recommendations for fans wondering what to do now that FCBD has come and gone.

• Pass ‘em on – On average, you probably got 15-25 free comics yesterday. Read them and enjoy them, by all means. But then give them to someone else. Know someone with kids? Give them the Marvel Adventures or Batman Strikes. Know someone who might be into the Fantagraphics or Comics Festival books? Share them. Maybe you’ll open some eyes to a whole new world, or just develop a mild appreciation where none existed.

• Try at least one new title – there’s bound to be something in the stack of free books that you enjoyed, and have never previously heard of. Why not seek out the full series, graphic novel, or something else by that creator? The whole point of FCBD is to expose people to the diversity of the industry, but without supporting those creators you like, it’s hard to maintain that diversity.

• Support your retailer – that stack of comics may be free to you, but it’s not free to them. Most of you probably already do this, but spend a little extra cash on something new this week. Whatever you can afford. And saying thanks is probably a good idea, too.

• Go see Crash – alright, this has nothing to do with FCBD (except that I saw this movie last night), but I can honestly say this is one of the best movies I’ve seen in years. Thought provoking. Fascinating characters. Outstanding dialogue. Beautiful cinematography. Well acted. It’s intelligent, beautiful, shocking and inspiring all at once. I’ll be very surprised if this isn’t a lock for Best Screenplay at the Oscars. Maybe even Best Picture. Seriously, check it out!

That's it. Take care.

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