Read Comics in Public Day

Today is International Read Comics in Public Day. Some people continue to perpetuate stereotypes about comic book readers and some of us comic book fans have internalized that fear of being bullied. You can read more about the day by going to the site dedicated to it.

There has also been a push to encourage women to read comic books in public. A tumblr has been dedicated to that and can be found here.

I've read a few criticisms of the day which amount to people saying "I read comics in public all the time". While this is true for a lot of us the reason behind days like this is to achieve what I think of as critical mass. People are more likely to notice and be curious if there are large numbers of people doing something in public. Aside from that argument I also just think days like this are fun. You can connect with others in your community and over great distances through the internet thanks to a shared love of something.

I enjoyed hanging out around the downtown of my community sipping some delicious real sugar Mexican coke from my game/comics shop Castle Perilous while reading Green Arrow. My out of town visitor also enjoyed learning about the new Wonder Woman as we ate at the vegetarian coffee shop downtown:

I really felt more in touch with my town as I explored a few downtown stores, bought lunch, and even picked up some dice at Castle P. This day was a wonderful excuse for me to get out and do something fun and it felt a bit more special than a normal walk around downtown would feel.