'Twas the Night Before Free Comic Book Day
And I haven't slept for a week.
Free Comic Book Day is Neighborhood Comics’s anniversary. This year marks our fourth year in business. To celebrate, we throw a party. But this year, the party is… A LOT.
The biggest change from previous years is that we’re taking over the courtyard behind our building. That space will host ten comic artists who will be vending and signing. That additional real estate triples our space. We have partnered with neighboring stores and restaurants to give out free comics from previous years as a small way to say thanks for their support - and putting up with the problems we’ll inevitably cause them.
All employees will be on hand. We have volunteers (a first). We have a potentially complicated traffic flow around the building through said courtyard and exiting through the store proper (aka the gift shop). Food truck. Photo booth. Tents. Sails. Multiple checkout points. Package sealing. Press. Photographer. Videographer. Music. Line management. Code enforcement. Cosplayers. Signage. Hand outs. Custom Instagram stickers. A complete setup change midway through the day. No sleep. No sleep. No sleep.
To be clear, I’m not complaining. I know I brought all this on myself. I’m really excited. It’s like Christmas Eve... if you’re Santa Claus. You don’t have just one night of anticipation. This has been building for months - and it’s finally here.
I hope we have enough books. I hope we don’t have too many books. I hope people are in a good mood. I hope it doesn’t rain. I hope technology doesn’t fail us. I hope the artists feel appreciated. I hope the staff isn’t as stressed out as I am (spoiler: they’re not).
But before I drift off back into my checklists and fretting, it was important for me to reach out here to tell my fellow retailers that they’re not alone on Free Comic Book Day Eve. I hope you get some sleep. And I know that you will rock it tomorrow.