Free Comic Book Day Survival Guide 2013

Published · Updated

Okay! Here’s our Free Comic Book Day SURVIVAL GUIDE! Sort of like the last post but with a lot of director’s commentary! (Pics in other post)
Here’s the number one thing to remember about Free Comic Book Day and it’s sort of a paradox.
The Free Comic are not the most important thing about free comic book day!
Sure, like Christmas “It’s the reason for the season” but the day is about coming out and proudly showing your love of all things comics and engaging your comic book community.
That’s not to say that we don’t have 20,000 comics to give away, we do. I’ll take care of that. But trust me, if you judge a successful FCBD by getting the exact 12 comics you were shooting for, odds are you’re going to be disappointed. If you’re looking to hang out, dress up, talk comics, see some amazing creators and see just how big this hobby has gotten, this is the event for you. The key to success? Participation. When you do something for FCBD you’re paid back tenfold. Trust me.
Quick lowdown… we have:
 
  • 20,000 comics to give away (1.5 tons of comics)
    (there’s an even split of the comics. Half go out at midnight, and half go out at 10am. )
  • 600 graphic novels (Throughout 24 hours)
  • 12 books per person
    Check www.freecomicbookday.com for all the books available!
    (There’s 52 different titles available. We have a minimum of 100 of each book. Some we have over a 1,000 of. When you get the website we have way more of the Gold Sponsored Books then the Silver.)    
Custom Cover to FCBD Superman Comic that says “Commemorative Cleveland Edition” available
only at CNJ Comics and through Cuyahoha County library branches. All branches will have 100 each too give out
and we shouldn’t run out of this one.
(We’re very proud of the fact that we got the book into all 28 branches of the Cuyahoga Country Library System. Each library will do something different with them, but they’ve got them. Getting DC to approve “CLEVELAND” on the cover was difficult with all the lawsuits on Superman’s Copyright in Cleveland, so this is a just pick for you) 
Star Wars “FCBD May the 4th” patch designed by us and national Star Wars trivia champ Kevin Liell free to all in Star Wars costume.
(He was a great guy and it was cool to work with him. This is our thank you for all our Star Wars fans for coming out today. If you have to ask yourself if your costume is good enough it probably isn’t. So dress up brave Jedi!)
Commemorative Superman Cleveland 75th Anniversary FCBD lithographs will be available for only 3 bucks.
One of the coolest things you can do for FCBD is buy a lithograph. It shows support of us and hey, you get a cool print.
(It really is. buy the print for 3 bucks. It’s awesome and it helps to fund FCBD. There’s hidden Easter Eggs in it too!) 
Pre Event: (starting around 10pm)
Appearances by the 501st, Rebel Legion and the Mandalorians, ie the super cool Star Wars guys. Great photo ops. Bring a camera.
(If you don’t bring a camera or camera phone FULLY CHARGED to Free Comic Day you’re making the biggest mistake of the event.)
Local artists doing sketch covers to raise money for the www.herointiative.org and organized by www.rustbeltmonster.com
You buy a “sketch cover” for 5 dollars (a comic book with a blank cover) and they’ll draw any character you’d like on it! All the money goes to charity! Who will be there?
Whew! A veritable artist’s alley of Cleveland talent! Part of your midnight/day FCBD experience is watching them draw and throwing down a few for some sketches.  Walk away from FCBD with an original piece of art no one has but you for five bucks that goes to charity. To good to be true!? Not at Carol and John’s!!
(Okay! This is one of my favorite parts! From 10pm till 1am, probably later, we’ll have rows of tables set up to the left of the store. 10-12 artists at time time will rotate in and out doing sketch covers! Need to take a break from waiting in line? Have a friend mark your place and walk up and buy a blank cover from the box for 5 bucks. Find the artist you like and name a character and they’ll sketch it on there. Try to have a few characters in mind (along with a reference picture if it’s an abstract character) so they can pick the one they feel they can do best. You’re getting the deal of a life time and it’s all for charity. Other the the FCBD Beer, this should be one of the highlights of your event. This is a rare rare opportunity.)
 
  • Midnight Party from midnight to 2am.
    (The shop will stay open until 11:30 pm pre-event, then we’ll close down from 11:30 for just half an hour til we re-open at Midnight for the event!)
  • Free graphic novels to first 150 people
    (You get to choose from either a Iron Man/Captain America book or a Spiderman book)
  • Free Iron Man 3 Heoclix to first 200 people
    (So yes, we give out 200 midnight and 200 in the morning)
  • Free FCBD Commemorative Ale brewed special for the event by Cleveland Action Brewery
  • This year we have two styles.
  • The White Ninja Pilsner (White Tea, honey and lemon pilsner)
      • Der Pretzelkrieg (Pretzel Flavored Lager)

        (90 of each while supplies last and brewed only and specifically for this event.)

(Here’s another big tip for Free Comic Book Day. You don’t have to wait in the comic line to get in. Alot of people bypass the comic line and go right up to the bar. You get one FCBD Ale so choose wisely! After that it’s PBR and High Life city baby. We’ll also have water and non alcoholics. Only a dirtbag doesn’t tip on a custom craft beer by the way. Our charming bartender is working for tips.)
Ultimate photo op around 1am. (What is it? Something we think is fun and keeping with the spirit of the day)
(So please help us capture the energy when it happens! Clap away! It’ll happen as close to 1am as possible but probably a little later. This is our way of having some fun!)
Kids are totally welcome at the midnight party BTW. We love our customers who let their kids stay up for the festivities.
(So if you see a kid having a hard time, cut him some space. Let him move up in line. YOU BE THE HERO and help make that kids day if mom or dad decide to take him out.)
We respectfully ask that everyone (EVERYONE) who does not have a laminate exit the store by 2:30 am. Please respect that we have to reload the gun, aim, and get ready to shoot all over again early in the morning. If we have to tell you to leave at 2:30am you’re kinda being a jerk.
 
Free Comic Book Day
10 am till 7 pm (Or, here come the kids. Seriously. It’s worth coming out and never going into the store to see all the kids in costume. )
Free graphic novels to first 150 people (All Iron Man Graphic Novels)
Free Iron Man 3 Heroclix to first 200 people (See? Told ya!)
Zoe’s Comic Book Shop, my daughter’s shop within a shop, will have an expanded kids superhero play table.
(So yeah, a fun place for kids to play right after the FCBD line. Zoe’s Comic Book Shop is a great place for kids photo ops by the way!)
11 am – 1 pm – Ralph Cosentino signing books and drawing free sketches for kids
(He wrote and drew Superman: The Story of the Man of Steel, Batman: The Story of the Dark Knight and Wonder Woman The Story of the Amazon Princess. Story books aimed at 3-6 year old’s drawn in a golden age style)
(It’s an honor to have Ralph in the shop. All three of his books will be for sale and he’ll draw a free sketch in them. This is really the perfect thing to get if you’re here while he’s here and not sure what to buy)
Check out his website at www.ralphcosentino.com truely an amazing creator and I hear quite a character.
Noon – Kid’s costume contest sponsored by Lego! (12 and under) Prizes for
  • Best Star Wars
  • Best Iron Man
  • Best Super Hero 0-6
  • Best Super Hero 7-12
    and because you demanded it…
  • Best Super Villian!
Kids are MORE than welcome to dress up all day but at noon we’ll be herding them up for awesome photo’s and prizes! (including participation prizes) 
(This is going to be like hearding kittens so bear with us! Basically we’ll stand out side the shop and call out the catogories one by one and line the kids up! If you’re waiting inline you’ll have to make your own decision about whether to leave your place or not. Someone other than me will judge it and we’ll hand out the prizes. Do your best to get your kid to the right place at the right time. Participations prizes for all so that everyone’s a winner. And for the Star Wars Contest that means the Patch if it’s still available!. If we somehow missed your kids participation prize please find us and we’ll make good. This is my favorite part of the whole 24 hours and it’s important to me that all kids involved feel appreciate for being a Superhero)
 
3 pm – Tony Isabella will be signing free Marvel Horror graphic novels to the first 120 people!
Tony wrote some great classic stuff for Marvel and DC in the 70’s, including Living Mummy and Brother Voodoo stuff that’s in the graphic Novel we’re giving away for him to sign. We’ll also have a box of comics he’s written for sale to buy stuff from and have autographed! 
4 pm – 200 Marvel Essentials Graphic Novels will be handed out first come first serve.
(These include Ms Marvel, Marvel Two In One, and Defenders This is a great time to come back to the shop if you went to the midnight party and feel like your weekend shouldn’t end. The store’s calmed down a bit and you can come in and look around in peace. And get another free graohic novel. OH YEAH, WE FORGOT TO MENTION THAT STARTING AT 8PM ON MAY 3RD PREEVENT ALL BACK ISSUES WILL BE 50% OFF AND ALL GRAPHIC NOVELS WILL BE 10% OFF FOR THE WHOLE WEEKEND! So this is a great time to come back and do some back issue shopping.)
7 pm – We close, gracefully.
Some final comments. Sure everybody waited in line, and when then line starts moving you want it to hurry up, but when you get to the free comics and are picking your 12 you have the right to take the time you need to pick your comics. So cut other people that same courtesy too. We do need to keep that line moving though, so don’t linger. Seriously look at the books online and www.freecomicbookday.com and make a list before you get in line.
For the line, it’s okay for someone to hold your place once you’re there, but’s it’s not okay to to hold a place in line and then have five friends pull up and jump in with you. No buts, no cuts, no coconuts!

Things you can do to prepare for FCBD 2013 at Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop

  1. Do your Research! Look up the books from www.freecomicbookday.com ! Read up on visiting creators!
  2. Make plans to go see Iron Man 3 to get yourself jazzed up!
  3. Plan to get to the events early for the best selection! (people always ask me when the line starts to form. Strangely this is the one the I have absolutely no control over)
  4. Get your costume ready! Dress for success! (At the midnight party and early on Saturday it seems like eveybody dresses up. There’s no way you can feel like a weirdo)
  5. Bring a friend! Plan a family outing! Help us to expand our community!
  6. Spread the word by blogging, posting and sharing your FCBD plans!
John Dudas
Owner, Carol and John’s Comic Book Shop
17462 Lorain Ave
Cleveland, Ohio 44111
www.cnjcomics.com
info@cnjcomics.com
216-252-0606