Free Comic Book Day returns to Baker Library
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Wednesday, May 4th, 2022 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
BAKER CITY – (Release from Baker County Public Library) Baker County Public Library will once again celebrate Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) on Saturday, May 7th 2022 from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM! Visitors can get free comics and goodies to take home while supplies last, and enter a raffle to win the Grand Prize of a waterproof eBook Reader valued at over $150. Participants who come dressed in a comic-culture-related costume will be allowed an extra raffle ticket for the Grand Prize. There will also be a special screening of a superhero movie at 1:00 PM. The film, which features a popular web-slinging teen mutant, was released in theaters in 2021 and is rated PG-13.
Established in 2002, Free Comic Book Day is an annual event held on the first Saturday in May, during which participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give out exclusive comic books for free to showcase the industry. Each year, thousands of participating locations give away over five million comic books to millions of fans to introduce them to the wonders of comics.
This is the 6th year Baker County Library will celebrate the event, offering the community a fun, family-oriented program where everyone can find a comic they’ll enjoy. Participating publishers this year include Marvel, Dark Horse, Fantagraphics, IDW, Image, and others, with titles such as Dog Man, Donald Duck, Archie, Avatar the Last Airbender, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things, Spider-Man, Pokémon, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter, teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and many more.
The library’s comic shop sponsor this year is The Collector’s Outpost based in Meridian, Idaho, which has donated all of the comic books and collectible figures. The Friends of Baker County Library group is a perennial partner with funding for the eReader prize and additional giveaways.
One of the bonus items available this year is a copy of “Maus I: A Survivor’s Tale” by Art Spiegelman, which saw renewed national demand this year after being canceled out of a middle-school curriculum in Tennessee. The graphic novel portrays the Holocaust viewed through the lives of animals, with mice playing the role of Jews and cats cast as evil Nazis. It has been used in social studies classes across the country since the early 1990s, when it became the first graphic novel to win a Pulitzer Prize. The Tennessee school board objected to its classroom suitability due to mild curse words, a drawing of a partially nude female mouse, and depiction of violence and suicide.
Comics and graphic novels are a powerful way to promote visual and verbal literacy, as well as love of reading and art. Educators need to know that some of the high quality graphic novels now available are especially effective to help readers with dyslexia or Autism Spectrum Disorder. Unfortunately, given their visual nature, comics are easy targets for would-be censors and the United States seem to be seeing a resurgence of anti-comic bias reminiscent of the hysteria that occurred in the 1950s. By offering copies of Maus, the library’s goals are to celebrate Constitutional freedoms and independent thinking, to spark conversations about challenged graphic novels, and to help allay misconceptions about comics.
FCBD kicks off on May 7th, 2022 at 10:00 AM and runs until 4:00 PM. Information about comic books, and a list of participating publishers and their free comics are all online at www.freecomicbookday.com. Updates about the event at Baker County Public Library will be shared through its social media pages.
For questions or more information, please contact Library Director Perry Stokes at 541-523-6419.
