This way is much easier!
Chapter 112: Free Comic Book Day!
Hello and happy Free Comic Book Day for those of you that celebrate. If that’s not your thing then Happy Herb Day! Fair warning- there probably isn’t going to be any herb related content in this post though.
A lot of people have asked me where I’m going to be today. And the answer is “I don’t know. Around, I guess?” But if you are trying to get some comics I made signed you should be at Gutter Pop comics in Buffalo, New York today where my illustrious partner in WHAT’S THE FURTHEST Placing and 4 KIDS Walking, Mr. Tyler Boss, will be hanging out and signing stuff. So if you’re nearby head over there now and get some stuff signed from Tyler. He can also forge my signature fairly convincingly if you’d like.
If you are going to Gutter Pop or any comic shop today I’d also supposed to remind you to grab THE JOKER #8 which came out this week and let them know you want these other super sexy comics I wrote this month.
Now let’s discuss free comic books for a minute. For those of you who don’t know about Free Comic Book Day, it is the first Saturday in May every year when a ton of publishers get together and make a bunch of comics to be given out for free. They make books for little kids, books for large old people, and everything in between. Then your local comics shop (probably) orders a bunch of those books and gives them out to you when you come into the shop today. It’s that simple.
If you don’t have a local comic shop you can always find one using this handy dandy website. Many comic shops also offer special discounts, promotions, or have signings and parties today. It really is quite fun and I’d encourage you to stop reading this now and race out to a comic shop if you’ve never been. The free comics today are supposed to be good starting points to get you excited about new series or graphic novels that are being published, so they work as a great taster menu for upcoming things that may or may not have been on your radar.
A couple things worth noting though. First, the stores actually have to pay for the books they give out because, surprisingly, printers and shipping companies don’t seem to observe Free Comic Book Day. So if you are going to a comic shop today, maybe consider not just grabbing the free stuff but also buying something too. The free comics are what’s called a “loss leader” which is a perfectly fine business tactic, but only if the loss leads to more money later.
Second, and this is a biggie, it is always the most stressful day of the year in the comic shop. Tons of prep work to get ready for one of the heaviest foot traffic day of the year. And then shops are dealing with loads of new customers who demand time and attention. So make sure you are extra nice to any comic shop employees today. They are stressed out. Be polite, don’t make a mess, don’t make a scene, and under no circumstances are you to ever make the joke “Wow! Everything in here is free today?” Shame on you for even thinking about it.
With that out of the way, I thought I’d get into the spirit and send you some free comics. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go to the comic shop today. This is like a little treat for after.
But here is an oldie but a goodie and a lot of people ask me about it.
“Here's what you'll find on Black Mask's "Mixtape" for FCBD... SIDE A: We Can Never Go Home: "Dead Set On Destruction"-Madison is dangerous. And a little danger is all Morgan and Dale ever wanted. SIDE B: Young Terrorists: "Me Against The World"-Sera learns the hard way you can't build an army without fighting a few (hundred) cops. Welcome to The Sovereign State of Greater Detroit!”
Black Mask put this out a few years back and it contains a short story set in the WE CAN NEVER GO HOME universe by Josh, Tyler, Jim, Patrick, and myself. It’s a fun one and it sets up some stuff that we will eventually get around to.
As a special treat for you I included something I didn’t work on- the YOUNG TERRORISTS story from the same issue. I love YOUNG TERRORISTS and if you’ve never read it you should grab the collected edition from your local comic shop or from Black Mask themselves. But both of these stories don’t appear anywhere else and the physical copies of the Free Comic Book Day issue are long gone, so enjoy this little treat from the vault. I included below as both a PDF and a CBZ depending on your file taste preference. If you don’t know what a CBZ file is you probably want the PDF.
I realize now a great many of you probably never read WE CAN NEVER GO HOME and don’t really know what it is. So here is the description I wrote a while ago that still holds up.
The story of two teenagers, a mixtape, a stolen car, a fully loaded .45, strange abilities, dead drug dealers, and their money. A dark and modern story about getting lost and finding yourself on the backroads of America.
We also made this little trailer a few years back and I still really like it. Music by my good buddies DEAR TONIGHT.
Exciting! WCNGH (short unpronounceable acronyms are the best!) is my first creator-owned comic and is basically the book that started my career. With art by Josh Hood, colors by Amanda Scurti and Tyler Boss, letters by Jim Campbell, it came out a few years ago and got the attention of enough people in the business that I was able to trick them into paying me to write comics for them. It is still a book that seems to resonate with a lot of people, and new people are constantly discovering it, which is very nice and surreal.
The collected edition of the first 5 issues is available now from your local comic shop (if they don’t have it they can order it), your big world-conquering mega-corporation, or direct from Black Mask. But for our paying subscribers I’m attaching all 5 issues below. Shhh. Don’t tell anyone. And for our non-paying subscribers… I already gave you a free comic today. Isn’t that enough?
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Ashcan Press Comics Corporation to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.