Mahdi Abrahams of Readers Den Comic Shop in Cape Town, South Africa shares his FCBD comments:
FANTASTIC! Once again FCBD was a huge success for our store in Cape Town, South Africa. We weren't sure we would be able to top last years record-breaker, but as it turns out, comic fans of all ages rocked up in droves! We estimate a similar number of people (about 800), only everyone seemed more enthusiastic and hyped up for this years event.
We continued previous years popular events -- costumed characters, lucky draw competitions, and sales & discounts on most merchandise. Some additions: muffins handed out to early birds waiting for the doors to open, exclusive FCBD T-shirts, and we arranged with an Asian restaurant in our mall to provide discounts to fans from their entire menu. This all proved highly popular with fans.
Last year we experienced some logistical problems and to improve things, we added more staff and assigned them specific jobs. Our newly implemented point of sale scanner and additional credit card facilities worked wonders to speed up the high volumes of sales. As a result of better planning, FCBD 2007 ran much more smoothly and efficiently than previous years.
The diverse range and quality of this years FCBD comics were much appreciated by seasoned fans and newbies alike. It's no surprise that the offerings from Marvel, Tokyopop, Aspen and Virgin Comics were gone by early afternoon. Of note, we had lots of Mickey Mouse and Little Archie left. It's not that the younger crowd were absent -- the other all ages issues were snapped up. New Disney comics have not been around for years and the average 10-year old is unaware that Mickey Mouse comics exists. Archies' most visible demographic -- teenage girls -- were unfortunately not impressed with the antics of Little Archie. A Betty & Veronica issue next year should attract a better audience. The Tokyopop issue is always popular and wish that Viz would also come to the party.
Unlike previous years, we had no media coverage prior to the day, although a reporter and photographer from a major regional newspaper did cover the event. The article appeared in the paper the next day.
Free Comic Book Day 2008? Hell yes!
The opinions expressed in this Talk Back article are solely those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff of ICv2.com.
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