Published: April 21, 2008 02:43 pm      

Free comic books distributed in Ada

Ada — Free Comic Book Day is celebrated around the world on the first Saturday in May. This year’s festivities mark the seventh anniversary of Free Comic Book Day, and will be held on May 3. Participating vendors in Ada will be both The Cave and Hastings.

Free Comic Book Day is an event that invites those curious about comic books to give them a shot, without spending any money. The event is a great chance for vendors and comic book publishers to pick up new customers, and also a clever way to promote reading to younger audiences.

“What we’re trying to do is give people the option to read some of the comics that are out, and not have to spend a lot of money to figure out if they like reading comics,” said Jarrod Tollett, owner of local comic book shop The Cave.

Big comic book movies also have a tendency to coincide with the event as well. The first Free Comic Book Day was on May 4, 2002, one day after the release of “Spider-Man,” in theaters, an event that many have argued was responsible for the current comic book “Renaissance” in popular culture. This year it’s Marvel Comics’ “Iron Man” that’s set to open the day before, followed a week later by the live-action treatment of Japanese manga and anime legend “Speed Racer.”

Tollett said that while unfortunately Free Comic Book Day doesn’t entitle anyone to any comic book they want, customers will be able to choose from a variety of books specifically published for the event. These books generally come from a wide variety of mainstream and independent publishers. And although the books are free to customers, retailers still have to pay the cost for them, so customers are often asked to limit their selections to those they find especially interesting as opposed to one of everything. Also available this year from Free Comic Book Day are the a free “Iron Man; The Movie” Heroclix figurine, and “Star Wars” collectable miniatures.

Free Comic Book Day kicks off May 3 at The Cave, lasting until closing time. Hastings Entertainment will also be participating in the event, according to book manager Stephen Stone.