Free Comic Book Day

There is a store locator on the site. It is Saturday. You have no excuse not to go.
The whole situation may be made more convenient with the presence of a child to drag along with you, but you can show up without one without raising any eyebrows. If you must have a child as a cover, I recommend picking one up on the way. They wander around department stores all the time and seem to have no price tags or UPC marks so I'm pretty sure you can just walk out with them. Just be sure to bring them back to where you got them before you have to pay for college.
Anyway, I've made a point of calling attention to this event every year in an attempt to drive some traffic their way. This is when publishers put out some of their best work to gain new readers. Also, there have been free toys every year! Free toys!
Okay, while you are there, pick up a few comics the host stores are selling. All that traffic is useless to them if they make no money. Also, there is a lot of good stuff crammed up in those shelves.
Since the Wolverine movie is coming out this weekend and some people still haven't seen it, this is the perfect time to catch up on your Wolverine before hitting the theatre/bittorrent site.
You must read the original Wolverine miniseries by Claremont and Miller. Wolverine heads to Japan to explore part of his history there. Also, he fights ninjas. Like thousands of ninjas. This comic is largely the source of most of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mythology. Before they had their own movies and toys, they were a Wolverine spoof.
While not a Claremont story, Wolverine: Weapon X is pretty essential reading as it tells the story of all the things that happened to Wolverine when he was a Canadian military experiment. Also, I learned that at one time Canada had a military, so the book was educational as well. Side note: Is Canada still open? Anyone know what the hours are?
The Essential Hulk Volume Five contains the first appearance of Wolverine (in issues 180 and 181, conveniently bound into one volume with a bunch of other less awesome stuff). Back then he was already "Weapon X" but his costume was . . . different. Anyway, it's worth a read.
And while Claremont is again not responsible for this (though he's all over the Wolverine brand) the Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon is composed entirely of snarky dialogue, character analysis, and solid, undiluted awesome.
The major plot is completely dumb on a lot of levels, but the comic works as Whedon proves that campy sci-fi crap is not what comics are about anymore. That is the backdrop for the interactions of the characters. And Whedon seems, to me, to get Wolverine.
Okay.
So you have time to plan around it, find a store, and gather a kid (or not) to attend Free Comic Book Day. I don't want to hear any "I've got a wedding to attend" because I've given you enough notice to convincingly fake sick. None of that "the flower beds need to be weeded" nonsense either. Weeds convert CO2 into life-giving oxygen, you eco-terrorist. And don't try that "I'm not a nerd" excuse, either. You've read this far. The Geek Boat has sailed, my friend, and you are on deck.