Look, kids, comics!
Saturday was Free Comic Book Day. Rather than hitting the usual haunts here, I was invited to join likeadeuce and some Twitter friends for a "comics caravan". So I took the Amtrak train at any ungodly hour down to Richmond, Virginia. Next time I do that I will remember to check Metro's Saturday hours; they didn't even open until 7am, so I had to brave a taxi down to a nearly dead Union Station. The train trip itself was uneventful. Fairly crowded, but quiet, which I would appreciate later.
The caravan was actually a nine-person van. This worked out well, since we didn't have to worry about following other cars or odd directions. The caravan was a near even split with three women, three men and one small boy. He was quite well behaved and seemed to enjoy himself.
The fun for me was seeing different comic shops and how they're organized. The comics caravan went to four in total, all with different approaches to the day.
The first one was a small badly organized maze with one person handling everything. All the "gold" level book covers were on the counter and you pointed to whichever ones you wanted. Everything else (including ones from previous years) was below the counter and you had to know about them to ask, which defeated the spirit of discovering something new and different. That store had the most bizarre selection of toys and statues. They also had stormtroopers helping with the line. I had a bad Disney moment when I saw a stormtrooper without his helmet; it was like seeing Mickey Mouse wandering around without its head!
The second store had a nice selection of the pulp reprints, both Tollin's Shadow/Doc Savage/Avenger/Whisperer reprints and the Adventure House reprints. The comics geek in me is amused by the Whisperer being Police Commissioner James "Wildcat" Gordon. Does Ted Grant know this? And what does Batman think of Gordon horning in on his act?
The third store was Velocity Comics in downtown Richmond. That store was the artiest of the four stores with heavy selection of independents and lesser known comics. Also the only one of the four with a decent manga shelf, but there's always the regular bookstores/Amazon. They also had a nice sale/discount which encouraged extra shopping.
The fourth store Richmond Comix had Tiny Titans' Franco and Jamie Cosley at the store. They were both doing sketches for the kids. Cosley did an adorable Aquaman complete with sea creatures. Franco sketched an Ace the Bat Hound and Flash while I watched.
What I liked about the last two stores was the large all ages/kids sections. Some stores tuck them away on some spinner rack somewhere. These were large sections with lots of back issues to wade through and find treasure.
All but the second store seemed to be doing a booming business on the day. People seemed to be buying stuff, along with snagging their freebies. I was heartened by the number of kids I saw. I do wish there had been some "girly" book to point to.
I enjoyed myself mightily. It was good to put names with faces with my twitter friends and also chat about comics in person, rather than limited to a lj/twitter post. I do wish there had been some more time for discussions. Hopefully there will be other opportunities.
My train home was half an hour late, proving that my trip down was a bit of a fluke. I also wound up seated next to a large family and behind several people on computers. The mother decided to change the young girl into her pajamas right there in the car, rather than taking her to the restroom or something. I tried to read or listen to music, but the long day was getting to me, because I nearly fell asleep several times. I was definitely exhausted by the time I was home.
The books I acquired: Iron Man/Thor, Owly, IDW's Library of American Comics, Sixth Gun, Oni Press Free for All, DC Kids Mega Sampler (signed by Tiny Titans' Franco) and War of Supermen. I also snagged an old Justice League of America #0, which I loved for the Trinity moments.
I also wound up with Heroclix War Machine. At the last stop I actually saw the Heroclix game being played, so now I understand what they mean.
My regular online service, DCBS, allows us to preorder up to five of the books, so eventually I'll have Stuff of Legend, Love and Capes and the Green Hornet issues to add to my pile.
I bought a batch of other things: the Aquaman & Etrigan issue of Brave & the Bold, Black Widow & the Marvel Girls, Night Owls, and Pluto volume 8. The last one I was grateful for, because I hadn't been able to find it in any of my local stores. So much for living in a major metropolitan area...
likeadeuce also loaned me the first volume of Ooku and gave me the first issue of Hickman's SHIELD.
The caravan was actually a nine-person van. This worked out well, since we didn't have to worry about following other cars or odd directions. The caravan was a near even split with three women, three men and one small boy. He was quite well behaved and seemed to enjoy himself.
The fun for me was seeing different comic shops and how they're organized. The comics caravan went to four in total, all with different approaches to the day.
The first one was a small badly organized maze with one person handling everything. All the "gold" level book covers were on the counter and you pointed to whichever ones you wanted. Everything else (including ones from previous years) was below the counter and you had to know about them to ask, which defeated the spirit of discovering something new and different. That store had the most bizarre selection of toys and statues. They also had stormtroopers helping with the line. I had a bad Disney moment when I saw a stormtrooper without his helmet; it was like seeing Mickey Mouse wandering around without its head!
The second store had a nice selection of the pulp reprints, both Tollin's Shadow/Doc Savage/Avenger/Whisperer reprints and the Adventure House reprints. The comics geek in me is amused by the Whisperer being Police Commissioner James "Wildcat" Gordon. Does Ted Grant know this? And what does Batman think of Gordon horning in on his act?
The third store was Velocity Comics in downtown Richmond. That store was the artiest of the four stores with heavy selection of independents and lesser known comics. Also the only one of the four with a decent manga shelf, but there's always the regular bookstores/Amazon. They also had a nice sale/discount which encouraged extra shopping.
The fourth store Richmond Comix had Tiny Titans' Franco and Jamie Cosley at the store. They were both doing sketches for the kids. Cosley did an adorable Aquaman complete with sea creatures. Franco sketched an Ace the Bat Hound and Flash while I watched.
What I liked about the last two stores was the large all ages/kids sections. Some stores tuck them away on some spinner rack somewhere. These were large sections with lots of back issues to wade through and find treasure.
All but the second store seemed to be doing a booming business on the day. People seemed to be buying stuff, along with snagging their freebies. I was heartened by the number of kids I saw. I do wish there had been some "girly" book to point to.
I enjoyed myself mightily. It was good to put names with faces with my twitter friends and also chat about comics in person, rather than limited to a lj/twitter post. I do wish there had been some more time for discussions. Hopefully there will be other opportunities.
My train home was half an hour late, proving that my trip down was a bit of a fluke. I also wound up seated next to a large family and behind several people on computers. The mother decided to change the young girl into her pajamas right there in the car, rather than taking her to the restroom or something. I tried to read or listen to music, but the long day was getting to me, because I nearly fell asleep several times. I was definitely exhausted by the time I was home.
The books I acquired: Iron Man/Thor, Owly, IDW's Library of American Comics, Sixth Gun, Oni Press Free for All, DC Kids Mega Sampler (signed by Tiny Titans' Franco) and War of Supermen. I also snagged an old Justice League of America #0, which I loved for the Trinity moments.
I also wound up with Heroclix War Machine. At the last stop I actually saw the Heroclix game being played, so now I understand what they mean.
My regular online service, DCBS, allows us to preorder up to five of the books, so eventually I'll have Stuff of Legend, Love and Capes and the Green Hornet issues to add to my pile.
I bought a batch of other things: the Aquaman & Etrigan issue of Brave & the Bold, Black Widow & the Marvel Girls, Night Owls, and Pluto volume 8. The last one I was grateful for, because I hadn't been able to find it in any of my local stores. So much for living in a major metropolitan area...
likeadeuce also loaned me the first volume of Ooku and gave me the first issue of Hickman's SHIELD.