Free Comic Book Day 2016

[krighton]

some of the rushing last weekend were little kids and not sure they have an ebay account set up yet.

[AKA Rick]

Its amazing how people rush there to get into line to get worthless comic books....

 

What's actually pretty funny too is those who spend so much time lining up 3+ hours early, driving from store to store to circumvent the "maximum per customer" of each title then hustling to sell their free comic books for $5 each or more... sure, that's pure profit if you think your cost basis is $0 'cuz they're "Free", but there's an overhead cost and the question "what is your time worth to you?" (soon, minimum wage in California is to be $15/hr)...

 

I admire the entrepreneurial hustle of many of these sellers, and think they (some, not all) should reflect upon, if they channeled that much energy into their careers (not jobs to pay the bills, but an actual skill set to make a living and elevate progressively), they have the potential to do so much more with their professional lives. That drive, ambition and willingness to hustle makes for the potential of a good sales person as well. I know some are students, retirees or use the revenue as a 2nd source of income, so can't say it applies to all who sell, but I'd definitely say reflect upon the hoops you jump through for the uncertainty of the profitability of these free opportunities and think if there's a better way to monetize spending your time for greater net profits.

 

 

[RageATheM]

My LCS always tries to make FCBD their biggest day of the year. Recently they moved locations but stayed within the same building (this allowed them to make the layout more functional as well as added more square footage).

 

With the move to the side of the building it also opened up the opportunity to use a large parking lot that is only used for their shop on the weekend (the other places are 9-5, Mon-Fri types). So that being said this year they decided to rent a large outdoor tent to house the free comics as well as having local artists setup. (In previous years this was all setup on the second floor of the store used for MTG and other gaming events but really over crowded the store)

 

First people got in line around 4am (I guess they just got out of an employee screening of Civil War), we were 5th/6th in line and we got there at 6:45 (doors open at 8am). The first 100 people in line got "loot" bags with 2 prints. 1 by Nick Bradshaw, Wolverine and the X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spidey etc, he is local. 1 by Jean-Francois Beaulieu (colorist for I Hate Fairyland, again local). As well as other random stuff like Dicemaster game or free tshirt, keychains, etc.

 

Nick Bradshaw's print

 

Jean-Francois Beaulieu's print/signed I Hate Fairyland

 

 

 

Nick Bradshaw was there doing bust sketches for free (well donation/tip to the local library) as well as some other local artists so I snagged a couple of sketches

 

2 sketches done by local artists:

 

 

Outside the tent there was a local guy that does spray paint art that takes about 5min per piece but some amazing results. I picked up a couple

 

Made my way inside the store for some of sales (it's usually their best sales of the year on FCBD). Only made 1 purchase nothing big at all but always loved the cover

[chrisco37]

FCBD by me was a good time. It's become an annual "event" for my daughter and I. Store had some cosplayers (Spidey, Stormtrooper, Jawa and Kylo Ren) there too.

 

It was fairly busy when we showed up (around 11am). Didn't stick around too long. Grabbed 2 FCB's; DC Superhero Girls and Pink Panther. I probably could've grabbed more, but I just figured one per person was enough.

 

Bought a few junk books out of the $1 boxes so I could demonstrate the awesomeness of silly putty to my kid. Picked up a few new Disney Princess comics for her (50% off cover) and a New52 Batman trade for me (25% off).

 

Chatted with the Spidey cosplayer guy for a bit as I had run into him a few weeks back at one of my projects (a hospital). He and a group of his friends make the rounds to local hospitals to visit kids. Really cool.

[Doktor]

Only stopped in 1 shop. Grabbed 6 books, bought a few, but their back issue selection is awful, so even though they were doing a 50% off sale, there was absolutely nothing I needed or had any interest in. But the ex had to get to work & was with me, so we couldn't really hang around. She grabbed a few books & bought a Batman puzzle. Not a bad day.

[GeeksAreMyPeeps]

Only stopped in 1 shop. Grabbed 6 books, bought a few, but their back issue selection is awful, so even though they were doing a 50% off sale, there was absolutely nothing I needed or had any interest in. But the ex had to get to work & was with me, so we couldn't really hang around. She grabbed a few books & bought a Batman puzzle. Not a bad day.

The ex?