Free Comic Book Day coming to Brownsville

Despite recent swine flu scares, superheroes, villains and fans will gather Saturday at comic book shops throughout the world for the seventh annual Free Comic Book Day, where readers will get free special edition comic books published specifically for that day.

In Brownsville, the event will be from 11 a.m. until late afternoon at Rogue Comics, 13 North Park Plaza, said owner Erika Blanco. In addition to the select free comics, customers will also see specials throughout the store, including 20 percent off all Wolverine comics in celebration of the release of the "X-Men Origins: Woverine" movie. The movie features the adamantium-clawed character.

"We are expecting a large crowd," Blanco said. "Some may come for the free comics; some may come for the specials in the store. But the main reason behind this event is to encourage children to read. They may be intimidated by a 400-page novel but give them a 32-page comic book, and they will sit down and read. It helps to get them used to reading; that way they can build up to 400-page novels."

Free Comic Book Day has been celebrated worldwide since 2002, and it's held during the first Saturday of May as a means to introduce new readers to the realm of comic books, to reinvigorate former readers and to thank loyal customers, said FCBD spokeswoman Elissa Lynch.

For the event, major comic book publishers including, DC, Marvel and Dark Horse, have developed special editions of some of their most popular titles, including Green Lantern, Avengers, Star Wars, Savage Dragon and Archie.

Throughout the nation over 2,000 stores in the U.S. and dozens internationally will host the event, according to the event's Web site.