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‘Catch the magic’ without paying
Three area retailers will give away free comics Saturday, first come, first served.
BOARDMAN — Greg Bartholo- mew is hoping area parents bring their children into his shop Saturday to “catch the magic.”
He remembers catching some of his own in the 1970s when comic books helped pass the time on summer trips in the family car.
Bartholomew, who left a teaching career to open a comic book store, is among the thousands of shop owners nationwide who will open Saturday for the seventh annual Free Comic Book Day.
He owns All American Comics Cards, with locations on Market Street in Warren and Boardman-Canfield Road in Boardman. Both stores will be giving away between 500 and 600 comics.
The annual giveaway is an effort by publishers, retailers and Diamond Comic Distributors to promote what they call an “original American art form” created in the early part of the 20th century. The distributor makes the comics available to retailers at a reduced price. The promotion’s goal is to reach new customers who may be unfamiliar with the specialty book market.
More than 2,000 independent stores throughout the country and others around the world have opted to participate. Each store will set its own guidelines regarding how many free books customers will get, but each customer will get at least one.
Only certain books are part of the giveaway, and publishers include Marvel, Dark Horse and DC Comics. Titles include “All Star Superman,” “Hellboy,” “Shonen Jump” and “Transformers.”
Josh Nativio, manager of All American’s Warren store, which is celebrating its 15th year in business Saturday, said free comics will be limited to three per person.
Most of the regular customers who come into the store are men between ages 30 and 40, he said, adding, “I can count on one hand the regular week-to-week customers who are under the age of 20.”
The niche market for comics draws mostly males, Nativio said, but explained young girls are drawn to comics such as Manga, which are Japanese-language stories that have been translated.
Paul Worley, owner of Bennie’s on Sharpsville Avenue in Sharon, Pa., will be giving away about 600 comics Saturday and said he hopes at least 250 people show up.
Bennie’s will also give away some posters and trading cards and will offer raffle prizes and an opportunity for customers to get their pictures taken with Super Girl, cousin to Superman. A sketch artist will also be on hand to draw popular comic characters.
Worley has been collecting comics since he was 10 or 12 and started drawing comics of his own, having received an art degree from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Though some people are into comics for the shear pleasure of reading them, Worley said others collect pricey books, which can be investments.
The appeal, he said, is the sense of escape that a good comic offers, a real “good guy beats the bad guy” kind of thing.
Free Comic Book Day also coincides with Friday’s national box office release of “Iron Man,” based on a Marvel comic book.
Many comics are based on popular TV shows such as “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” Bartholomew said, explaining that the series ran for eight seasons and will continue its ninth, not on TV, but through comic books.
The popularity of comic books has not waned over the years, Bartholomew said, and explained they’re a great alternative to video games, the Internet and television.
“Comic books have been around since 1933,” he said. “I don’t see them going away anytime soon.”