Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 3

Before I get to the meat of this post, I just want to point out that the Iron Man flick is just great. After a single viewing, I'd place it with Batman Begins and Spider-Man 2 as the best of the genre. It's funny, smart, and has a ton of great action sequences featuring Stark's suits of armor. I can nitpick some minor points, but it's not worth it. This movie is going to make truckloads of cash for Marvel. Oh, and if you know anything about comics... stay until after the credits!

On to the topic at hand, this Saturday (5/3) is Free Comic Book Day at comics retailers nationwide. All you have to do is show up at a comic shop and grab a pile of comics created especially for the day. There's no catch, and the complete list of free books is online. Be sure to pick up Tiny Titans, Owly, and Marvel Adventures: Iron Man/Hulk/Spider-Man for the little ones in your life. Find participating stores via the FCBD site.

Many comic shops are also hosting signings or events to celebrate the day, and a couple local stores have let me know about their events. Galactic Quest in Lawrenceville, Georgia, will host Salem: Queen of Thorns artist Fred Torres along with an exact replica of the 1966 Batmobile. I suggest it as background for the photos on your Christmas cards.

I may make the drive from Athens to hit the festivities at Criminal Records in Atlanta. They have a full slate of events including signings, lectures, and a sidewalk sale. The schedule, clipped from Criminal's website:

At AURORA COFFEE (L5P):

• 1:00PM -- Andrew Greenberg
  Co-creator of the “Fading Suns” role-playing and computer games and one of the original developers of White Wolf’s “Vampire: The Masquerade” will be talking about "What Makes Good Game Design."
• 2:00PM -- Craig Ehrlich
  Craig, of the Ehrlich Law Group, will be discussing the recent DC Comics vs. the Siegel Estate Superman decision.
• 3:00PM -- Wes Eastin
  Writer and producer of the upcoming Metal Gear Solid movie ("Which is going to rock so damn hard," says James), will be giving a talk on adaptations. Check Scratched Lens for more info about Wes.

At CRIMINAL RECORDS:

• 1:00PM -- Shannon Hahn
  Owner and creator of the Plushybutt line of plush toys will be talking about her experience starting her own business. Her toys are very cute, handmade, and one of a kind. She also does commissions!
• 2:00PM -- Robert Venditti
  Writer of the cyberpunk comic, movie adaptation starring Bruce Willis. James says that if you haven't read Surrogates yet, you absolutely need to.
• 2:30PM -- Joseph D. Carriker, Jr.
  Developer for White Wolf's "Vampire: the Requiem" will be talking about "How to Run a Successful RPG." James and Carol will definitely be paying a lot of attention to this one!
• 3:30PM -- Mark Stancil
  Owner of Terminus Media will be giving an hour-long presentation entitled "How to Make Your Own Comic Book." James is really looking forward to this one, because who doesn't want to make their own comic?

And last, but certainly not least, our good friend and regular customer, Rich Tommaso, will be here signing comics from 1 to 4PM. Rich is the creator of the comics 8 1/2 Ghosts, Perverso, and Miriam, and the artist on the Eisner Award-nominated original graphic novel, Satchel Paige, which you may remember us raving about earlier this year.

I'm personally most excited by the appearances of Robert Venditti and Rich Tommaso, as The Surrogates and Satchel Paige: Striking Out Jim Crow are excellent and have a home on my bookshelf. I understand that Criminal will also have a lot of back issues marked down to 2/$1, but please leave the Captain America for me.

Whether you read comics regularly or would just like to sample what's out there, I hope you stop by a shop tomorrow. Happy reading!