Carol and John’s

When the nerd holidays known as FREE COMIC BOOK DAY and May the 4^th be with you (also known as “Star Wars Day” ) just happen to coincide with one another, the Force is truly in balance.  For the members of Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan there is no place better to kickoff FCBD then at Carol and John’s Comic Shop in Cleveland, Ohio.

For those new to this tradition, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is held on the first Saturday in the month of May, when publishers and comic book stores across the country team up to print special editions of comic books which fans can get FREE at their favorite comic book stores -- but only on that day.  Carol and John’s Comic Shop take things to the next level, hosting a special midnight release event every year to celebrate FCBD; and fans line up hours ahead of time to be some of the first to get their hands on the latest copies of these limited-edition comics.

Carol and John’s Comic Shop have earned a reputation for both their pride in Cleveland’s place in comic book history as well as their FCBD bash!  Carol and John’s teamed up with the Cuyahoga County Public Library to distribute an exclusive “Commemorative Cleveland Edition” Superman title -- with custom artwork of the Man of Steel flying over the city where he was created.  They also have veritable “Artist Ally” with 20+ local comic book artists doing sketch covers for local charity.  Then there is the famous Carol and John’s FCBD custom ale, brewed by the guys over at Cleveland Action Brewery.  If all that wasn’t enough, Carol and John’s went all out by ordering customized R2-D2 “May the 4^th be with you” patches, designed by national Star Wars trivia champ Kevin Liell -- for anyone dressed in Star Wars costumes.

Which brings me back to us -- in all my blogs, has it ever taken this long to mention the Great Lakes Base, Ohio Garrison and Rancor Clan? No, that is how awesome this particular event is.  While I’ve been trooping at Carol and John’s for several years now, I tend to think of both of the store’s namesakes as personal friends -- rather then just another event contact; and as such both side go out of their way to see the other is well looked after.  In return, members from all the groups showed up in record numbers to provide a fun atmosphere for Carol and John’s customers as they waited (some as early as 4pm) for midnight and the official release of the FCBD comics.

GLB "Mission Report" -- Free Comic Book Day 2013

Yet Carol and John’s midnight release is just the START of a full weekend of trooping; for some… four events (all across Ohio) in under 36 hours!