FCBD 2019: Festivities At Hi De Ho Comics
by Gary Catig
Free Comic Book Day serves as a good opportunity to not only bring new people into the medium but for local comic shops to show appreciation to their regular customers and vice versa. Our executive editor had a fun time over at Conquest Comics this year. I headed off to Hi De Ho Comics in Santa Monica, California, for the first time ever.
They had a big shindig planned for the day renting out the space next door as a mini exhibition area. All they needed were panels to have a full fledged con going. A handful of publishers set up shop including AfterShock Comics, Stranger Comics, TokyoPop and the local Fanbase Press.
In addition, there were creators tabling and signing like David Pepose (Spencer & Locke), Terry Mayo (The Wicked Righteous), and Henry Barajas (La Voz De M.A.Y.O. Tata Rambo). There’s still time to back Henry’s Kickstarter for issue #2 here.
There were even podcasters like our very own, Omar Spahi (seen partially above), and Comadres y Comics. The latter seems like a perfect fit for me as they discuss comics and craft beer.
Overall it was a great event. There was a storewide sale for those who wanted to make purchases and they were one of the few places I saw that didn’t limit the number of free books a person could take. I missed a lot of the craziness since I didn’t visit until the afternoon, but also missed out on a few titles as well since they were gone by the time I arrived.
