Business & Tech

On Saturday, It's Up, Up and Away With Free Comic Books in Port Jeff Station

Visit Never Enough Cards on May 5 for Free Comic Book Day.

Once upon a time, comic books came under fire for some of the same reasons that video games are so maligned these days: too much violence and claims that they turned adolescent minds to mush distracting from academic and social activities. In the 1950s, Senate hearings were even held to judge whether comic books were contributing to juvenile delinquency.

These days, with so many virtual options for kids like video games, iPhones and laptops, sitting around reading comic books seems almost like a literary pursuit in comparison.

“Kids have a lot more to do than read comics,” said Lisa Stellato, owner of , a collectable store in Port Jefferson Station that sells comic books, toys and sports cards.

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But since the time when the U.S. Senate was prosecuting Communists and comic book publishers alike, comics have won Pulitzer Prizes (Maus) and adaptations of graphic novels have made millions on the big screen, including a few you may not have ever realized were based on comics including A History of Violence with Viggo Mortensen playing a simple man with a dark past and Academy Award nominated Road to Perdition starring Tom Hanks as a revenge-seeking hit man set in the 1930s.

Helping to bring awareness to the fun of comic book reading is Free Comic Book Day, an annual event held for the past ten years on the first Saturday in May where independent shops around the world give away comic books to customers.

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Stellato says that the day not only creates awareness of comic book reading but it helps to reinforce the relationship between current readers and publishers.

“It promotes the hobby and gives new collectors a chance to pick up some comics,” she said. “And it reward collectors with free comic books.”

Among the titles available at Never Enough Cards on Saturday will be Spiderman, Star Wars, Disney’s Cars, Toy Story, Shrek, X-Men and Superman. The gamut runs through all age groups and interests.

The store will have over two hundred comics in all, enough to probably get through the day, said Stellato but the popular titles like Star Wars will run out quickly.

“We tell our regular customers to come in early,” she said.

The free deal is on a first come, first serve basis and there is a limit of one of each comic per title available for every customer. You could walk in on Saturday and walk out with more then ten new comics, all for free. There is a limited supply so it’s best to get there early. Doors will open at 10 a.m.

Stellato says that every year the store gets an influx of new and regular customers on Free Comic Book Day.

“At least 50 or more people are walking in and out all day,” she said.

Many of the people who hadn’t read comics before or stopped reading them for whatever reason will turn into regular comic book readers after Saturday, according to Stellato.


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