Business & Tech

Hot Comic Book Creators Bring the Crowds to Smithtown Shop

On Free Comic Book Day, 4th World Comics hosted DC Comics publisher and writer.

One day in May every year comic book fans come out en mass to a Smithtown comic book shop to join with others all over the country that take part in Free Comic Book Day, an annual event where publishers make specific books available for shops to give away to customers for free.

This year at 4th World Comics, one of the most popular and jam-packed comic shops in Suffolk County, two creators from DC Comics publishing group, the place where heroes like Superman and Batman fly and swing off the pages of multiple titles every month, stopped by to sign autographs and meet face-to-face with fans.

The day was another success, according to store manager Chris Cregeen.
 
Scott Snyder, a hot writer who has tackled two of DC's big characters over the past year or so, was on hand at the shop. Snyder-a local from the Three Village area-has been spotted at 4th World Comics before, hanging out on Wednesdays when new titles come out to sign for random fans.

Since DC relaunched its product line and took its characters in new directions with new plot lines - after one of the periodic whole universe reboots common in comics every few years - Snyder has been writing for the iconic Batman and the lesser-known Swamp Thing, re-imagining the mythos behind the superheroes.

Also at the shop was Jim Lee, co-publisher of DC Comics and an artist who came to fame during the 1990s working for rival comic publisher Marvel on its X-Men line, according to ComicVine.com.

"Crazy," is how Cregeen described the day.

He said that over 220 people came out for the signing on May 4, the day of Free Comic Book Day. Slots for signings were limited by the shop due to space and time constraints for Snyder and Lee at the store. In all, the shop hosted more than 800 people throughout the day giving out over 5,000 free comic books.

Feedback from fans was positive, according to Cregeen, with many complimenting the shop for keeping things organized with such a big crowd. He said that everything went very smoothly.

Fans were also treated to surprise guests including Peter David, a Marvel comic writer and author of Star Trek novels.

Before being whisked off to Manhattan for an late day appearance at Midtown Comics, Snyder and Lee took a moment to leave their mark on the shop by signing a storage room door in the back of the store. Lee dashed off a sketch of Batman nemesis the Joker to go along with his signature.

Free Comic Book Day gets bigger every year, said Cregeen with more and more books being distributed.

"It's always fun," he said. "It's Christmas in May."


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