Giving Away Comics on Halloween 2 2

[KirbyJack]

On 9/22/2024 at 10:03 AM, djzombi said:

I love this so much!  I've also been concerned that the kids would be disappointed "just" getting a comic book.  I love the option of giving a choice of a kid taking a comic AND/OR candy!  Or slip a wrapped candy in with the comic bag    

Yep. I always gave both.  

One year at our own house, we gave out, in addition to candy, little toy whistles - The cheap kind that never got very loud no matter how hard you tried. After getting candy at every house, the kids were thrilled with them. You could hear the sound all through the night. It’s a really great memory for me. 
 

[MattTheDuck]

On 9/22/2024 at 7:45 AM, Ryan. said:

I have a rack similar to yours. I may copy your setup.

We have a very-conveniently placed bench right out by the front door.

[Telegan]

On 9/22/2024 at 12:00 AM, MattTheDuck said:

Last Halloween I set out some books and had a positive reaction from the kids.  It wasn't either/or - candy and books were provided.  I don't see any possible downside.

I note I didn't answer the part about "where you got them."  I've picked up collections in recent years that included books I don't collect or were lower grade so I don't mind parting with them.

 

 

Around here, if you put a bowl of candy out and say "take one", the first kid that arrives just takes the entire bowl of candy... lol.  I hear multiple people complaining about that every year.

[paperheart]

I set up my spinner rack just inside the front door; 90% of the kids don't realize it spins, they just walk around it

[AndyFish]

Gave out comics 2 years ago-- along with Candy-- some years we get 300 kids and some years we get 50 -- last year I just gave out candy since I didn't have time to get the comics ready and almost every kid asked for them last year so I went downstairs and hauled a box up.

[toro]

I would like to do it, but at this time I am a one man show.  I get dressed in an inflatable costume and hand out just one piece of candy per child.  Even just doing that I ran out early after giving out 835 pieces of candy. A lot of people bring their dogs and I have doggie treats for both dressed up dogs and raw dogs

Someone I know pre orders comics through the LCS from free comic book day.  It usually costs him about 60 cents each book.

[Robot Man]

I usually do it as well with a candy “chaser”.

Buying a lot of collections over the years gives me a lot of really unsaleable stuff or just readers.

I make a box of kids/humor books and one of superhero books for the older kids. I just let them pick out 2 or 3.

I get a number of kids that love them and some that don’t take any or even look at them.

I try to weed out any that I think might be “objectionable”. But there is always that “one person”…

A couple years ago when things were winding down the doorbell rang. I opened it to see an upset woman with a comic in her hand and her poor son cowering behind her.

She railed into me for “handing out filth to children”. She shoved a Wonder Woman at me. Her objection was that WW’s breasts were too large. I apologized saying I didn’t realize it was offensive. I explained the joys and benefits of reading but she didn’t get it. She railed on and on. I felt embarrassed and bad for her poor son. I asked her if she would like to select some thing more appropriate but she just grabbed his hand and rode her broom off into the night.

But, I will do it again this year anyway…

[Dick Pontoon]

Good thing it wasn't a Power Girl comic...

If i were going to give out comics, I'd lean towards '60s, '70s, or '80s books since those are pretty much suited for all ages, feature well-known characters, have good sequential storytelling and are more likely to contain single-issue stories instead of lengthy multi-issue, multi-series complicated story arcs that aren't conducive to a quick, fun read. When my son was younger, I'd pick up reprint books for the older stuff since for the most part they're perpetually cheap. 

Edited Wednesday at 06:02 PM by Dick Pontoon

[The Less Blob]

Yes. My LCS gave me some stacks of the free (preview?) comics they'd get and I gave them away. Spiderman and X-Men, I think, more obscure stuff isn't going to move. 

[MatterEaterLad]

I've been doing it for about 10 years now. 

If I pick up some comics at swap meets, craigslist, or wherever throughout the year, there's always extra stuff that makes it into the "Halloween Long Box". Sometimes I'll rebag and reboard them so they look nice. 

The guy who runs my LCS knows I do this, so he's happy to have me take all the extras I want from Free Comic Book Day off his hands. 

I do make sure the comics are age appropriate. I have a stack for little kids, a stack for middle grade, and stack for older kids. 

THE KIDS ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. 

They get candy everywhere, but you will be THE house everyone will want to hit, so be ready. 

The one thing I didn't expect was how young girls would react to female superheroes. They were always happy with Spider-Man, Batman, etc. But one year I bought a bunch of Supergirl, Ms. Marvel, Wonder Woman, and they went BONKERS. So I make sure I have some just for girls. My LCS always give me a great discount and he can shove his business card in the bag if he wants.

It's a lot of fun to have kids knock on your door and be able to give a Spidey comic to a Spider-Man, a Supergirl comic to a little supergirl. 

Enjoy!!

Edited yesterday at 01:15 AM by MatterEaterLad

[MatterEaterLad]

On 9/25/2024 at 11:12 AM, dick pontoon said:

If i were going to give out comics, I'd lean towards '60s, '70s, or '80s books since those are pretty much suited for all ages.

100%

I can usually pick up stuff from then 80s on the cheap. Low grade, throw it in a new bag and it looks amazing. And it's an OLD comic to them, which is kinda cool.