Celebrate Comic Book Day With a Bang! Pow! in Port Jeff

Tuesday is National Comic Book Day. Not to be confused with the better known Free Comic Book Day held every May, this is a day for people of all ages to celebrate the comic book and graphic novel.

Since the first-ever comic book superhero made his first appearance in 1938, many of the original characters have evolved new looks and some of their storylines have changed completely. In all those years, comic enthusiasts still share their love of their favorite characters, old and new.

It's a great time for comic fans to honor their superhero, heroine or villain’s best stories.

Locals shared some of their memories of reading comic books with Patch in honor of National Comic Book Day.

Kathy Masone told us on Facebook that she loved Archie comics growing up and Chuck Becker's favorite was Richie Rich. Mary Glennon Pullis' husband used to collect comics too.

"He still has them," she said.

"I have my original Star Wars, mint," said Ed Cosgrove. He added that he might be looking for a buyer.

You can also celebrate comics by dropping into Never Enough Cards on Route 112 in Port Jefferson Station to check out their collection of new and used comics.

Why honor the comic book? Never Enough Cards owner Lisa Stellato said that today children have more options than they used to.

“Kids have a lot more to do than read comics,” said Stellato in an interview with Patch this spring. That's why the industry makes such a big deal about events like Free Comic Book Day and National Comic Book Day.

Today's kids might not even realize that their favorite characters from the big screen like Batman and Spiderman are pulled from the pages of monthly books.

You can also head down to either the Port Jefferson or the Comsewogue libraries and check out their collections of graphic novels.

Not all comics are about superheroes. Librarian Monica Williams gave us a few great suggestions for graphic novels to check out of the library in honor of Comic Book Day:

• Maus by Art Spiegelman
• Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
• Smile by Raina Telgemeier
• Maximum Ride the Manga Volume 1 - Based on the hit teen book series by James Patterson this offers a comic adaptation. It utilizes manga style of representation, but the text is read left to right, unlike in true Japanese manga.
• Soulless the Manga - Based on the smart and fun supernatural steampunk series by Gail Carriger this is a graphic novel adaptation that uses manga style, but the text is written left to right.
• Anita Blake: Circus of the Damned Volume 1 - Based on the novel by Laurell K. Hamilton. This is a true comic style adaptation of Hamilton's New York Times best selling series featuring Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. Three of the graphic novels usuallly equals the original novel.
• House of Odd by Landry Quinn Walker - Based on the Odd Thomas series of novels by Dean Koontz.
• Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
• Twilight: The Graphic Novel - Based on the novels by Stephanie Meyer

If you didn't know, Port Jefferson also has a few important connections to comic book history both nationally and locally.

Do you remember the comic book store that used to be in Port Jefferson in the 1980s? In a blog post on the ComixMix website, Glenn Hauman wrote about his favorite comic shop on Long Island, Flashpoint in the village of Port Jefferson. According to Hauman, Flashpoint was at located where the Port Jefferson Motorcycle Shop is now.

Comic book editor and writer Jim Shooter spoke fondly of the talent of comics artist  John Buscema on a blog. Buscema had a home in Port Jefferson when he died from stomach cancer in January, 2002 at the age of 74.

National Comic Book day is also a good precursor for the famous New York Comic Con. This year, it will be held during October 11-14 at the Jacob Javits Center, where heroes and villains will walk the streets of the real Gotham city.

Who is your favorite comic book character? Do you have memories of reading or collecting comics? Tell us in the comics and upload a picture of your comic book collection.

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