Free Comic Book Day is coming up this Saturday. It’s an event held each year on the first Saturday in May, and sometimes again near Halloween, to promote local comic book stores by giving away “mini-books” of comics, about 20 or so pages in length. I’ve gone the past two years, and enjoyed myself every time, except perhaps the man I go with (Jed, a good friend of mine) tends to stay and chat with the staff a little longer than I would prefer, given that he used to work with a lot of them.
Last year’s Comic Book Day was a high mark for me. Iron Man 3 was playing in theaters, and Jed wanted to go see it on the same day. So we got to the comic book store early, and the entrance was lined with people dressed in Star Wars “Storm Trooper” outfits. “Oh yeah,” Jeb said, “Today’s May the Fourth. Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you, caco!” I groaned inwardly at this little pun.
I walked by the Storm Troopers, joking about how intimidating they looked (I was serious, they reminded me a little of Riot Police), and got inside. There were plenty of comics available because the day had just begun, but I was only allowed to take three books. Unfortunately one of them I picked I had also picked the year previous, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles book I already had at home. I also bought the first volume of an excellent award-winning comic series called Saga.
The Comic Book Shop we always go to is called [REDACTED] and it’s arguably the most successful one in the Lexington area. They even have branches in other parts of the State. It’s owned by a man named Archie, and I used to hang out with him down at his old location near [REDACTED]. We would have Dungeons & Dragons sessions together, play Magic: The Gathering together, that sort of thing. He was a pretty cool dude, and a very good gamer. He destroyed me in a game of sealed Magic absolutely effortlessly, and I’ll never forget that Balloon Peddler was the terrible card that carried him to victory.
Anyway, me and Jed got our comics, he hung around and chatted with the employees (especially Archie, whom he used to work for) for a little while, then we got out of Dodge. The movie theater was next door, so we didn’t have to go far. Jed initially suggested that we watch the regular version of Iron Man 3 instead of the 3D version, because he’s not a big fan of the 3D special effects. But the regular version wasn’t going to come on for another hour, and there was a 3D version starting right then. “Do you want to see the 3D version?” I asked. Jed said, “Sure, I guess.” So we got our tickets and went inside.
The previews were already playing. We took our seats, then Jed tugged at my shirt and said, “Oh yeah, weren’t we supposed to invite your brother? I forgot all about that.” And I realized I had forgotten it, also. Before I could respond, however, a chunky guy with a goatee leaned in from behind us and whispered angrily, “Listen guys, if you’re going to talk in the theater I’m going to have to insist that you leave, because we were here first.” Like talking over the fucking previews is such a horrible offense. We piped down anyway.
I watched the film and I loved every minute of it. I think it’s the best of the Iron Man films. I loved it even more because I didn’t have to get up and smoke every damn 20 minutes like in the old days. Anyway, we watched the film and then Jed took me home.
I’ll always remember that day because it was a time I got out of the house and got to do some things that I loved, and saw an excellent movie, and spent it all with a good friend Jed, who I rarely get to see in person anymore.