It's the final Jetpack Comics Free Comic Book Day Festival, and "The Friendliest Comic Book Shop of All Time" is pulling out all the stops.
Jetpack Comics is a shop owned and run by gamers and comic lovers for gamers and comic lovers. Located in downtown Rochester, NH, it's a haven for nerds of all stripes and types, obsessively presided over by owner Ralph DiBernardo.
If you're a comic enthusiast in New England, that's a name you might recognize. Ralph is inexorably linked to Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Ralph was even on hand in Dover, NH in 2023 for the TMNT Manhole Cover unveiling.
Jetpack Comics Free Comic Book Day: A Brief History
Free Comic Book Day has taken place at on the first Saturday in May since 2002. Much like Record Store Day, it's a celebration of your local shop, the culture that surrounds it, and an opportunity for regular collectors and new customers to come together.
For the last decade-plus of FCBC, Jetpack has injected the event with Super Solider Serum. The comic book shop acts as the hub, but the celebration itself has evolved into a festival that spreads out over the entirety of Downtown Rochester.
Jetpack Comics Free Comic Book Day: Rochester Rock City
As a Jetpack Comics Free Comic Book Day repeat offender, let me tell you: Rochester is the place to be for FCBD. They organize a comic book scavenger hunt that takes you to businesses all over downtown. There's cosplay, local vendors, live music, and more.
I'll be there this year, with my youngest and pop-culture-loving brother in tow. I hope you will, too. Ralph, Rich, and the entire Jetpack crew do an outstanding job of creating community in and around the store. It's a wonderful thing to be a part of. Get all the FCBD deets here.
Free Comic Book Day 2022 swoops down in its cape and cowl to save the day on Saturday, May 7. So what's it all about?
Well, the name pretty much sums it up: it's a day where you can visit your participating comic book shops and get some free comic books. But it's also more than that. Free Comic Book Day 2022 is a celebration of all things comic book-related. And much like Record Store Day, it's a chance for you to support local business by striking up a relationship with your local shop.
Some shops will dole out the free books and leave it at that. But others, like Jetpack Comics in Rochester, NH turn Free Comic Book Day into a city-wide celebration.
So take a scroll through my list of local shops, then stroll down to the one nearest you. You watch every damn super hero movie that hits theaters, it's high time you started getting into the comics that spawned them. Excelsior!
