Read the title. Ok, now read it again. Now, read it one more time, just to make sure you read it right. Yes, I am here to talk about why that title is so important. And it is more than the fact that you’re supporting a small business. 

The first weekend in May is Free Comic Book Day all across this great land of ours and it is a Geek Christmas, of sorts. True, we do get to have free comics given to us and other swag offered by the comic publishers, but it is also a time for the local comic shops (or LCSs) to have their version of Black Friday. Many times they are having sales and encouraging you to open your wallets and purses a little. Plus, it is our way to show some appreciation for what they do for us on a weekly basis.

I know that there are digital services out there and discount bookstores that are charging less than what your LCS is charging for said item, but the LCS is a cornerstone in geek culture that is slowly going away. Many times, especially as younger geeks, we lived Wednesday to Wednesday, waiting for the new issues to come out. Maybe we met our friends at the shop, maybe we went there to escape the suck that was our lives. At any rate, some of those wonderful places are still here, giving us our Wednesday fix.

And, sometimes, that relationship is reciprocal. Sometimes it is getting first crack at a run of comics that someone had just traded or it could be a promotional poster of one of your favorite characters (thanks for the Iron Fist, JC!). It is the LCS’s way of saying “thank you” for being so loyal. Maybe the next time your young relatives are in town, take them to your LCS and let them pick something out that catches their interest – give them the bug!