With today being April 20, we would like to take this opportunity to mention another relatively obscure but also rapidly growing national “holiday” — Free Comic Book Day.

The website freecomicbookday.com states, “Free Comic Book Day is the biggest event in the comic book industry — a single day when participating comic book specialty shops across North America and around the world give away comic books absolutely free to anyone who comes into their shops. Founded on the belief that for every person out there, there’s a comic book they’ll love, the annual event offers a huge selection of free titles designed to appeal to a broad range of age levels and their tastes.

“Every year, on the first Saturday in May, the industry comes together to give away free comics and encourage both curious, first-time comic book readers and seasoned comic book fans to flock to the best place in the comic book community: local comic shops. Each one is unique in its community, with a style and personality all its own, and each one carries a full line of comics, graphic novels, toys and related products. Local comic shops are the hubs of our community, where fans can come together to discover new comics, make lifelong friends, and find a sense of commonality.”

Naturally, we at The Mining Journal are big proponents of literature and reading. But in addition, there are members of our staff who grew up reading comic books and anime, and now have children of our own. That makes it easy to see how an event like this could ignite a child’s interest in a new story or fictional character and watch their imagination take off.

And the best part? There is surely something for everybody of every interest. Major publishers such as DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse Comics, IDW Publishing, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Entertainment, and Image Comics, along with a slew of independent publishers, put out free comics for fans to enjoy at the more than 2,300 local comic shops that participate in Free Comic Book Day, according to the website.

For more information, go to freecomicbookday.com and find the store locator to get a list of participating shops close to you. We suspect that when you bring your kids to this event once, it will quickly become an annual tradition.