The Bay Area has more comic shops than any other region of the United States. Within a 15-mile radius of San Francisco’s City Hall, there are no less than 10 stores pushing funny books on impressionable youth (and adults). Free Comic Book Day returns on May 4 and due to the close proximity of Bay Area stores, it’s possible to hit five or six in a single day (if you’re so inclined). That equals a lot of free comics. Here’s our guide on how to do Free Comic Book Day right in the Bay Area.
Local Comic Shop Day is tomorrow (November 19)! We’ve done our best to collect information on signings around the Bay Area. Below is a listing of all of the shops that have made it known via social media or on websites if they’re taking part in Local Comic Shop Day. The majority of listed events appear to be along the East Bay Comics Trail with Fantastic Comics, Cape & Cowl, Flying Colors, The Escapist, Dr. Comics and Mr. Games, and Alameda Sports Cards and Comics all listing events. All we could find along the West Bay Comics Trail was an event at Mission but that doesn’t mean other shops aren’t participating. Check out our list of Bay Area comic stores if you want to call ahead or find a shop near you.
In addition to hosting creators, many of the comic shops around the Bay Area are providing Local Comic Shop Day exclusives including prints, pins, and covers. Again, check the comic store list for opening times.
Local Comic Shops Day
When: November 19
Where: Everywhere
More info: http://localcomicshopday.com/
Cape and Cowl One-Year Anniversary Party featuring
Dave Dwonch, Justin Greenwood, Ramon Villalobos, Logan Faerber, and more
When: November 19
Where: Cape and Cowl Comics
1601 Clay Street in Oakland
What: The Bay Area’s youngest comic book store will celebrate one-year on November 19. They shop has big celebration plan include rare collectible prints and pins (check out the pins at this link), a star-studded line-up of guests, and more.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/204869236591381/
Darick Robertson Signing
When: November 19
Where: Flying Colors Comics and Other Cool Stuff
What: Darick Robertson will be signing copies of Valient’s Harbinger Renegades as part of Local Comic Shop Day. Flying Colors will also carry an exclusive first issue of the Valiant title.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/152517491843185/
Matt Sheean, Simon Roy, and Malachi Ward Signing
When: November 19 at 6 p.m.
Where: Mission: Comics and Art
2250 Mission Street in San Francisco
What: Sheean, Roy, and Ward will sign copies of the recently published trade paperbacks of Ancestor and Habitat. The two titles were serialized in the Brandon Graham and Emma Rios Image project Island.
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/995163667261783/
Andy Warner Signing
When: November 19 (time TBD)
Where: The Escapist Comic Shop
3090 Claremont Avenue in Berkeley
What: Andy Warner will be in-store to sign copies of Brief Histories of Everyday Objects.
More info: http://www.escapistcomics.com/
David Faroz Precht Signing
When: November 19 at 1 p.m.
Where: Dr. Comics and Mr. Games
4014 Piedmont Avenue in Oakland
What: David Faroz Precht will sign copies of his Tethered!
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1208200139254030/
Christine Villanueva, Vincent Kukua, and Nick Dragotta signings
When: November 19 at 1 p.m.
Where: Fantastic Comics
2026 Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley
What: Christine Villanueva, Vincent Kukua, and Nick Dragotta will be signing and sketching for visitors to Fantastic
More info: https://www.facebook.com/events/290445474683787/
The most recent project from Princess Ugg creator Ted Naifeh takes the superhero genre and mashes it up with a medieval fantasy world. Night Dominion is a slight break for Naifeh who’s earned a hefty stack of Harvey’s and Emmy’s creating young adult comics with strong female protagonists. Naifeh told the AV Club the title is more mature than some of his previous work but it still has a strong female character at the head. “It’s been nice to not worry about whether my main character looks cute,” he said, “I want her harsh and formidable, like her world.”
Naifeh, who’s based in the Bay Area, is hosting a dual launch party along the Berkeley segment of the East Bay Comics Trail. He’ll start off with a 4 p.m. signing at Fantastic Comics at 2026 Shattuck Avenue. After the signing, he’ll head across town to Trickster, 2631 Ashby Avenue, for a 7 p.m. reception and art show.
Ted Naifeh
Twitter: @TedNaifeh
Website: tednaifeh.com
Fantastic Comics
2026 Shattuck Ave.
Berkeley, CA
(510) 848-2988
Website: www.fantasticcomics.net
Twitter: @FantasticComics
Facebook: FantasticComics
TR!CKSTER
2631 Ashby Ave
Berkeley, CA
(510) 665-8900
Tumblr: trickstertrickster
Twitter: @thetrickstore
Facebook: TheTRICKSTORE
Writers Matthew Rosenberg (4 Kids Walk Into A Bank) and Frank Barbiere (The Revisionist) will take part in a Bay Area mini-tour on July 16. They’ll make at least two stops on the West Bay Comics Trail and two stops on the East Bay Comics Trail.
At each stop, they’ll host 30-minute lighting signings.
Below is the itinerary I’ve been able to piece together by scouring Facebook event listings. I apologize if I missed any shops.
1 p.m.
Escapist Comics
3090 Claremont Avenue
Berkeley, CA
2:30 p.m.
Cape and Cowl Comics
1601 Clay Street
Oakland, CA
4:30 p.m.
Mission: Comics and Art
2250 Mission Street
San Francisco, CA
6 p.m.
Comix Experience Outpost
2381 Ocean Avenue
San Francisco, CA
Matthew Rosenberg writes the phenomenal Black Mask Studios titles 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank and You Can Never Go Home. I don’t have a top ten current title list but if I did 4 Kids would definitely be on it. Maybe I should start a list. Let’s arbitrarily slot it in at number 3 on my new list. He’s also the writer on Civil War II: Kingpin which I didn’t know until I started writing this post but based on those other two books it’s likely one of the best things being printed by Marvel. I should go buy it.
In 2013, Frank Barbiere was kind enough to give the world the brilliant Image published title Five Ghosts. He’s also written Howling Commandos of SHIELD for Marvel, Solar: Man of the Atom for Dynamite, Lobo for DC, and many other books. Last month Barbiere dropped the first issue of his most recent creator-owned work The Revisionist on AfterShock Comics. The first issue was a thrilling ride and, much like Rosenberg’s 4 Kids, was highly praised by critics. The second issue, which hits shelves this coming Wednesday, will determine if it enters my newly established top 10.
We started with a simple question: Can we feasibly hit every comic shop in Oakland, San Francisco, and Berkeley in one-day? After mapping a number of potential routes it was determined “maybe, but unlikely, and we’ll probably die.” It would have been a case of quantity over quality. What would be the point of rushing into a store, taking some photos, purchasing an item and grabbing a couple of free comics, and rushing to the next store? In the end, we settled on sticking to our backyard and hitting the East Bay Comics Trail. The West Bay Comics Trail will need to wait for a future date.
In my opinion, Free Comic Book Day serves three purposes. In order of importance:
I acknowledge I’m not really the target of Free Comic Book Day. I have pull lists at three different stores in the Bay Area, on a daily basis I read mainstream and indie comic news, I attend conventions, and I stay up to date on happenings at my local shops. I do know those free comics actually cost the stores money, so the least I can do on Free Comic Book Day is give back if I can. I made a rule: For every free comic I pick-up I’ll purchase an item. This rule seemed simple enough but as you’ll see below we went a bit overboard.
It’s for the best we didn’t attempt to do a combination East/West tour. Circumstances meant we didn’t leave The Shared Universe headquarters until nearly 11 a.m. This is well after all of the stores on the trail had opened.
Stop 1: Cape and Cowl
Cape and Cowl is the most recent addition to the East Bay Comics Trail. The shop at 1601 Clay Street in Oakland combined comics, tattoos, and a food drive. On the store’s Facebook page they said more than a thousand pounds of food had been collected for the Alameda County Food Bank. Cape and Cowl is a 10-minute bus ride from where I live so it’s now the most recent shop to hold one of my pull lists. Below is our haul:
Free Comic Book Day selections:
Rom #0
Mooncop: A Tom Gauld Sampler
Bob’s Burgers
Comics Lab!!!
We Can Never Go Home/Young Terrorists
Off-the-Shelf selections:
Invader Zim #9
Aftershock Genesis #1
Heart Throb #1
Hot Damn #1
Rough Riders #2
Army of Darkness: Furious Road #3
Stop 2: Dr. Comics and Mr. Games
Dr. Comics and Mr. Games had the added treat of a table filled with comics from previous Free Comic Book Days. As a combination game store, it additionally provided us with the opportunity to pick-up a copy of the espionage word game “Codenames.”
Free Comic Book Day selections
Love and Rockets
Avatarex
March
Doctor Who
Serenity
Suicide Squad
Off-the-Shelf selection
Beasts of Burden
Renato Jones The One% #1
X-Men ‘92 #3
Wonder Woman Earth One Vol. One
Codenames (game)
Stop 3: Escapist Comics
Since moving to the Bay Area I’ve only made it out to Escapist a handful of times. It’s a regret because Escapist always impresses with their indie comic selection. I always walk out with something unusual. For this year’s Free Comic Book Day the store featured illustrators Ramon Villalobos and Meggie Ramm.
Free Comic Bok Day selections
Attack on Titan Anthology
Valiant 4001 AD
Bongo Free-for-All
Lady Mechanika
Off-the-Shelf selections
E is For Extinction #2 (signed by Villalobos)
Harrow County #11
Niobe #1
Mars Attacks: Occupation #1
The House of Montresor #1
The Punisher #1
The Finder Library Vol. 1
Stop 4: Tr!ckster
This was our first time visiting Tr!ckster. It’s always been on our list of stores to visit but we’ve somehow never made it. Walking in it was obvious why this store received an Eisner award nomination this year. I’ve never visited a store like it. Tr!ckster is what would happen if the Mad Hatter ran a comic shop in Wonderland. The interior decorating is beautiful and relaxing plus they always have a kettle of tea waiting for visitors. The store’s focus is on independent comics with a prioritization of graphic novels. Sure you’ll find your Image and Dark Horse titles, but Tr!ckster makes an effort to make sure what might be a hidden gem at the average store is presented front and center. I was pleased to find a copy of Nick Abadzis’ Laika sitting on a central display. The title has long been on my “must read” list but I always forget to look for it.
Due to the store’s focus, they couldn’t participate in Free Comic Book Day on the same scale as other shops. Instead, they welcomed us with the deepest discount of our journey. Everything in the store was 35 percent off. When you’re shopping for graphic novels that’s a significant saving.
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Off-the-Shelf selection
Ink for Beginners
Edwin Windsheer’s Pocket Guide to The Sphere
Laika
The Little Man
Bitch Planet
Rat Queens
The CBLDF presents Liberty
Spirit Leaves #2
Stop 5: Fantastic Comics
Fantastic was celebrating Free Comic Book Day with a signing by writer and cartoonist Kate Leth. She’s written for Bravest Warriors, Edward Scissorhands, and Adventure Time. Currently, she’s the mastermind behind Patsy Walker a.k.a Hellcat. Bonus: they had a Rule 63 Rogue holding down the front entrance.
Fantastic receives additional props for helping me fulfill my secondary mission while out and about for FCBD. I’d been hoping to find the first two anthologies of Josh Simmons’ Jessica Farm. I’d mostly given up by the time we reached Fantastic but as I was standing in the check-out line they were on the corner of store’s indie publication display table.
Free Comic Book Day selections
Civil War II
Captain America
Junior Braves of the Apocalypse
Science Comics
Camp Midnight
Off-the-Shelf selections
Jessica Farm vols. 1 & 2
Hellcat! #5 signed by Kate Leth
Injection #9
Moon Knight #2
Insexts #5
Second Sight #3
No Mercy #9
Poe Dameron #2
Sex Criminals #15
Stop 6: Jeffrey’s Toys and Comics
Jeffrey’s Toys and Comics had a location in San Francisco for years. They were perhaps one of the longest running stores with a selection of comics in the city. Unfortunately, a convergence of circumstances (predominately, the rising cost of living in the Bay Area) forced Jeffrey’s to pack up and move across the bay. The store is now located on Berkeley’s boutique friendly 4th Street. I never had a chance to visit the San Francisco iteration of this shop but the Berkeley location is definitely much more focused on toys over comics. Walking in we were greeted with stacks upon stacks of Free Comic Book Day selections but it took me a couple of minutes to locate the rest of the comics (at the top of the stairs).
This was Jeffrey’s first FCBD in this new location so I don’t want to be too critical but I think there was a significant missed opportunity. By 4 p.m. on Free Comic Book Day most shops tend to be picked over but Jeffrey’s still had plentiful stacks of everything. We waited in a long line of customers purchasing toys before we could leave the store but not once did we hear the clerks mention “hey, all of these comics are free. Take some.” Every kid in that store should have left with a Strawberry Shortcake, Camp Midnight, DC Superhero Girls, Grumpy Cat, Hilda and the Stone Forest, Junior Braves of the Apocalypse, Oddly Normal, Science Comics, and so on. If you aren’t going to use Free Comic Book Day to put comics in the hands of kids why participate? Plus, you’re rewarding your customers for shopping at your store by giving them a stack of free things. How often does a store have that opportunity?
FCBD criticism aside I’m happy Jeffrey’s has joined us in the East Bay and is providing an additional opportunity for people to discover comics.
Free Comic Book Day selection
Archie
Bruce Lee The Dragon Rises
Oddly Normal
Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom
Off-the-Shelf selection
Saga #33
Alex + Ada #12
Art Ops #4
Art Ops #5
Unfollow #4
Honorable Mention: Alameda Sports Cards and Comics
I feel guilty about this one. Due to our later than expected start we had to make a sacrifice and this was it. We’d discussed hitting it after the Jeffrey’s stop but our wallets and bodies were exhausted. If you’re going to do the East Bay Comics Trail the right way Alameda Sports Cards and Comics should be on the journey. Next year they’ll be stop number one.
