‘We give away 10,000 comics’: Free Comic Book Day a big hit in downtown London

Hundreds of people lined Dundas Street in downtown London, Ont. Saturday to take advantage of Free Comic Book Day (FCBD).

“This year, I said I had enough to stack to the moon and back, which is probably a slight exaggeration, but we will probably give away 10,000 comics a year probably,” said Brahm Wiseman of Heroes Comics.

FCBD is an annual promotion designed to attract new readers to comic book stores. Since 2002, it has taken place annually on the first Saturday in May.

“Comics are this important and vibrant North American medium that needs a little nudge in the arm every once in a while,” said Wiseman. “The culture is so strong and so popular with comics like with movies and television shows based on them, but people forget the roots. It’s about actually reading comic books, the physical form of comics.”

People lined up prior to the 10 a.m. start so they could get their five free comic books, and with a donation to the London Food Bank, had the opportunity to add bonus comic books.

Many of those in line decided to dress up in costume.

“I’m dressed up as Link from The Legend of Zelda because it’s one of my favorite games,” said Robert Watson. “It’s cosplay. We’re out here having fun. We’re collecting comic books for free and donating cans of food to charity.”

His friend Chris Curran was dressed as a member of the Klingon Empire from Star Trek.

“You don’t need to dress up, but it just gives that little extra bit of special flair to the story,” said Curran. “For a few hours, I’m not just Chris, the relatively boring guy. I’m Kurn of the Klingon Empire.”

He said FCBD is a way to get interested in all sorts of universes, from Power Rangers, MCU, DC, and kids can get also get introduced to comics.

Watson said dressing up can help you get away from everyday life for a while. He said cosplayers and those into “geek culture” are a tight-knit community who you can talk to whenever life brings struggles.

“Let’s talk about the next Doctor Who episode, or Star Wars, or let’s talk about what’s going on in the MCU,” said Watson. “It’s nice to have friends that have the similar interests and the sort of same mindset that we can just relax and not have to think about what’s going on in the world these days.”