Cosmic Comix & Toys is proud to announce that this summer we will be a proud sponsor of one of Catonsville’s best and most popular community events: FREDERICK ROAD FRIDAYS! You might already know what Frederick Road Fridays are, but if this is your first time hearing about it, here’s the skinny:

Frederick Road Fridays is a FREE outdoor concert series put on by the Catonsville Chamber of Commerce (of which we are proud members) and many other local businesses and non-profits, taking place every Friday of the summer, from June 14 through August 30. Along with lots of great music, the event will also feature a beer garden each week, with beers by local brewer Clipper City.

What makes this year extra special, especially as far as we’re concerned, is that it will take place in the parking lot a few doors down near FCBD collaborator Peace-a-Pizza! Just a hop, skip and a jump from your favorite comic book store!

So, every Friday evening throughout the summer, come on down, bring your friends and family, hear some music from local talent, grab a beer (if that’s your thing) and come visit Andy at our booth! He will surely be glad to see you. And if you bring him a beer, he will be REALLY glad to see you.

Like me, you might have found yourself today in the position of not having a single gift for your mom on Mother’s Day — it’s TOMORROW, dummy! (That’s basically what I’ve been saying to myself all morning.) You might also be worried sick at the thought of your mom’s expression when you give her yet another coupon good for “One Hug.” But never fear! Andy B. is here to put your worries and trepidations at ease. I’ve put together a list of trade paperbacks and graphic novels that I have personally witnessed numerous mothers buying and later complimenting. This isn’t exactly your capes-and-cowls fare (though moms do often enjoy that, too), but stories from the heart; personal stories of love, loss and family.

So here they are! Presented to you with an eye toward several different kinds of moms. Enjoy!

For the Mom Who Looks Back on Her Childhood (and Yours) with Fondness and, Often, a Single Tear

BLANKETS
$29.99

Since its publication, Craig Thompson’s Blankets has received more positive reviews than just about any other graphic novel since. Publishers Weekly said, “Thompson manages to explore adolescent social yearnings, the power of young love and the complexities of sexual attraction with a rare combination of sincerity, pictorial lyricism and taste.” While Sandman writer Neil Gaiman said, “Moving, tender, beautifully drawn, painfully honest, and probably the most important graphic novel since Jimmy Corrigan.” We couldn’t agree more and think it’s one of the more excellent graphic novels to have ever been published. And it is also one my OWN mother happens to love. Knowing what my mom likes, that’s some endorsement!

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As we posted recently, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY is being held on SATURDAY, MAY 4, this year! That’s only ONE WEEK AWAY! That said, it’s high time we got down to brass tacks around here, as far as what you can expect on that most excellent of days (aside from the pleasure of seeing Andy, Rusty and the entire Cosmic Comix staff, of course). But first, in the rare case that this is your first time hearing about, here’s the rundown on what FCBD is all about…

As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book stores across North America and around the world give away specially designed comic books ABSOLUTELY FREE to anyone who comes into their shops. This year actually marks the 12th year of celebrating Free Comic Book Day – it’s always the first Saturday in May – and it has proven to be a smashing success, spreading the word that comics are terrific reading for people of all ages.

Okay, now for the goods. If you’ve been to Cosmic Comix on Free Comic Book Day before, you know what to expect: basically, the biggest and baddest block party around! From music to games to popcorn to balloons and of course FREE COMICS! But on top of that we’ll also be having a STOREWIDE 25% OFF SALE!  But wait, there’s so much more! Here it all is…

1. FREE COMIC BOOKS!
   
2. 25% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE!
   • And that’s the bare minimum! (See #4!)
3. Thousands of 25¢ Comics!!
   • We’re gonna set up DOZENS of long boxes, each one chock full of comics, out in front of the store. All for a quarter each!
4. Super Saver Deals!
   • A Cosmic Comix trademark. All over the store you’ll find special deals discounted even more than 25% off! Now, exactly what will the deals be? Stop on by and find out!
5. Artist doing FREE sketches!
   • Local artist Tim Murphy will once again be joining us to do sketches of all kinds. Want an awesome drawing of Superman? Or Batman? Or Wolverine? This will be your chance! And guess what? IT’S TOTALLY FREE!!
6. Dice table! Every roll’s a winner!
   • YES!! We’re bringing it back, baby! Once again you’ll be able to roll the bones — the oversized fuzzy dice, that is — for a chance to win all kinds of fun prizes! Every roll is a winner!
7. Door Prizes!
   • We’ll be counting every single person who walks through the door on FCBD and we’ll be giving out door prizes on a regular basis!
8. Free Comic Book Day FREE raffle!
   
   • We’ve got five Secret Invasion hardcovers to give away. Each one a $35 value! All you need to do for a chance to win one of them is fill out a raffle ticket and give it back to us! Just like that! And the best part is, entering is totally free!
9. Balloons and Popcorn!
10. Peace-a-Pizza Coupons!
    • Yes, with every purchase you make at Free Comic Book Day here at Cosmic Comix, you’ll receive a coupon for Peace-a-Pizza! The best pizza shop in Catonsville, just a couple doors down from us!

Whew! It’s gonna be quite the blowout, BELIEVE. In fact, if you’ve never been to a Free Comic Book Day before, you need to try it at least once in your life. You’ll see the store in completely new way! This place will be ROCKING!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY, the annual event that celebrates comics and could very well be the biggest day of the year for our beloved medium, is being held on SATURDAY, MAY 4, this year!

As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is a single day when participating comic book stores across North America and around the world give away specially designed comic books ABSOLUTELY FREE to anyone who comes into their shops. This year actually marks the 12th year of celebrating Free Comic Book Day – it’s always the first Saturday in May – and it has proven to be a smashing success, spreading the word that comics are terrific reading for people of all ages.

Tell your friends, tell your family: on May 4, Cosmic Comix is giving away comic books! Of course, the free comics are only part of the plan! We like to think of Free Comic Book Day as an excuse to throw an out-and-out PARTY, complete with balloons, prizes, popcorn and an atmosphere of unadulterated FUN. Every year we try to outdo ourselves with something different and better than the year before! Last year we even had a local artist doing superhero sketches and a giant fuzzy dice table with prizes!

And this year, Free Comic Book Day is once again coinciding the release of a major comic book movie: IRON MAN 3! If you’ve seen the trailers, you know how good it looks. So make it a whole weekend devoted to comics!

Check out the wrap-up from last year’s FCBD! We had artists doing sketches, a spinning prize wheel, popcorn and of course comics galore! And if you don’t feel like reading anything… a picture is worth a THOUSAND WORDS!

And I’m sure your next question has to be: WHAT ARE THE COMICS?! Ask and you shall receive. Check out a handful of the comics we’ll have available, totally free, on FCBD!

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SATURDAY, MAY 4, FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!! In case this is your first time hearing about it, check out this excellent informational video. And trust that there will be much more to come in the next few weeks!

Andy is still on vacation! The Summer Back Issue Sale continues! Comics for a dollar! Only one week left. It all ends on Sunday!  – Rusty

This Wednesday, July 25, marks the return of one of the most popular annual events here at Cosmic Comix. It’s time for the SUMMER BACK ISSUE SALE! Our vast back issue collection — featuring thousands upon thousands of comic books — will be ripe for the picking, much of it available at bargain prices! Here’s the deal:

• All issues that are priced at $5.00 or less will be on sale for $1.00!
  
• All issues that are priced OVER $5.00 will be on sale for 50% OFF!
  
  • Including Variants AND Cosmic Comix Collections!

That’s it! Couldn’t be simpler. But it all ends on Sunday, August 12. And in case you’ve never seen one of these sales before, when we say back issues we mean all those comics in the middle of the store that are bagged and boarded. Batman, Superman, X-Men, Spider-Man and, like we said, thousands more!

And in the past we’ve extended the sale, offering extra bonuses and such. But this year we have a hard stop and the sale ends on Sunday, August 12! So DON’T MISS OUT!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (FCBD) IS TODAY! If you already know what FCBD is, you can skip past the box. If you DON’T know what FCBD is, read on!

Free Comic Book Day is the annual event that celebrates comics. It could  very well be the biggest day of the year for our beloved medium. Along  with participating comic book shops across North America and around the  world, we are once again giving away specially designed comic books  absolutely FREE to anyone who comes into the store!

As for us, free comics are just part of the equation. They’re a BIG part of the equation, no doubt, but there’s much, much more! If you’ve been following our FCBD@Cosmic Comix updates, you’re up to speed on pretty much the whole deal. If not, here’s a recap of everything we’ve said about FCBD to date:

1.  Free comic books!
2. 25% off everything in the store!
3. Thousands of 25¢ Comics!!
4. Super Saver Deals!
5. Artist doing FREE sketches!
6. Dice table! Every roll’s a winner!
7. Door Prizes!
8. Free Comic Book Day FREE raffle!
9. Balloons!
10. Popcorn!

Whew! And of course details on all that stuff can be found in our most recent FCBD updates. It’s gonna be quite the blowout, BELIEVE. In fact, if you’ve never been to a Free Comic Book Day before, you need to try it at least once in your life. You’ll see the store in completely new way! This place will be ROCKING!

FCBD@Cosmic Comix! Its gonna be awesome!

One final note: for all you moms out there who may have no interest in comics, Doris’ Closet, the consignment store next door, will also be having an event that day. 20% of all sales proceeds will go to the Catonsville Women’s Giving Circle. So make sure you stop by and visit them, as well!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (FCBD) is now ONE week away! Give or take two or three days. So it’s time for FCBD@Cosmic Comix Part Three! It’s the third in our series of posts designed to tell you exactly what you can expect to find at Cosmic Comix & Toys on that most excellent of days.

In FCBD@Cosmic Comix Part One, we gave you the first taste. I don’t want to spoil the fun before you click back to find out for yourself but a small part of it is 25% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE! In FCBD@Cosmic Comix Part Two, we told you a little more. All I can say about that is… snake eyes! Or maybe… box cars! I don’t know all the lingo.

What could we possibly add to all that stuff to make our celebration of Free Comic Book Day the best in the area? Well, let me tell you.

1) DOOR PRIZES! We’ll be counting every single person who walks through the door on FCBD and we’ll be giving out door prizes on a regular basis! How about an Avengers movie poster? Or a Free Comic Book Day T-shirt??

2) FREE COMIC BOOK DAY RAFFLE! We’ve got five Avengers/Invaders hardcovers to give away. Each one a $40 value! All you need to do for a chance to win one of them is fill out a raffle ticket and give it back to us! Just like that! And the best part is, entering is totally free!

3) 25¢ COMICS! "Whaaaa? I thought you only broke out the 25¢ comics for special occasions?" That’s right! And no occasion is more special than this! We’re gonna set up DOZENS of long boxes, each one chock full of comics, out in front of the store. All for a quarter each!

It’s one of our most popular events at Cosmic Comix and we just couldn’t hold out any longer. You saw in this week’s Whiz Bang how we were just aching to get those suckers out there for you. And that was just a small taste! Maybe only one fourth of the total number of boxes we have. That’s right, a QUARTER OF THE QUARTER BOXES is all you saw this week!

It’s gonna be a blast, I assure you. Let me direct your attention to this photo, which was taken at a recent Free Comic Book Day right here in Cosmic Comix!

Look for the final wrap-up installment of FCBD@Cosmic Comix next week!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (FCBD) is now just TWO weeks away! So that must mean it’s time to bring you FCBD@Cosmic Comix Part Two! It’s the second in our series of posts designed to tell you exactly what you can expect to find at Cosmic Comix & Toys on that awesome day.

In FCBD@Cosmic Comix Part One, we gave you the first taste of what exactly the party will entail. I don’t want to spoil the fun before you click back to find out for yourself but a small part of it is 25% OFF EVERYTHING IN THE STORE! 

So… what do we have up our sleeves this week? What more could we add to the already solid list of special events and details? GLAD YOU ASKED.

1) SUPER SAVER DEALS! A Cosmic Comix trademark. All over the store you’ll find special deals discounted even more than 25% off! Remember Secret Invasion at 80% off?? And the $10 hardcovers featured in this week’s Whiz Bang?? Those are two great examples of the types of deals you’ll see on Free Comic Book Day! Now, exactly what will the deals be? Stop on by and find out!

2) SKETCH ARTIST! Local artist Tim Murphy (see image at right) will once again be joining us to do sketches of all kinds. Want an awesome drawing of Superman? Or Batman? Or Wolverine? This will be your chance! And guess what? IT’S TOTALLY FREE!!

3) DICE TABLE! Wait a second… did you say dice table? What is this, FCBD@Vegas? No! It’s FCBD@Cosmic Comix! And it’s one of the coolest things we’ll have going on Free Comic Book Day. We’ve upgraded from last year’s prize wheel to a fully functioning dice table! Now you’ll be able to roll the bones — the oversized fuzzy dice, that is — for a chance to win all kinds of fun prizes! Every roll is a winner!

The excitement gets ratcheted up another notch! And we’re not even done yet! Look for another installment of FCBD@Cosmic Comix next week!

FREE COMIC BOOK DAY (FCBD) is now just three weeks away! It’s Saturday, May 5! And as we do every year, we will once again be throwing a massive party! This is the first of several posts designed to tell you exactly what you can expect to find at Cosmic Comix & Toys on that very special (and massively fun) day. We’re calling this series FCBD@Cosmic Comix!

But first, if you didn’t know already, we should tell you that FCBD is the annual event that celebrates comics and could very well be the biggest day of the year for our beloved medium. As the name implies, Free Comic Book Day is a single day when participating comic book stores across North America and around the world give away specially designed comic books ABSOLUTELY FREE to anyone who comes into their shops.

As for us, we always do it up right. If you want some clues about what might be happening this year, check out the wrap-up from last year’s FCBD! And in a post earlier this year, we told you many of the titles that we’ll have available for FREE on FCBD. 

So what can you expect this year?

1. Free comic books! You choice from a myriad of titles!
2. Balloons!
3. Popcorn! 
4. And of course 25% off everything in the store!

Sounds like a party already! But that’s all we’re willing to divulge for now. Look for another installment of FCBD@Cosmic Comix next week!

The 2011 YEAR-END SALE has officially begun! It runs from Wednesday, December 7 – Tuesday, December 13! As we always say (and it’s totally true) it’s our biggest sale of the year! We’ve already given you a little sneak peek with the Back Issue Whiz Bang of the past couple weeks, but during the Year-End Sale it goes waaaaay beyond that. We just go crazy with the discounts!

For starters, EVERYTHING IN THE STORE will be on sale for a minimum of 25% OFF! You can walk into the store, look around, and anything you see will be a minimum of 25% off. But that’s just the baseline!

You’ll save even more on Back Issues!

• Back issues priced at $5.00 or less will be just $1.00 – up to 80% off!
• Back issues priced at more than $5.00 will be 50% off!

And on our collections of Back Issues, too!

• Mini-series sets will be 50% off!
• Cosmic Comix Collections will be 50% off!

You’ll also save more on Supplies!

• Short boxes priced at $4.50 will be $3.00.
• Long boxes priced at $5.50 will be $4.00.
• A set of 100 bags & boards, normally priced at $15.50, will be $11.50.

And here are some other deals we’ll have going!

• Action figures will be 25% off!
• But if you buy 3 or more action figures they’ll be 35% off!
• Statues and busts in the cabinet will also be 35% off!

We just finished the Super Bonus Items, which you will find on the front and back tables! UNBELIEVABLE DEALS! Sneak preview: Marvel Masterworks hardcovers for $20.00!

It’s a great time to come by the store because the deals are better than any other time of the year.

It all starts this Wednesday at 11 am and continues for the entire week! See you at the store!

THANKS AGAIN to everyone who came out for this year’s FREE COMIC BOOK DAY. It was the event’s 10-year anniversary and we think it was the best one yet! We even set a new attendance record for ourselves… in the early part of the day we were averaging a hundred people coming through the door each hour!

Local news site Catonsville Patch was there and took some great photos of the day:

And in case you were wondering, that’s local artists Tim Murphy and Kelly Sexton doing awesome superhero sketches. Add those to my photos from earlier on in the day (and much earlier on in the day) and you get a decent feel for what it was like in here. People! And lots of them! Fun! And lots of it! POPCORN!!! And lots of it.

Of course the big reason people might be reading this right now is to find out who the big winners are in the raffle. The prize, one of which will go to each winner, is a $50 GIFT CERTIFICATE!

Drumroll, please…. The Free Comic Book day 2011 Raffle winners are…

Congrats, Jacob and Craig! And thanks again to all who entered. Not to mention all who spun the big wheel, participated in the 25% off sale, got some popcorn, got a balloon or two, and of course some free comics!

See you next year!