As a kid, I loved Wednesdays. I spent the afternoon with my Aunt. The day always involved a trip to Clover then Murphy’s Five and Dime followed by the Rag Shop and, if I behaved, a pit-stop for a reward at the local magazine store.

Comic books.

Spider-Man, X-Men, the latest G.I. Joe, occasionally a Batman and once in a while I’d judge a comic by it’s cover art and grab anything that caught the attention of my 10-year-old mind. Usually a female in a tight outfit. Don’t judge.

I’d polish them off on the car ride back to her house. Read them again over a glass of chocolate milk and “What’s Happening” reruns. One more time on the car ride to my house.

The characters, plots, ideas, story structure, and everything contained in those twenty or more colored pages had a profound affect on my future as a writer. You don’t need x-ray vision to see the obvious.

Saturday, May 2nd is Free Comic Book Day. Held the first Saturday in May, it’s a day when participating comic book shops across the US and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into the store. Are they going to be top-shelf, high quality, hard to find comic book gems. Probably not. Could they be an inspiration to a young mind looking for a creative outlet and an escape into a world of unlimited possibilities? Absolutely.

Call your local comic book shop and ask if they are participating in Free Book Day. Pick up some for a child in your life, or maybe even, the child inside you.

Who knows you make have a budding Illuminati on your hands. (Sweet Christ save our soul if that is true.)

Got a comic book memory to share? Let’s hear it.