An Amazing Free Comic Book Day Odyssey - Part 2

Slowly but surely, the queue moved closer towards our coveted prize.

Some of the Pinoy artists came in early to sign, sell some of their indie work and do sketches.

At last, free comics sighted!

A cute and friendly Comic Odyssey staff was also a sight for the fanboy's eyes. Right JM?

Those who came early enough, like us, received a white bag (see those stacks in the background) full of FREE comics, plus a bookmark and sticker. We also got to choose specially printed FCBD comics. Unfortunately, I was not able to get the FCBD Star Wars issue. Instead I got Indies Maximus, Captain America and Thor - The Mighty Fighting Avengers, Elric, and Path of the Planeswalker.

In all, I came home with 57 free comicbooks. Most of these were old issues from the Image heydays, with titles that looked promising then but never really took off (any one remember Fabulous First issue of Vanguard?), and other independent studios like Malibu Comics, Crusade, Defiant, Triumphant Unleashed (gee, I'm now a proud owner of The Chromium Man Unleashed, 6955 of 27,000 printed!)

I also was pleasantly surprised to find Spawn #8, which was written by the legendary (and extremely eccentric) Alan Moore, and titles from Entity Comics/CATS Studios (Aster, Shaiana, Harriers) which showcased the early works of now respected Marvel/DC artists Jay Anacleto, Leinil Yu and Gerry Alanguilan (nominated in this year's Eisner Awards for his opus "Elmer"). It's like owning pieces of comic book history!

My son Gboy sure was a happy with the stuff that I brought home that day.

The good owners of Comic Odyssey did a fantastic job hosting and handling the event. In the end, it was a triumph for comics and comic book fans around the world.

See you again next year!

An Amazing Free Comic Book Day Odyssey - Part 1

May 7, 2011 - Never mind that I didn't have sleep coming off a 7pm to 4am shift. I met up with former officemates and buddies JM and Koach and headed off to Robinson's Galleria an hour and a half earlier than the mall opening time, optimistic that we would be in front of the expected long queue of fans eager to get free comics and goodies. We were worried that another buddy, Matt C, wouldn't be able to make it as none of us had his current mobile number.

As soon as the mall opened at 10am, we half-dashed to the third level and frantically searched for the mecca of FCBD, Comic Odyssey.

To our dismay, there was already a snake of a line and whaddaya know, to make matters worse, Matt, our sneaky bastard of a friend was already there, comfortably placed at number 49.

To give you an idea how long the queue was, I was already number 225. And there were still hundreds of fans behind us. Men, women, kids, teens, gramps and grannies, professionals, students. They came in droves, and I give credit to the organizers for keeping the crowd orderly.

There's Koach in red and JM with the fancy phone.


What a show-off! We wanted to strangle Matt  for getting his goodies way ahead of us.

In the end, all was forgiven and friendships prevailed.

(To be continued)

The truth shall set you free... May 7 is Free Comic Book Day!

It's true. You read it right. FREE! LIBRE! GRATIS!

Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual worldwide event that is held every first Saturday of May. It has been a decade long tradition already, with the objective of promoting comic book reading and boost the comic book industry.

This year, Comic Odyssey (3rd level, Robinsons Galleria, EDSA corner Ortigas Ave, Quezon City) will host the Philippine FCBD starting at 10:30am. Expect a long queue of Pinoy fanboys/fanbabes (and cheapskates like me) eager to grab free comics and goodies such as posters or postcards.

Gerry Alanguilan, one of the most respected Filipino comic book artists and a personal favorite of mine, announced in his website Komikero.com (http://gerry.alanguilan.com/) that he will be giving away free copies of book #4 of his critically acclaimed and Eisner Awards nominated "Elmer".

He will also be one of the Pinoy artists who will be present during the autograph signings from 1pm to 5pm. The star-studded line up will include:


CARLO PAGULAYAN – Agents of Atlas, Hulk, Emma Frost, Elektra
ED TADEO – Sigil, X-men, Wolverine, Iron Man
GERRY ALANGUILAN – Elmer, Ultimate Avengers, Wolverine, X-Force
HARVEY TOLIBAO – Psylocke, Silver Surfer, Heroes for Hire
JAY ANACLETO – Marvels Eye of the Camera, Aria, Spawn, Thor
LEINIL YU – Secret Invasion, Ultimate Avengers, X-men, Wolverine, Superman
LUI ANTONIO – Terminator, Savage Tales, Warlord of Mars
MICO SUAYAN – Moon Knight, X-men, Thor, Werewolf By Night
PHILIP TAN – Green Lantern, Outsiders, Spawn, X-men
STEPHEN SEGOVIA – Silver Surfer, Ultimate Avengers, Wolverine

Local Guest Artists
ARIEL ATIENZA – Class, West Side
GIO PAREDES – Kalayaan
FREELY ABRIGO – Kapitan Tog, Kulas
IAN OLYMPIA – Ambition
JON ZAMAR – Digmaang Salinlahi
JOSEL NICOLAS – Windmills: Breakdowns
LYNDON GREGORIO – Beerkada
MACOY – Taal Monster vs Evil Space Paru-paro
MEL CASIPIT – Baboy 1 & 2
NORBY ELA – Gutom
RH QUILANTANG – Goodbye Rubbit
ROMMEL ESTANISLAO – Lipad
SHERRY BAET ZAMAR – Carpool
TEPAI PASCUAL – Maktan 1521

For more details, visit:
http://freecomicbookday.com/comics.asp
http://gerry.alanguilan.com/archives/3299

If you still don't believe me, here's a comic book that got from the FCBD two years ago at Bonifacio High Street.

Carinderia patrons, let's head on over to Comic Odyssey next Saturday if you're FREE.