Celebrating Free Comic Book Day in SWFL

On Saturday, comic books are all being celebrated as part of Free Comic Book Day.

JP Sports store manager Jonathan Powell said this is a generational event that brings families together to reminisce on comics and other hobby-related knickknacks.

JP Sports in Cape Coral is giving away comic books on Saturday for the third straight year.

“It’s something that they can share with their children, so it might just be one day of freebies and free comic books, but it could be a lifetime of memories and a lifetime hobby,” Powell said.

It’s part of a nationwide, one-day initiative to get families, adults, and children more involved in reading. The initiative aims to keep kids off the tablet and switch to paper copies.

“To keep a kid interested, it has to be something they see on TV since that’s how it is nowadays, so they get to actually read and watch new stories that they haven’t seen before on the big screen, so I think that’s going to get them really into the reading aspect of it,” Powell said.

Powell said that last year, they gave away 2,000 comics, and they expect to exceed that this year alongside the other hobby-related knickknacks.

“We are totally prepared to give away 2,000 comics tomorrow, and we also have other freebies, as well, like lanyards, tattoos, pencils, wristbands, and free Comic Book Day t-shirts,” Powell said.

They continue to participate because of the reaction of everyone who comes into the May 4th Star Wars Day festivities.

“Kids definitely come in here and they love seeing their favorite characters on these books, and they read them and continue to collect them,” Powell said.

Powell said JP Sports is celebrating its thirty years in Cape Coral, and this is their way of giving back to the community after years of support.

The event is on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m., first come, first serve.