Thursday, May 2, 2013

Free Comic Book Day Events Across Tucson

Posted By on Thu, May 2, 2013 at 3:40 PM

Nothing against our friends over at Heroes and Villains, but our Free Comic Book Day pick in this issue's City Week section unfortunately overlooked many of the other great shops around town.

So to correct that injustice, we're taking a look at the events that other comic book shops around town are running for Free Comic Book Day on Saturday, May 4.

First off is a look at Fantasy Comics, one of the longest-running shops in town, over at 2595 N. First Ave., where they'll be giving away copies of books such as The Walking Dead, Star Wars, Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Sesame Street, Spongebob Squarepants, Adventure Time and more all day long, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Fantasy will be bringing out a collection of local comic writers and artists, including Ben Truman, Eric Shock, Matt Howard, Conor Mahoney and Tim Champion. The Tucson Police Department Association will also be on hand to fingerprint children, and Baja Dogs will be serving up Sonoran hot dogs. For more, check out their website at fantasycomics2595.com

Next, Charlie's Comic Books, 5460 E. Speedway Blvd., will be giving away comics all day, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. — and by all day, I mean all day. Word from owner Charlie Harris is that he's ordered quite a bit of stock for Free Comic Book Day so he'll have plenty on hand to give out "even when all of the other shops have run out of comics to give away," he said.

Charlie's is going to have 14 writers and artists at his shop throughout the day, including the husband and wife team of Ernesto and Bea Romero, Santino Castaneda, Ian Snyder, Jon Proudstar, Jenn Corella and Henry Barajas, among others. The shop is also going to hold a silent auction and a raffle, and will have catered sandwiches from Jimmy John's. For more, including the lengthy list of comics that will be given away, head to charliescomics.com.

Finally, Free Comic Book Day is going to be a big one for Campbell Avenue stalwart R-Galaxy, as the shop will be running a Grand Reopening in honor of its move one door south, to 2406 N. Campbell Ave. They'll be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., giving away comics, gifting door prizes to customers and holding comic book trivia contests. R-Galaxy also plans on scattering random auctions throughout the day for rare comics and figurines.

Also, as a result of the move, R-Galaxy will be running a clearance sale on their back stock, with some items selling for as much as 80% off. For more information on R-Galaxy and their Free Comic Book Day/Grand Re-Opening event, head to r-galaxy.com.

As a final note, Fantasy Comics and Charlie's Comic Books will both be accepting donations and running a canned food drive for the Community Food Bank, so if you head to those stores, make sure to bring some canned goods along with — it's for a good cause, after all.

If you know of any other comics shops or Free Comic Book Day events we've overlooked, please send us a note!

Tags: , , , , ,