Free Comic Book Day Saturday at Big Bang Comics

For a toy store, it’s Christmas.

For an Irish pub, it’s St. Patrick’s Day.

And for , it’s Free Comic Book Day -- the first Saturday in May.

Big Bang Comics store owner Dave Bishop said this year the tradition is particularly significant because it’s the 10th anniversary of Free Comic Book Day.

Free Comic Book Day also happens to fall on Saturday, May 7, the day after the superhero movie “Thor” hits theaters.

Big Bang Comics, 437 Broad St. in the heart of downtown Sewickley, will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Free Comic Book Day is just what it sounds like, a day when comic book shops in the United States and Canada give away comics specially printed for the occasion.

All branches of the comics industry – retailers, publishers and distributors – unite for the annual event, which is designed to increase foot traffic into comic shops.

Bishop said his business will turn 1-year-old on Memorial Day weekend, so this is the comic store’s first time participating in the promotional tradition.

Bishop said 30 free comics will be available at his store for customers to pick and choose while supplies last. The store also will feature huge sales and the store’s everyday dollar and two-dollar bin.

Bishop is excited to also have Sewickley resident Pat Olliffe as a special guest in the store from 1 to 4 p.m. Olliffe has worked for big-name publishers such as Marvel and DC and will be making sketches and doing signings and speaking to customers.

The point is to draw customers in and hope they’ll return.

Customers aren’t obligated to make purchases, but Bishop hopes those who feel drawn into the store will like what they see and shop. A $300 Indiana Jones statue will be given away as a prize to one lucky shopper. The California-based Sideshow Collection donated the statue of the high priest of Kali from the Temple Of Doom specially for the event.

“Anybody that buys on Saturday will be put into a drawing to win it,” Bishop said. Bishop plans to auction off several other items, he said.

To participate in Free Comic Book Day, Bishop and other comic shop owners must buy the comics they will distribute. The comics aren’t free, but distributors offer them at reduced rates for the purpose of the free giveaway.

Most comic publishers supply one book for Free Comic Book Day. The biggest publishers, Marvel and DC, create two, which usually cross-promote superhero movies or TV shows. This year, one of Marvel’s free comics features a team-up with Thor and Captain America, starring in movies this summer. One of the free DC comics stars Green Lantern, who also has an upcoming movie, in a preview of DC’s summer event, “Flashpoint.”

Other free comics could feature Spider-Man, Archie, Mickey Mouse, “Star Wars,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “The Simpsons.”

Besides comics, the store sells graphic novel collections, superhero action figure, toys, T-Shirts, posters and more. Visit Big Bang Comics at bigbangcomicsandcollectibles.com, or click here to find participating stores or more information about Free Comic Book Day.