Free Comic Book Day!

Saturday marked three weeks since I embarked on my self-prescribed comic book challenge. Even though my initial goals turned out to be too ambitious for the allotted one-week time frame, I am definitely glad that I put myself up to them, and I count the project a big success.

I read my first comic book, Hack/Slash #1, on April 13. Since then, I have finished the entire Hack/Slash series to date of 21 books, and I've read the first three issues of Spawn (which by the way, is awesome so far).

It's been a brief but fairly intense introduction. I've gained both a sense of how special comic books are as a medium and an appreciation for why comic book nerds are so drawn to them.

As a comic book nerd himself, I think K has been expecting my interest to be only fleeting. But then I surprised him on Saturday. By suggesting that we go to the Comic Vault in celebration of Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Book Day happens every year on the first Saturday in May. Local comic book stores across North America give away certain comic books for free in order to get people into the stores and, hopefully, get them hooked on some comic books. The Comic Vault had a few artists on-site giving away and signing their books. The place was packed with people and good, nerdy vibes!

My Free Comic Book Day loot is displayed above. The IGNATZ book features previews of several international indy comics that look pretty interesting. And I felt it was my generational duty to pick up a copy of the free issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For the moment, though, I'm going to stick mostly to Spawn. I think it's best I take it one step at a time.