It's the third annual Read Comics in Public day, and as always, we expect the Acme Army to put its best foot forward! In the breakroom, the park, the cafeteria, at a restaurant, a library, a bar, on a bus, a plane, a train!
If you'd like to set up a specific event for friends, co-workers, family or strangers and would like some help publicizing it or stocking it full of the widest possibly selection of comics to enjoy, let us know and we'll lend a hand in any way we can!
Now to get everyone psyched and go over the details of the event, here's a message from the event's organizer posted at Read Comics in Public.com:
Hey everyone, just a simple head’s up letting you know that the third annual Read Comics in Public Day is on like Ultron. That’s right, we haven’t abandoned the cause — for as long as people sneak comics home from shops in unmarked brown paper bags, we will be there. As long as men and women conveniently fail to mention their love of sequential art until the third date, we will be there. As long as we’re content to use any excuse to celebrate — and read — comics, we’ll be there.
As ever, we’re celebrating Read Comics in Public on August 28th, the birthday of one Jack “King” Kirby, who, it turns out, would have celebrated his 95th this summer. Seeing as how the first two years the holiday was celebrated on a weekend, a number of folks have asked whether the date of this year’s event will be adjusted so as to maintain that standard. The simple answer is: celebrate over the weekend — and during the week. Heck, read comics in public all month long, just to be sure. That goes double for the librarian who emailed to alert us to the fact that her library closes on Tuesdays.
The other, less malleable answer is that, from early on in the process, Sarah and I planned to keep the event on the same day every year, regardless of the day of the week. The first two years happily fell on the weekend, and subsequent years would afford new opportunities — for those who take public transit, for example, imagine a subway or bus ride jam-packed with fellow comics lovers. The concept makes us downright giddy.
As for how to celebrate, well, there are both simple and more complex answers here as well. The easy part is: just read comics in public — on trains, on your lunch break, at the park, in the library. Throw a couple of old favorites or new releases in your bag and get to it. And hey, bring some to share. Remember that year that everyone outside of your immediate family bought you a copy of Watchmen for your birthday? It’s a great book, granted, but you don’t need 15 copies, do you?
If you’d like to spread the word, blog about it — we’ve been written up by Wired, NPR, MTV, and USA Today, among others. You’d be in pretty good company. If you have any questions or want to do an interview, email us at readcomicsinpublic@gmail.com. We’re a friendly sort! We’ve got a poster, too — print it up and display it prominently. Our pal Robert Sergel spent a lot of time on the thing, the least you can do is show it off.
Here’s one for stores: http://readcomicsinpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/readcomicsposte...
And here’s one for libraries: http://readcomicsinpublic.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/librarycrosshat...
Which reminds us — hold an event! Reading comics together is great, trust us on this. Feel free to hack and chop the above poster to fit your needs. We’ve had events on every continent in the world, save for that really cold one with all the penguins. So, anyone want to be the first to read on a glacier? Send us a link to your event and we’ll tweet it out.
Twitter and Facebook are great ways to spread the word, of course. The official hashtag is #readcomicsinpublic. And Flickr! Once you’ve read the aforementioned comics in public, upload them here.
Ready, set, read!
- Brian H.
