Concord shop where Free Comic Book Day began loses lease
CONCORD -- To fans of superheroes, Saturday was an important day. It was Free Comic Book Day around the world, an annual event that began right here in the Bay Area. And the man who started it said the story of his beloved shop is evolving right along with the characters that fill its shelves.
It was cold and wet in Concord but hundreds of people lined up outside for "Free Comic Book Day" at the place that started it all.
"Alright, let's get this line moving!" said Joe Field to the cheering crowd. "Happy Free Comic Book Day, everyone!"
When Field opened his Flying Colors comic book shop in Concord in 1987, the long line was not for his store but rather for the ice cream shop next door.
"Nobody was coming into my shop," he said. "They were all going next door to Baskin Robbins for 'Free Scoop Night.' I thought, 'Come on, the only thing cooler than ice cream is comics. We can adapt this!' And so we did."
In 2001, Field wrote to the publishing industry suggesting a comic book giveaway day to bring new customers into the stores. It worked. Now, just as in Concord, more than a million people arrive at stores worldwide to get special-edition comics, produced just for the annual event.
"We've been helped by all these big-budget movies and TV shows and whatnot," Field said. "But, honestly, we always tell people, 'As good as the stories are on the big screen, nothing compares to the great stories that have been told in the comics.'"
While the characters never seem to age, the fan base does. Field said his clientele now averages in their 40s. Despite some gray hair, Ron Pon of Pleasant Hill was first in line to select his five free issues -- just as he did back in 2002 when the promotion began.
"For me, I've read comic books since I was a kid," he said. "So, it's really just the joy of the stories and everything else."
Heidi Madderra said she was drawn as a young girl to "Josie and Pussycats," a rock group that solved mysteries in their spare time.
"They were an empowered, all-girl group that were going on really cool adventures and they got to travel," Madderra said. "And so, everything that I wanted to be growing up."
Just like the superheroes, the shop itself is battling adversity. Flying Colors is losing its lease -- reportedly in favor of a bagel shop -- making Saturday the last Free Comic Book Day at the location. It's hard to imagine it could be happening at a place so special that, in 2013, it drew a personal visit by comic book royalty: the originator of the Marvel Universe, the late, great Stan Lee.
Twenty-fire years earlier, Lee had left a personal message on Field's answering machine, congratulating him on the opening of Flying Colors.
"I remember when he opened the shop and I felt very sentimental about coming again," Lee said at the 2013 visit.
Saturday was sentimental, as well. Seeing the crowds inside and out was bittersweet for Field.
"Oh, it's kind of surreal today," he said, choking back tears. "Yeah. These are my people."
The Flying Colors story will continue -- as will Free Comic Book Day -- just at a new, as yet undisclosed location. Field has little doubt that his customers will follow him but, just like in the comics, it's always sad to see a good story end -- even when you know another one is on the way.
