Superheroes, anime, sci-fi oh my! Retro Rocket Comics and Toys is gearing up for Free Comic Book Day, this Saturday, May 7, at their new location in downtown Galt.
“It's always great to see the kids and to give away the free books," says owner Chris Chettle, who is excited to see the community come together after a rough couple of years.
"My regulars always look forward to it and it’s probably my most requested question on Facebook and Instagram, like, are you guys still holding free comic day?”
But the big day for comic book lovers isn't the only reason Chettle is ready to celebrate.
After 20 years on Dundas Street, the staple in the Cambridge comic scene is ready to show off their new, temporary location in downtown Galt.
They're now in the alley at 28B Main St. and will move across the road to a permanent storefront on Main Street this summer.
Chettle wanted to move Retro Rocket to a downtown core for quite some time, but could never find the right time.
Instead, the right time found him with a forced move that happened when their lease was up at the end of April.
“The time came where we needed to find a new location and now we’re right downtown with plenty of foot traffic. This experience kinda accelerated a move in which we were already looking at,” Chettle said.
The timing could have been better, but the store owner sees it as a great way to make regulars aware of their new location, and get new customers in the process.
Retro Rocket only missed one comic book day in 20 years and Chettle says they had good reason.
They were just opening their store and the free comic event was in its first year as well.
He's been an avid participant since, and says during the pandemic they held the events outside so readers could support their local comic book store while abiding by COVID restrictions.
Fans of all ages can check out the event's website to see what comics will be available Saturday, all of them coded with age-appropriate stickers.
Chettle attributes the recent surge in consumer interest in comic books and collectibles to the fickle nature of fandom.
He says one month comic sales will go up and a month later, toys are on the rise.
For Retro Rocket, it’s all about predicting the ebbs and flows and getting in on the next big thing.
“I think the minute they found out that digital comic books are not free, they want the physical," Chettle says. "It's one thing to pay $4, but if your option is $4 for a physical copy or a virtual copy, people are going to want that thing you can hold in your hand.”
To get the word out about Saturday's event, Chettle went around to several of the local businesse, introduced himself and asked if any were interested in participating in the free book event.
He will be setting up tents and tables in the Main Street alley to allow for more distancing and sales of comic related goods from other vendors.
In a couple of weeks, the city will close the lower part of Main Street to vehicular traffic for its patio program.
It's something Chettle wishes started earlier so Free Comic Book Day could be a part of it, but he understands that's just the luck of the draw.
“You got to roll with the punches,” he says. “That’s why I went around to the local businesses and made some connections.”
