College Park's Big Planet Comics to Celebrate Free Comic Book Day

By Luis Monteagudo Jr. and Melinda Carstensen

Free Comic Book Day is upon us again this year, coming up Saturday, May 3 at your local comic book stores.

Now in its 13th year, Free Comic Book Day started as a way by the comics industry and independent comic book stores to get kids away from their video games and reintroduce them to the magic of comic books.

Since its beginning, thousands of shops around the world have given away millions of free comic books.

Not every comic book store participates. But many do, including College Park's own Big Planet Comics, at 7315 Baltimore Ave.. To find a comic book store that is participating in your neighborhood, go online at www.freecomicbookday.com/storelocator.  Just type in your zip code and you’ll get a list of other participating stores.

You can’t just grab any comic book in the store. Selected comic books are set aside each year to be given out to shoppers. This year’s list of selected comics are in all kinds of genres and suitable for a variety of ages.

They include comics for kids, including “Archie,” “Spongebob” and “Uncle Scrooge and Donald Duck.” Superhero fans can get titles featuring “Batman” and “Transfomers vs. G.I. Joe.” There are also previews of new titles, if you want to try something different.

So grab your son or daughter, or niece or nephew, or grandson or granddaughter and take them to your local store to introduce them to the world of comics.