Hometown Cherokee

How can comic book fans help the victims of the recent hurricanes?

On Saturday, October 1st, Comic Books, ETC! in Woodstock will give away the first issue of Revelations for free to the first one hundred lucky fans to make a donation to the Red Cross.

Revelations creator, Eisner Award-Winning writer Paul Jenkins, will be on hand starting at 12:00 noon to autograph his new series, a sophisticated murder mystery set in the unlikeliest of places - The Vatican.

"I am thrilled to help the people who have been so horribly affected by the recent hurricanes," said Jenkins. "I think this is great for Comic Books, ETC! to be doing this for such a worthy cause, and I will stay as long as possible to raise as much money as we can."

Comic Books, ETC! owner Rick Verbanas felt this was a "no-brainer" for his upcoming anniversary event. "We had Paul Jenkins scheduled to do a signing with us to help celebrate our anniversary," explained Verbanas. "When the hurricanes hit, like most people, we searched for ways we could help out."

"With the amount of people we expect to show for Paul's signing on October 1st, we thought that would be the best day to raise funds. I contacted the fine folks at Dark Horse Comics, the publisher of Revelations, and they were very gracious to help us."

The event happening on October 1st will be made even more special with Comic Books, ETC! planning to give away many other comics absolutely free.

While the next world-wide "Free Comic Book Day" isn't until May of 2006, Verbanas couldn't wait that long to give away comics to loyal fans and new readers alike.

"We had a blast giving away comics the last couple of years during the global Free Comic Book Day events," said Verbanas, "and with our upcoming anniversary and book signing being half way between this past year and next year's world-wide events, we thought this would be the ideal time to give away more free comics."

In addition to Revelations, Jenkins will also be on hand to sign Sentry, a new mini-series focusing on the mysterious character from the New Avengers series by Marvel Comics, with the first issue arriving Wednesday, September 28th.

"The Sentry is supposed to be a forgotten, failed hero created by Stan Lee in the early days of Marvel Comics back in the 1960s but who was actually first introduced by Paul Jenkins in 2000," explained Verbanas. "Recently, the character was involved in the relaunch of the New Avengers, with Jenkins actually appearing as a character in the pages of the comic book Now, Paul will be appearing in our store for the very first issue. We couldn't be more excited!"

Verbanas wants people to know the comics given away on October 1st won't be the same FCBD issues stores gave out at last year's global event. "When you visit Comic Books, ETC! on October 1st, we will be giving away various Marvel, DC, Image Comics and others from the last year with titles like Teen Titans, Amazing Spider-Man, Spawn, Superman, Star Wars and a whole bunch of others," revealed Verbanas.

"Those of us at Comic Books, ETC! are very grateful to our loyal customers for helping us reach this milestone," said Verbanas. "We invite everyone to come to Comic Books, ETC! on October 1st to meet Paul Jenkins, help a very worthy cause, and try out a comic book for free!"

The event kicks off at 10:30 a.m. and runs until 7 p.m. Call (770) 592-4747 for more information.