Free Comic Book Day Returns To Chimp’s On Saturday
Free Comic Book Day Returns To Chimp’s On Saturday
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Free Comic Book Day Returns To Chimp’s On SaturdayFree Comic Book Day isn’t just about giving away comic books at Chimp’s Comix & Video Games, though they do that by the hundreds.
It’s also about collecting nonperishable food items for The Salvation Army, which usually nears 2,000 every year.
This Saturday’s event is no different.
The 19th Free Comic Book Day at Chimp’s, 919 E. Winona Ave., Suite 4-6, Warsaw, is 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday. Each person that walks through the day can receive two free comics.
“No doubles on anything. Anything that they want extra beyond that, we ask for a nonperishable food item to be donated to the local Salvation Army, who will be here to receive that,” explained Chimp’s owner Nick Kelley.
In 2018, they collected over 1,650 food items; nearly 3,000 in 2019 and around 1,000 in 2021. In 2022, Kelley said they raised close to 1,800.
“Hoping to hit 2,000 again this year,” he said.
Free Comic Book Day is a national event held the first Saturday in May to promote reading and comic books. It began in 2002, but was spread out over a number of weeks in 2020 and moved to August in 2021 because of the COVID pandemic. In 2022, it moved back to the first Saturday in May.
For the 2023 event, Kelley said there will be 127 numbered comics and a few leftovers from previous years. There will be 46 new comics for this year.
Some of the comic highlights will be “Spidey & His Amazing Friends,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “Star Wars High Republic Adventures,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Power Ranges,” a comic about Marvel founder Stan Lee, “Dawn of DC Night Terrors,” “Marvel Voices,” “Spider-Man Venom,” “Uncanny Avengers,” “Street Fighter,” “Umbrella Academy” and “Conan,” Kelley suggested.
There will be 42 all-ages comics, from “Spidey & His Amazing Friends” to “Smurfs.” Twenty-one of those are new this year.
The comics are first-come, first-serve so once the boxes are empty of a title, they’re gone.
Every year, Kelley said he seems some of the same people, but also many new faces.
Chimp’s, which will mark 31 years in business in June, will be having “lots” of sales throughout the day Saturday, he said. Those are posted on the store’s Facebook page.
