Today
Three Alarm Comics in Biloxi hosted the annual
Free Comic Book Day for the local area.
They opened
their doors at 12 and had people setting up before 10 and people waiting an
hour early before the doors opened to the general public.
Free Comic Book Day is an annual promotion
and effort by the comic book industry to help bring new readers into
independent comic book stores nationwide starting back in 2001.
Free Comic Book Day 2014 here in Biloxi was like a min-comic convention with costumes, comic
artists and of course, fans. There were
surprisingly lots of fans for this small area coastal area. Fans of all ages showed up in a multi generational affair with
attendees who ranged from gray haired fans to small children just getting started. Last year this event was estimated at 3,000 attendees and they
probably had that many today, if not more by the close of the day. Attendance was free and a number of comic
books were given out free to attendees.
There was genuine enthusiasm in the community and the weather was just
perfect for the event which spread out into the parking lot.
Outside the store itself, vendors sold comic and fannish related items and
inside the artists themselves were available.
It’s amazing to think that all over the country that this was happening
in cities, towns, and villages. It’s
the fans coming out to support their favorite comic books, graphic novels and
memorabilia galore. In attendance this
year were artists K. Michael Russell, Jason Graig, T.D. Roebuck, Mike McKone, Brian K. Vaughan, Andy Childress, Brian LeBlanc, Steven Butler, and Mitch Byrd.
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| Andy B Childress |
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| Brian LeBlanc |
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| Jason Graig |
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| Mike McKone |
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| T. D. Roebuck |
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| K. Michael Russel |
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| Brian K. Vaughan |
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| Mitch Byrd |
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| Steven Butler |
The great thing about events of this type is that it gets
young people interested in reading and supports ongoing literacy efforts. We all know that people who read well do
better in school, at work and in the community. I'd like to thank all persons who put together Free Comic Book Day 2014 as well as the attending artists.
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| 3 Alarm Comics, Free Comic Book Day 2014 |
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For those interested, the sponsor locally was Three Alarm
Comics and it is located on 15210
Lemoyne Blv., in Biloxi MS 39532.
CoastConFan
