Culver City Observer -

Football has the Super Bowl, Dogs have the Westminster show, movies have the Oscars and nerds we have Free Comic Book Day! Free Comic Book Day is the international day, usually the first Saturday in May, where comic book shops order and give away comic books to the community. Some shops have Ant-Man events where some books are given to their customers. More shops have Captain America events that include writers and artists signing books. And then there are Hulk size events that is The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach and Culver City. Their event involves 20-30 artists/writers/creators signing and drawing sketches for free, cos-players (fans dressed up in movie-worthy costumes), food trucks, music and over 12,000 free comics given away. What is usually a one-day event on Saturday, The Comic Bug goes all out in Manhattan Beach then repeats it on Sunday at their Culver City location. This has been tradition for many years but then came Covid.

2020 Free Comic Book Day was almost non-existent. Thousands of books that were ordered and paid for were given away slowly from July to September to fans who were anxious to venture out and touch anything. Many shops were closed for months early in the pandemic and some closed for good. 2021 Free Comic Book Day was delayed until August but the Delta variant arrived and kept the event cautious and small. But now it’s 2022 and many are vaccinated and mask mandates are being lifted. What does that mean for comic book stores as they look towards May 7th?

The Comic Bug owner, Jun Goeku, says “We ordered thousands of comics to give away, asked only a few local artists to attend and will keep advertising to a minimum to avoid too many people. We understand people want to get back to the good old Free Comic Book Days and we will do our best to create a fun yet safe event.”

The Comic Bug will showcase local creators that draw for Marvel Comics like Venom and Spider-Man and DC Comics’ Teen Titans. The event will be held at Manhattan Beach on Saturday May 7 and Culver City on Sunday May 8. Almost a dozen creators between both days will sketch your favorite character and autograph for free. On top of that, fans will get to pick a handful of comics from almost 50 different titles. It will be a family friendly fun fest with fabulous four-color fiction!